The Findlay Jeffersonian. [volume] (Findlay, Hancock County, Ohio) 1870-1881, 1873-08-15

cSusad them TO visit MN ICE Tic PuI
posi-, of procuring confessions. lou
will pardon me, gentlemen, for detaih'
ing you longer upon this part OF the
case, for upon these confessions the
pros scution largely rely TO establish
| the charge of murder in the nrst &c
| oree Without this, and one other
! fact. 20 which ] shall shortly aLude'
| the prosecution ought to know tAey
cannot hope TO convict OF the highest
crime known to our law. There are
various cases on record where full
confessions of guilt have been made,
the accused tried, condemned and ex-
ecuted, and afterwards it was dlscov,
cred that the confessions were untrue,
and that the innocent had suffered.
Cases have occurred in which men
have been accused, tried and convict
ed of murder, upon their own solemn
confessions in a court OF justice, when
! it mas baen afterwards ascertained that
the party could rot have been guilty /;
tor the person supposed to be murder
ed was found TO be still alive, or Is
his lie at another place, and at dfs-
ierent period. 1 will now read to you
from the books before me to illustrate
what mean, and to confirm what |
have SAID about the great caution TO
be exercised by you in receiving aa-
missions and confessions as proof of tie
facts necessary for the State to prove to
make ont the charge against the accus-
ed as hestands indicted. In "Burrill on
Circumstantial Evidence" page 2I5,
among other remarkable cases, find
the following, in which it is said:
"Perhaps the most singular instance
on record of person cOntesslng him
self guilty of crime which he never
committed, was the celebrated case OF
the Perrys,' called, ,as at the time the
account of it was published, 'one Of
the most remarkable occurrences that
hath happened in the memory Of man
In this case, John Perry, servant OF
Wm. Harrison, who had suddenly
disappeared on the 10th day OF Au-
gust, 1850, being arrested on suspicion
OF murder, made voluntary confession
before the magistrate, in which he
declared that it was his Perry's)
mother and brother who had robbed
Harrison. In his confession he went
into full particulars, describing what
bad induced them 20 commit the
crime, and how and when it was
committed, and what disposition vas
made of the body; duplicating him
self throughout as an accessory. Up
on this the three Perry's were indie
ted Tor the murder, tried found guilty.
by the jury, and all executed. Some
years after, this, Harrison appeared,
aad gave account OF what had befallen
him, which was,i substance a5 fellows;
that, on the day of his disappear
ance SIS he was returning home IL the
evening, he was attacked and seized
by three men, who after rob5ing
and otherwise maltreating him, carried
him to Deal, on the sea coast, when
they put him .ol board OF vessel.
This vessel was captured at SEA, by
Turkish pirate, and Harrison, being
carried to Turkey, was sold as slave
to q physician living near Smyrna
On the d ath OF his master he contTiv
ed t. escape from the country and re
rurned by the way OF Lisbon to Eng
and " On pages 2l6 and 2l7 is
another remarkable case which has, 50
much in It that is ike tie case. at.
bar that viii read it to you as follows:
.sThe remarkable case ofCapt- Green
and others of his crew, who were exc
cuted in Scotland, A. d. l705 Oh e
charge OF piracy and murder, demands
a passing no'ice in connection with the
observation in the text, and in the
preceding note. This was case
which presented all the three descrp
tions OF evidence by which judicial
tribunals are governed in their conclu
sions, to witt positive testimony,
corroborated by circumstances, aud
the verdict based upOn such evidence
confirmed by detailed confessions ci
some of the condemned parties. And
yet, notwithstanding this multiplica-
ton of proof, it turned ont, alter the
execution of Capt Green, the FIST
mate of the ship and the gunner, that
the captain AID his crew were wholly
Innocent of the crime charged" The
supposed confessional statement or
ob.erva.ion may have been inpertectly
or inacurately heard, aud in that way
misunderstood, and thus although
unlntcntiaIly unsupported by the wit
nesses. The books are full OF cases
Illustrative of this possibility and those
seen in every Gay life teache US OF the
necessity of repeating cautiously that
which has been once related to
US as we are liable to misunderStand
the application OF that which is spoken
in our hearing. In one of our books
upon the admissibility and weight to
be given to this class OF evidence |
find a celebrated case referred to i'll
these words: In Coleman's case there
were two different accounts given of a
particular expression said to have been
made by the accused, in answer to a
question whether he was not one OF
the parties concerned in the commits
sion OF certain offence: one s2ying
that his words were, yes | was,
wnat then ?" And the other that they
we're, ''If was, what then p Ip the
case of Rex. rs Simous when the pris-
> oner was indicted for capital offence,
witness was called to prove that, as
> he was leaving the committing magis.
trate, he was overheard to say to hi:
E wife, Keep yourself to yourself and
don't marry again" But another wit
/, ness stated the words to have been
r "Keep yourself TO yourself, and keey
r your own council: the wide differenc,
! between these expressions was referee
5 to by the eminent judge sitting in th'
4 case as showing how cautious juror
!. should be in accepting this class Q
evidence and what littlereliance shou
= be placed upon it. l might amplli!
S authority upon authority by adding
d case upon case to prove to you tina
even direct and full confessions @
IS crime, accompanied by minute rela
e ton OF particulars, have been mad
IS by persons who were, nevertheless
: entirely innocent. | will next invIt
your attention to the further clan
. made by the prosecution as 70 tn
,e circumstance which IL Is claimed :
.e beset, hedge IN aud surround the mur
( der OF Beusing that they point Wit
! uuerring certainty to Gartee as III
r person mo not only perpetrated tt
,r act, but that he did it precisely q
le charged in the indictment and tha
& the charge OF murder In the ilrst de
,r gree is made cut without possible que
Dr. tion.
10 Let the prosecution not deceiv
Id themselves Circumstances are nc
ot always reliable. L admit the old MAJ
q, i'm that, Facts cannot lie, al
ff never he but circumstances ma
tn mislcad the mind and beget wroa
ID conclusions. Our vision is sometim'
n, imperfect, our Nearing is sometim'
d. obtuse or obstructed 10y a confusion
is sounds so that we obtain i,nperie'
up impressions of that which really dl
OF take place. Therefore the wisdom
IL the courts have divided this kind
If evidence into two kinds, namely th
Tx which Is called oertd;q, or that tro
Of which the conclusion in questiI
IS. necessarily follows, uncertain, or th