Eureka daily sentinel. [volume] (Eureka, Nev.) 1871-1887, 1873-02-08
Pancho Valencia.


The case of the man recently hanged
ut Fairfield. Solano county, California.
while vehemently protesting his in
nOcence of the crime Of which he was
convicted, is one calling for the sharp
eat criticism on the part of the fiends
of humanity. The evidence was al.
most wholly circumstantial, only one
witness being willing to swear to the
identity Of the prisoner, and this wit
ness having had only a glimpse of his
face. And now it appears that even
the legal formalities of the law have
been dispensed with, i'm the haste to
sacrifice a victim to the clamor of
blood for blood" The counsel of
Pancho Valencia had appealed his
case to the Supreme Court of Califor-
mia, and the appeal was pending at
the time of the execution. A surer-
sededs had been asked for, so that the
execution might not take place until
the appeal could be heard. The Dis
trict Judge had not certified to the
appellate court that there was
probable cause for the appeal,
and upon this technical omis.
sion the writ of supersedars, which
would have stopped the execution,
was denied. The result was, as shown
above, that a man was executed, pro-
testing his innocence at his dying mo-
ments. who had filed an appeal to the
highest court in the State, which was
yet unconsidered. and which will re-
main forever on the records of that
Court, a protest against the technical
tiles of law, and the cruelty Of the
bloody code Of capital punishm ent.
Judge Wallace, in a previous case,
had used the following language:
THE right ofappeal to the Supreme
Court is guaranteed by the Constitu-
ton, and is as sacred as the right of
trial by Jury. 1t is one of the means
the law has provided to determine
the question OF his guilt or innocence.
Upon such an appeal the ultimate
question is nearly always as to the
validity of the judgment under which
the prisoner is To suffer and 1t is GER
tainly not %cOnSonant to our ideas of
justice, if it can be prevented by legal
means. that even while the ques-
ton of guilt or innocence is vet
being agita ed in the form Of an
appeal. the prisoner should he un-
dergOing the verv punishment and
suffering the very infamv which it
was the lawful purpose of the appeal
to avert. 1t would be somewhat akin
to a practice of furnishing the accused
for his alleged offense while the Jury
wered celebrating upon the verdict"
The San Francisco Chronicle we'll re-
marks upon the result of this case:
at will doubtless be very consol.
ing to the friends and family of the
defendant in the pending cause, en-
titled The People VS.. Valencia, to see
the Judgment reversed and a new
trial ordered by the Supreme Court.
But we cannot envy the feelings of
the District Judge of the Seventh Dis
trict. or of those members of the Su-
preme Court who. while denying the
applicant his writ Of Supersedeas, were
we'll aware that the Judgment would
he executed and the mar in the grave
before they could hear his appeal. In
the light of Judge Wallace's COM
mendable remarks above quoted. tire
recent decision i'm the case of Nalen-
cha, and its cruel and perhaps unlaw-
full results. seem but Il mOckerY of
justice. But was not this a proper
case for the interposition of the FIX
ecntive power to stay the execution
at least until the appeal had been
heard and determined?