The New Orleans bulletin. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1874-1876, 1875-01-03
THE KILLING OF d. c. BYERLY.
Not Legally JnstifiabIe.
Editors Of the Bulletin:

Editors Of the Bulletin:
In your paper OF Friday morning. you repor
Recorder Staes having, IN dismissing Gov
Warmoth, addressed him thus: 'sThe evidenc
in this case establishes that you were right il
your action. When you took the life Of MI
Byerly it was leStimately in defense OF yours
The first sentence OF this very startling an
nouncement would seem to contain moral judg
ment, comment on which is either vain or unne
ce5sary. II addressed to the conscience OF
Radical official it is vain, because have vet to
learn Of one who is restrained by anything Of the
Kind; If to that OF the public it is unnecessary
and perhaps improper, it not being my purpose
to pass any other than strictly legal judgment
upon the conduct Of the accused. Even this do
only to point out to public reprobation the igno-
rance and incompetency Of the magistrate.
To warrant the discharge Of the prisoner it
must have appeared that he clearly acted in self
defense. Where the charge Is homicide such q
justification il only established by showing that
the killing was necessary to prevent the COM
mission of a known .re!ony. can assault with
intent to chdstise, although the party making the
assault mas no legal right to iniict chastsement,
will not JUSTIFY the party assaulted in killing the
-assall Mt" If strike i, without any weapon
and retreat to wall and there stab A. it will
He manslaushter, which Holt, G: j., said was
denied by any OF the judges.
''For it cannot be inferred that the bare act OF
striking, without some dangerous weapon that
the intent Of the aggressor rose so high as the
death OF the party struck, and unless there be
plain manifestation OF felonious intent. no as
SAINT, however violent, will justify killing the as
sailant under the plea Of necessity. East r. c.
277" But in order to render the killing in these
cases justfable, it must appear that the act was
done from mere necessity, and to avoid the i'm
mediate commission of the offense." This state
ment OF the law is taken from Roscoes Criminal
Evidence, p. 1855 ct seq. The same doc rinc has
always been maintained by our Supreme Court, |
as may be seen in Hennen's Digest, p. $50.
Such is the law. Now, what are the facts as |
proved before the Recorder? Governor Warnoth |
having published very Insulting card in refer.
ence to Mr.. Byerly, the latter expressed the in
tentlon OF Gaming him, which intention was COM
municated to him. Meeting soon afterwards
Mr.. Byerly struck him with cane two or three
times, Warmoth closing in and stabbing twice
permost, and before they were separated, four
more stabs had been inflicted. Warmoth was I'M
hurt except by the cuts received from the cane,
which, in no degree, imperiled his life. The
knife used by him was such as is only used as a
soeapon. Mr. Byerly was crippled in his left arm
so as to BE- practically only One-armed man. and
that fact was known to Warmoth.
He used no weapon and had none on his per-
son We have seen that TO- ests bish the plea of
self-defense it must have been shown that the
life OF the slayer was in imminent peril, from
which there was no probable escape, except by
killing the assalant. Now what evidence was
there before the Recorder tending in the slightest
degree to show that Gov. Warmoth's life was for
q single instant in any danger whatever? Abso-
'utcly none. On the contrary, the evidence dis
tinctly proves that it was not, and the assertion
by the Recorder that it was presents the most ,
tiagtious instance OF the complete subordination
Of truth and official duty to political passion that
even the history Of louisiana, during the last six
years, can furnish. The true people of Louisiana
blush that even the humbIest magistrate can
thus falsify the evidence and violate the law,
CITIZEN
December 81. 1874. :