Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1882-02-10
Guiteau Sentenced to Death.


Guiteau, the assassin, was sentenced to
death last Saturday morning. After the
motion for a new trial had been overruIed
Guiteau. who had been permitted to re-
suma his seat at the counsel's table, called
ont. .sIf your Honor please, desire to ask
if there is any motion that l ought to
make to rescue my rights"
Scovllle tried to prevent his speaking,
but he retorted, "Weil, don't want any
advantage taken Of me. want to know
how much time [ shall have to prepare my
appeal to the court in banc."
Mr.. Scoville-Please keep quiet, we
haven It reached that yet.
Guiteau with much excitement)- L
won It keep quiet; am here and propose
do nv own talking.
.Jndge Cox then informed Mr. Scovllle
OF the rules of practice applicable to the
fl;pe of his exceptions, and after this mat
fer had been arranged Col. Corkhill re-
nnwed his motion, saying: sit is now my
duty TO ask for the sentence of the Court
Judge Cox Ito prisoner]:-Stand up
Have YOU anything to say why sentence
should not now be passed upon you?
Guiteau (still sitting)-I ask your Hon
or 10 postpone sentence as long as possible.
Indie Cox-stand up. Have you any
thing to say why sentence should not now
be pronounced upon your
The prisoner then arose, pale. but with
Iips compressed and desperate determina-
ton stamped upon his features.
10 "a low and deliberate tone he began,
but soon his manner became wild and vio-
lent. and, pounding upon the table, he de-
hyered himself OF the following harangue
az am not guilty Of the charge set forth
in the Indictment. 1t is Gods act, not
don It let the American people forget It
He will take care of it, and every officer OF
this Government, from the Executive
| down to that marshal, taking in every
man ON that jury. and every member OF
| this tencb, will pay for it, and the Anne
4 fican nation will roll in blood if my body
| goes into the ground and [ am hung. The
Jews put the despised Gallilean into the
grave, and for a time they trinmphed, but
at tbs destruction of Jerusalem, forty
years afterwards, the Almighty got ever
with them. l am not afraid of death.
am here as God 8 man. Kill me to-mor
row, if you want to. am Gods man, ane
I have been from the START
|
sentence, addressing the prisoner as fol
lows:
"YOu have been convicted OF a crime 81
horrible in it's circumstances and so far
reaching that it has drawn upon you thu
horror of the whole world and the eXecra
lions of your countrymen. The excite
ment produced by such an offence made i
no easy task to secure for you fair an(
impartial trial; but You have had the pow
er of the United States Treasury and Gov
| eminent in your service to protect you
person from violence aud to procure evi
dence from all parts of the country. You
have had as fair and impartial jury a
ever assembled in court OF justice. YOl
have been defended by counsel with Yea
and devotion that merits the highest eco
MUM, and 1 certainly have done my bes
to secure fair presentation OF your de
fence. Notwithstanding all this you hav
been found guilty. 1t would have been
comfort to many people If the verdict 0
the Jury had established the fact that you
act was that of an Irresponsible man. |
would have left the people a satisfying be
lief that the crime of political assasslna
tion was something entirely foreign to tn
institutions and civilization of our coun
try, but the result has denied them tina
comfort.
| lu6 COuuGIy Will dCCcpU III do d Law UllGJ
crime can be committed and the cour
will have to deal with it with the highes
penalty known to the criminal code T.
serve as an example to others. Your Ca
reer has been SO extraordinary that peopl
might well at times have doubted you
sanity, but one cannot but believe tina
when the crime was committed you thol
oughly understood the nature of the Grim
and it's consequences.
(Guiteau-''I was acting as God s man.
''And that you had moral sense and COL
science enough to recognize the moral in
guilty of such an act"
THE Prisoner-"That's matter c
opinion.'0
''Your own testimony shows that 20
receiled with horror from the idea. Yo
say that you prayed against it. You sa
that you thought it might be prevented
This shows that your conscience warne
you against it, but by the wretched sophls
try of your own mind you worked yourSe]
up against the protest of your own COB
science. What motive could have induce
you to do this act must be matter Of con
lecture. Probably men will think tina
some political fanaticism or morbid desir
for self-exaltatlon was the real inspiration
for the act. Your own testimony seem
to controvert the theories OF your counse
They have maintained and thought hor
estly, 1 believe, that you were drive
against your will by an insane impulse
commit the act; but your testimony show
ed that you deliberately resolved to do il
and that deliberate and misguided will wa
the sole impulse. This may seem insanit
to some persons, but the law looks upon
as willful crime. You will have due or
portunity Of having any errors l may hav
committed during the course of your tris
passed upon by the court in banc, but i
the meanwhile it is necessary for me t
pronounce the sentence of the law, tina
you be taken hence to the common Jail G
this District, from whence you came an
there be kept in confinement, and on FRI
day, the Both DAY of June, 1882, you be ia
ken to the place of execution, within tn
walls of said Jail. and there, between th
hours of IL M! and P. NJ, you be hange
by the neck until you are dead. And ma
the Lord have mercy On your SOUL"