Union County courier. [volume] (Elk Point, Union County, D.T. [S.D.]) 187?-1913, 1878-05-29
NUMBER q.
PARALYzED soouupRxrrsr.
How an English Criminal Tstsued Pa.
ralysts to Escape Puntshment.
FrOuA the l.sndon Tele~rsnh

L who could only feebly plead equity
e E to the charge. alleged against him, eth
g infliction you are suffering under" sal
9 the Judge, surpasses any punishment
> can give you! I" Had Nealc been il
4 ordinary health he would undoubtedl
. . have had penal servitude, for is was no
0 his first act OF felony, but who could fin,
, the heart to carry out the extreme riga
. OF the law in the case of . poor sou! wh,
would, to all appearance, never again b,
: able to rise from the pallet on which b,
! lay, writing in all the agony Of an injur
ed spine. So much did his Lordship Zee
this, that, having first sentenced him t.
eighteen months, his conscience seemed t
have smitten him, and he reduced it te
twelve. 1t appears that in October last
Neale was spprehended for stealing q
mare, the property of Mr.. John Smith,
OF Luckington, and was lodged in NAL
mesbury lookup, previous to his trans
mission to Devices. On the following
morning, when the police visited bis cell,
they found him lying on the floor un-
able to move. Hisstatement was that he
had got up to look out the window, when
he fell backward across the corner of the
bedstead, ard injured his spine. Medical
advice was obtained, and his sad condition
at once appreciated. In fact he appeared
to be almost irretrievably injured, and
to be suffering the greatest agony--and
to remove a man o distance of twenty
miles under such circumstances would
have been the height of cruelty. He
accordingly remained at Malmes5ury
for nine weeks, during which time eyery
thing which humanity could suggest to
mitigate his sufferings was resorted to.
A person was kept in constant atten-
dance upon him; all kinds of nutritious
things were ordered for him, such a.
roast fowl, grog, &c., and his comfort
was studied with the utmost solicitude,
at the end of nine weeks it was thought
that he might bear the journey to
Devices, and in January last q convey
ance was obtained (bel0nging to M.
Walter Powell, M. P.) long enough to
hold bed, and, with great care and no
little anxiety, he was brought to the
county Jail, and was at once carried to
the infirmary. Two men were specially
deta led To his necessities and minister
to his comfort; for the medical officer
and another doctor he brought with him
to zee the case" were (like the medical
gentlemen at Malmesbury) both of the
opinion that the poor fellows spine was
seriously if not permanently injured.
In this melancholy state he was brought
before the judge on Friday last, and
general murmur of pity, amounting
almost to a shudder, ran through the
court as those present beheld the pallet
with the injured lying helpless upon it
A breathfe1 silence prevailed o. the
poor fellow was sentenced to twelve
months imprisonment, and the pallet,
with its occupant, was carried back to
the prison.
To prove q former conviction the
deputy governor of Gloucester Jail had
been summoned to Devices, and, on going
over the Jail, close inspection enabled
him to recognize in Neale an old "inva-
lid" with whom he formerly had to deal.
Holloa," said the deputy governor, a
ne scanned the countenance of the Grip
pie. Holloa! what, at your old game7"
That fellow" said he, " il an imposter.
There is no more the matter with his
spine than there is with mine." Impos-
sible, it was thought. The deputy gov
ernor must be deceived. However, Dr.
Clapham, the medical officer, thought it
worth while to communicate with the
surgeon Of Gloucester Jail, and the reply
he received 50 entirely confirmed the
deputy governors statement that he
determined to test the point in such q
way as should put it beyond doubt that
Neale was really the great sufferer be
appeared to be or an arrant knave. Taking
with him DR.. Carless and Mr.. Waylen,
be went to the prison ON Sunday last,
and, having pus the man through severe
examination, the previously formed
opinion of the doctors began to waver.
Still the man protested that his suffer
ings and his injuries were real, and he
seemed totally unable to move. To put
the matter to further test galvanic
battery was introduced, and the 'shocks''
were turned on pretty strong. All, how
ever, failed to produce the expected
result. The man was no more able to
move during and after the " shOck5' than
he was before. 80 the doctors left. The
morrow came, and ~ it came, 80 it found
Neale lying in the same position ~ he
had lain for six previous months-if poe-
sible, in greater pain than ever. Regard
less, however, of all demonstrations Of
suffering. The electric machine was
again set to work, and 80 sharp was the
effect that the leg which appeared most
effected by the spinsl injury began to
move, until at last, unable to stand the
shocks any longer, the fellow jumped out
Of bed, and in . few minutes afterward
walked across the courtyard to obtain
his prison clothes, ~ 1.-the and agile ON
his pins as any man in the prison walls.
A clever scroundrel! Electricity has
produced many wonderful results, but
none more wonderful than its eject upon
Charles Neale. 1t il to late to 1--WE 6im
the desert (of penal servitude) which
would inevitably have awaited him but
for his "pitiable condition."