Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1876-09-21
FlOgging in NeWgate.

OIu OlItlutI uc Was UTl6u dU the Cen
trial Criminal Court in T ebruary, 1S7O,a
for similar offense, and upon the oc-
casion he received twenty-five lashes,
the charge against him being that of
assaulting and robbing a lady in the
street. On the present occasion he
was convicted of assaulting a young
lady named Sarah Ethel Barber, in
the neighbOrhood of Lincoln's Inn
fields, and, after pushing her down
with great violence, he attempted to
steal her watch and chain, but being
interrupted, he made off and succeed
ed in getting into one of the courts in
Drury lane, inhabited by persons of
such desperate character that his pur-
SuerS were afraid to follow him, and
he escaped for the time, but was APP
pretended on the following day, and
identified as the party who was guilty
of the charge. Theprisoner was tried
before Mr.. Kerr, and several previous
convictions were proved against him,
in addition to that for which he had
received the former fogging, and the
learned Commissioner, observing that
the punishment of fiogging appeared
to have had the effect of lettering
criminals from. repeating offenses of
this description, and that this was al
most the only case he remembered in
which it did not seem to have had that
effect, sentenced the prisoner to two
foggings of twenty lashes each, at an
interval of a month, and then to be
kept in penal servitude for ten years.
Although in this case the for
mer fogging did not appear to have
had it's usual lettering effect, the pris-
oner evidently had fearful dread of
the punishment; and, although more
than six years had elapsed since it was
inflicted, he looked forward to the
flogging he was again to receive with
the utmost alarm. He repeatedly APP
piled in the most piteous terms, to Mr..
Sidney Smith, the Governor, to get
him relieved from the in1iction of the
fogging, saying that he was i'll, and
knew he could not bear it, and that
the Governor could get the punish
ment RENTED if he thought it proper
to do SO. The prisoner was a short,
thick-set, powerful fellow, twenty
seven years of age, and it was quite
evident that all his appeals arose from
sheer currishness. DR.. Gibson, feel
ing fully persuaded that this was the
case, and that the prisoner statements
as to his illness were entirely without
foundation, certified that he was in a
fit condition to receive the punishment.
Very shortly before the time appoint
ed for the inf1iction of the fOgging the
prisoner again piteously appealed to
Mr.. Smith not to let him be f1ogged !;
but the appeal was, of course. fruitless.
Directly he was brought into the place
where the sentence was to be carried
out the culprit began to howl most
piteously, and entreated the Governor
and Dr.. Gibson not to allow him to be
logged, and a shake Of the head
being the only response from these
officials, he then appealed to the
Warder who stood ready with the
cat, prepared to do his duty,
not to lay it on too hard, for he could
not bear it. The prisoner struggled
violently with the warders who were
in attendance before he could be fixed
to the whipping block, and when the
first lash was administered he shrieked
out, and implored all to have mercy
upon him. His contortions were so
violent, and he threw his head around
in such an extraordinary manner, that
the Warder who was engaged in the
duty of administering the punishment
had great difficulty to avoid striking
the prisoner in the face, and the result
was that the prisoner by his .maneu-
vers did really escape some portion of
his punishment, and the lashes were
not inflicted with that severity they
otherwise would have been. Still the
prisoner seemed to suffer acutely, and
when Mr.. Mcpherson, the principal
warder, called out the number g TWEEN
ty," denoting that the whole number
of stripes had been completed, and the
prisoner was released, he pretended
to faint, but the stern observations of
the warders not to have any nonsense,
speedily brought him to himself, and
he walked quietly away to his cell.
He will be kept in Newgate until the
time arrives for him to receive his
second installment," and he will then
be removed to the Model prison at
Pentonville to undergo his term of
penal servitude.-Londoal Telegraph.
Aztec Society.
nrn4 he l. II