The daily intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Territory [i.e. Wash.]) 1876-1881, 1877-05-15
French Justice.

There has been another scandal.
writes a Paris correspondent. which
should make Frenchinen ashamed Of
taeii Judiciary and law practice in Grim
insl cases especially. 1t is shameful in
civil cases, tAo. A judges .cn told me
recently that his iather never listens to
lawyers, for bis opinion wss always
made up before he took his seat on tue
bench. The son could not see anything
monstrons in this confession. All judg-
es here receive parties to the cause to
be tried before ,hem-lt the plaintiff.
or defendants choose 10 call-hcar their
er parte statements made 10 private. and
receive much mere courteously people
who bear letters of introduction from
persons in Office than the friendless and
obscure. There - 10 country III the
world where so many iaaocen; persons
have perished by the guiIlotine. or have
lAngu.shed III the penitentiary.
Ia May, 1871. ther. mas found III a
we'll near Douai the mutilsted body Of
man named NoislD. The law author
ities Investigated the matter. The
widow Was strongly suspected Of being
the murderess. but no evidence could lie
collected, and no further proceedings
were taken. Last year a man named
Levant died He bequeathed some
property tn Nolsin's widow She took
the Customary legal steps to obtain pos-
s-sslon Of the legacy The legal author
tiles thereupon ordered her arrest as
her Lu, ,band's assassin. 1t was asserted
that LcvaAt had been intimate with
Nine. Voisin aud that they had held
criminal conversation during her hus-
bands lifetime. No title Of evidence,
however, could be adducci to prove her
10 le - murderess.
This very insuiiicieu.y Of evidence
lei the examining magistrate to order
Nine. Noisin to be placed in solitary
confinement. and she saw no human be
,ng exe-p, the .lailer's wife. who was
ordered ~ press he daily to make con-
fesSion. AID 10 threaten her that her
solitary confinement: would end only
with her confession.
At the end of lij days Of solitary
confinement. during which she heard d
not one word Of her children or family,
or ot the world. she was living immurcd
III "a tomb whose portal would never
open she WAS todd until she confessed
herself to hc "A murd-rr >s-on the one
hundred and iovty-tfth day of this tor
tdfe she sent for the examining magis-
trAte When he came she confessed to
him that she knew the murderer of her
husband: twas Levant. the testator
who had bequeathed her the legacy
above mentioned Tn. examining mag
istrate said she was n liar" and
ordered her b,ck Ia her dungeon, for |
have forgotten 10 say thAt her days of
solitary confinement were passed in a
dungeon She r"maiU.d thirteen days
more /. The duugcor. All then ,he again
summoned the Examining magistrate.
III, ~.i'! 10 h,n
y" "n wish to k,ow the whole ,tuths
hr"", tncu. ,ha' murdered by huS-
band | hs Ike his bead with an nxe |
d'a-e''d him 10 the well. and then. tx
ertug all my strength, with great
tit,Ht threw him into the we'll"
Ihe "Asnlluatiou lsstci several hours.
The poor woman entered into the hi
nnte,t details ia reply TO the questions
probably leading que.'ions) put by the
"XaiuiiIng magistrate, He thcreupon
ordered her better cell, allowed her TO
walk With the other prisoners. aud TO
see h,r family
She persisted in her confession TO the
President Of the Assize Court (here he
always visits prisoners in their cells be
fore trial |, was only when arraigned
for trial she retrac,ed every word. and
declared that she made those d,clara-
tions only under torture. A there MAS
no evidence whatever, she was instantly
acquitted