The democrat. [volume] (Weston, W. Va.) 1868-1874, 1874-03-09
THE JAWS OF DEATH.

."And may God have mercy on you,
soulr
These-the, closing words Of the
sentence Of death which had been pro,
nounced upon me-were the only ones
heard from the time whom, by order Of
the Officer / stood up 20 receive the
,;,s iudgmenk Of the law. The eourtroom
was sndlmost beyond Its ss.ipaS capacity y
avs %, moiJ 1uOt ssnted aSs All in tbat tbropV o.
4, bump sISup!hIpsg Iituated 80 that about
he room came within the
pn-the other portion
n 90 0elms -Ae gallery above, l had
" 90 20 ~ I'd when came in. During eacl
10 v 70 70, day OF my protracted trial thS
"a lfcuriosity had been large, bui
So ~ T. it seemed redoubled. What
~ thoughts and emotions filed and agi
- tated my mind for the short time sal
70 there on that hard and cruel seat II
all that mass OF living beings there was
u not one who could partaSe OF thai
90 knowledge which was restricted to me
60 VI alona-the knowledge Of my innocence.
jo1 O. rom the evidence on the trial, aud
(, lrdict OF the Jury, from the state.
.oc = nients and deductions Of the news
" papers, from thousand other causes
n which operate on populace excited by
y the commission OF great crime In
SO 4 their midst, and whose convictions are
rN already half made up by the arrest oi
somebody, all were sure OF my guilt.
From the time I had made tho nc
auaintance OF I'm for whose bloody
deeds was cohtemned to suffer, the
hand Of Fate had lain heavily upon me.
That man-theretofore stranger-had
one month ago SO worked upon my
frank and unsuspecting nature, had SC
insidiously and artfully opened my
heart and crept therein, that within two
hours OF our meeting We were pledging
and repledging our eternal friendship
n in bottles Of wine All this alone.
In twenty.four hours afterward was
taken to prison, there to remain until in
". due time / should be brought to the
bar Of the court TO answer for the muir
u der OF citizen. The forms OF justice
~ Q was told must be observed, for as to
a. my conviction there was no earthly
doubt. The following report from Q
paper shows why such was the general
opinion: .,.---..
night the scene OF one Of the most pru'
tai murders on nrecord. Az II o'clock O
cry Of pain, followed by the report OF
pistol, was heard near th5 southeast
tollgate. The few people that were IN
~ the neighborhood hurried to the spot,
and beheld prone on the ground the
lifeless form Of one o. our Tealt6iest e,
and most respected citizens, Dayid ~
burne, Esq. A pistol,shot through the
head, from which the blood poured 9ui
freely, and his riaed pockets told thai
a 4. ali
robbed, Search was Immediately in
tinted for the murderer, and he was
-non aitervard found secreted under Q
sAed near tie scene Of the dreadful
deed, with an empty pistol in his hand,
hiooi on bis person, and the watch oi
tbe deceased in his pocket. His face
was liyii with fear when detected, and
his attempted explanation Of the condi
tion in which he was found was mass
of contradictions. He had hearing
before tie Justice and was committed
10 prison. The name OF the villain Il
Leonard Manor. Let speedy Justice be
meted ont 10 him. ,
All the above, as recital OF factg
WAS true. but the statement that J.
Teonard Manor, was the author Of the
crime. was untrue. But o mighty and
tronciy forged chain Of circumstantiali
evidence % was bound around me, which
4 vas unable 10 break, and my counsel
Mr.. Cook, met with his first defeat as
criminal practitioner. The only witness
that could rebut the violent presump,
tion Of my guilt and disproye what haC
been brought against me, was not 70 b.
found made way with, no doubt b
Mm. And there fsat alone in that doel
md felt what no may can describe
Protest my innocence / might ant
swear Il with all the yehemence o. Al
earnest soul but / would be eithe
laughed at for my audncity, or whistle'
down as q feigned lunstc. oh, God
whit 4 Ia TO BE- falsely Judged To hay