The Highland weekly news. [volume] (Hillsborough [Hillsboro], Highland County, Ohio) 1853-1886, 1877-10-04
Prosecuting Attorney.

EDITOR News In an editorial in
your issue of Sept. 27, in speaking
Of me, you say:
-"but his best friends must admit
his incompetency for the Office OF
Prosecuting Attorney. The county
ought to have a prosecutor who is
at least capable of drawing up an
indictment in proper form. Mr..
Dumenil's laundering in the indict-
ment of Nancy Henness, in the in
fanticide case at the last February
term of Court, is believed to have
/ prevented the defendants conviction
of the crime Of murder. There was
probably not one of the jury who did
not believe her guilty of causing the
death Of her child by some means.;
&c.
I would ask, why my 'friends"
should admit my 'incompetency for
the Office of Prosecuting Attorney?
| I suppose from the next sentence,
that it is because I am according to
your idoas) incapable of drawing up
an Indictment in proper form"
The Criminal Code provides by
Section IO6: "The accused may ex-
cept to an indictment by, first, mo-
ton to quash; second, a plea in abate
ment; third, demurrer :: Sec. 107:
"a motion to quash may be made in
all cases where there is a defect ap-
parent upon the face of the record,
including defects in the form Of the
indictment, or in the manner in
which an ofense is charged"
VIII you be kind enough to in
form the public where there was a
motion to quasb, a plea in abatement
or demurrer fled in the case Of
Nancy Henness? VIII you please
inform the public when the Court
decided the indictment was not in
''proPer form?
I deny, without fear of successful
contradiction, that there ever was a |
motion to quash, a plea in abate-
ment, or a demurrer fled in the case, |
or that the Court ever decided that
the Indictment was not in proper
form"
I would further ask you to point
to a single indictment 1 have ever
drawn, that was quashed on account
of 'form" or any other reason? 1
deny that you can do it truthfully.
As to the allegation that, chad the
indictment contained another count, /
charging that the death of the child
was caused by the defendant by
some means a1lkuoagR," I deny that
it was any fault of mine that it did
not. It's the duty of the Grand
Jury to inform the Prosecutor what
they want to indict the accused for,
and it is the duty of the Prosecutor
to so frame the indictment as to COW
.er Just what they find, and no more;
and the fact that the Foreman of the
Grand Jury that found the indict
ment against Nancy Henness, en-
dorsed it "a true bill, is sufficient
evidence that it contained all the
charge they made against her, and
that they were satisfied from the eV-
idenee before them (which was only
the evidence for the State) that she
caused tie death of her child by
drowning.
As to the further statement, that
''there was probably not one of the
Jury who did not believe her guilty
of causing the death Of her child by
some means" while I care not wheth-
er there was OF not, yet I would say,
I know positively that there we're
some of the Jury who did not be
lieve her guilty Of killing her child
by any means.
Hoping you will do me the justice
to publish this in your next issue,
I am, Respectfully,
J. NJ. DUMENIL.
81 n 1O--