The comet. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1877-1882, 1879-11-08
Ihe Acquittal OF GuIIy--.-JndfciRI
Murder i'm New Hampshire.


Gen. Stewart L. Woodford, on hi,
3 return to New York, stated in regarC
to the trial of Gully in Kemper county
charged with the murder of Miss CHS
holm, that the jury was fairly drawn,
that the rulings of the Court were cor.
rect, that counsel for the State did thei1
full duty, but complains that the iury
found Gully not guilty. The great er-
ror. or wrong, whichever he may call
1t, then' consisted in the fact that twelve
Jurors, duly sworn to render their YER
dict according to the evidence, gave the
defendant the benefit of the doubt and
acquitted him, though Gen. Woodford,
an unsWorn spectator and the escort of
Mrs. Chisholm, by whom his mind had
been poisoned against every one not of
her party, thought they should have
found him guilty.
Is it at all surprising that verdicts of
lurles are contrary to what people think
they should have been ? Are not the
papers in the North filed with criticisms
upon jury verdicts in that section of
the Union ! Has not Gen. Woodford.
as prosecuting officer, often been as
greatly disappointed at Yerdicts in the
Y. 5. Court as he was at the verdict in
the Gully case
The only stain upon Mississippi.
growing out of this trial, is, according
to Gen. Woodford, that jury acquitted
guilty man, though counsel and Court
dld their duty. This is q small charpe
compared with judicial murders that
are sometimes committed in the North.
but about which We hear nothing from
Gen. Woodford and his party. Notably
among them was that of a man named
Buzzell, who was hanged at Concord.
New Hampshire, this past summer No
where IN the South was such an act of
Judicial brutality and murder perpetra.
ted. The facts as detailed in the New
York Herald were as follows: Buzzeu
was arrested for the murder of a woman
VINO had suit pending against him
'no whose testimony against him would
lave been damaging. The proof was
lear that the woman was assassinated.
he evidence against him was circum.
tanclal. He was lodged in Jail and
indicted for the murder. After hearing
he evidence and the charge of the
Jourt and able arguments Of counsel
or and against, the jury found YER
net OF not guilty. He was discharged
nd went about his business as before
is arrest Some time after. a half
Tilted fellow who had lived with Buz-
ell, told that he knew all about the
lurder-that Buzzell took him to the
lace, sighted the gun, and cooked it
Id stood by him and made him pull
le trigger Upon this statement thew
ere both arrested and lodged in ialI:
le witness was indicted as principal
id Buzzell as accessory before the
ct. Buzzell was put upon his trial
st. his plea of former acquittal was
,erruled. The half-witted fellow tes-
led to the above facts. The iury
und Buzzell guilty. His counsel ar
led that the conviction was wrong.
cause the facts showed that if Buzzell
IS guilty of any crime it was as prin-
pal, being present aiding and abet-
lg, and not that of accessory before
e fact. But all in vain. The Court
erruled the objections and sentenced
u to be hung, The case was carried
the supreme Court and the judg-
mt affirmed. The pardoning power
S appealed to, but in vain. The Leg
lture, then in session, was appealed
but IN vain, and Buzzell was hung
Now, Gen. Woodford, can you find a
'allel to this case in any Southern
tie! 1t may be that juries are too
en- carried away by false sympathy.
acqult the guilty but no instance
be found in the South where Courts
'e held that a man who has been
ID and acquitted as principal, can
IN be tried, convicted and hung as
essory before the fact. We com
nd the judicial murder of Buzzell to
consideration of the stalwarts who
Ight in slandering the Southern peo-
and hope Gen. Stewart L. Wood
may find time when not engaged
'scorting Mrs. Chisholm aroundj to
mine the Buzzell case, and tell us
ch is better for the country, jurles
make mistakes on the side of mer-
or Courts that perpetrate Judicial
der q?