The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1883-06-09
WANT OF BACKBONE IN JURORS.

WANT OF BACKBONE IN Jthoks.
A curious and sad case of insanity has
just come to light in Washington that has
excited not little comment, and contains
food for considerable reflection of general
and aside from its own peculiar
The information of the par !
ticular case mentioned is contained in the |
following special of very recent date from
Washington: "The GuITEAU case will
never down for good. 1t has come into
prominence again, owing to the TACT that 7.
J. SuEAHY, one of the jurors has gone crazy
and been sent to the st. Elizabeth hospital
for the insane. The case is peculiarly pa
thetic in some points. II is reported that
SmEAHY believed that GUITEAU was insane
and that the jury should have SO found,
but he had not the courage in face Of the
unanimlty of the rest to stand out
and say so. He was also afraid, it seems,
of what he knew was the public clamor on
the subject. Since GUITEAU's execution ii
is said he has been continually haunted by
reflection upon the case, and the conviction
that he had voted to hang lunatic, until
his mind has given way under it. HIS in.
sanity took fierce turn, so that his family
were afraid for their lives. and he has been
placed in a cell at the asylum" If only
the juror in this particular instance were
suffering from the want of courage and
backbone to maintain stoully his honest
convictions, the case would not be so bad
If no one but himself and GUITEAU even
were the victims, there would BIO but little
to say in the premises. But in this one in
stance aside from these two victims, are
many Others who comprise the family of
the insane Juror all suffering from the most
singularly produced cause. De-
tachcd cases, however, in the great
whirl of events and multitudes of human
ity. where every individual has his or her
own private and special skeleton in the
closet, are not worthy of extended notice
unless they be representative in their char
acter. 1t is not often that jurors 60 insane
from having suffered th3lr convictions to be
outweighed by numbers Or stronger.
bat it is undeniably true that jurors are
numerous whose wills have not been strong
enough to sustain their convictions in thous-
ands of the most important cases. The YER
dict of jury in theory is the honest,
sincere and unanimous agreement of the
twelve disintcrested men who compose the
Jury. The verdict derives Its force and COM
mands public approval or disapproval just
as it Is or Is not such a sincere and unani-
nous agreement To say that one man or
any two or three men on a jury prevailed
upon any Of their followers to join with
them in their views OF case, and agree to d
particular verdict against honest co vic.
tions, but simply in obedience to stronger
wills or any other influence but the
dictates of their own minds and con
sciences, as enlightened by the evidence, IL
to at once throw verdict into the JUS
contempt Of the public. But that such il
frequently the case that jurors entertain
ing an honest opinion and convictions in
case are constantly prevailed upon to vot
with the majority and in opposition t.
their own views, is a fact abundantly es
tablished. There is scarcely a man, ant
certainly not an attorney, who cannot re
, call half-dozen instances in which lif
{ itself was involved, where weak.wiled ju
{ rors were induced TO perjure themselye
|, and do justice and the public gross an
r irroparable wrong by agreeing to verde
8 against their best Judgment and homes
= conviction. The evil in fact is commo
8 one. 1t isn't often that public attention
3. called to it by such sensational an
marked occurrence as the one mentiore
above, but general attention is rarely eve
G attracted to abuses and common evils bu
+ by unusual and startling occurrences.
n there is one place above all others in tn
!. administration OF justice, where back bon
J. is wanted, where honest unanimity alon
IS should prevail, il is in the jury-box. Upo
n the agreement of so many confctin
G intelligences, the unanimous and III
n biased and uniniluenced delermii
nation of so many conflicting and suppose
to be honest wills the very safety and wei
y being of society rest. Life and liberty an
= the rights OF property are too sacred to /
" taken away by mockery, and the iur
" system is certainly the most dangerous an
II solemn of mOckeries ii it is not in practiC
what it is in theory. There is but one wa
u to remedy or prevent the evil complains
: of, however, that we can see at present, MI
that remedy lies with the court. II Il
J. courts, in their instructions to iuries, wi
call attention to, and dwell particular
8. upon, this subject, and in receiving verdic
IA exercise special care to discover wheth
10 the verdicts are really the honest G
N preston ofthe convictions of NIL the twel,
il composing the jury, or whether they n
" merely the opinion Of some mer
~ bers with the wills of the remainder |
a. differently quiet the evil will be easily pr
N vented in case after case. There is too lit
@, curiosity and interest manifested by d
courts as to the manner Of reaching
making up verdicts, and the communiti
y and individuals must suffer in conseq uenC
ns Cases such as the above ought to attra
is general and special attention from II
Of judges and attorneys of the land.
IN
n SOLDIERS MOVING ON TIE CAPT A
n. Among the many movements al
Ar schemes that the next congress will have
n. meet and contend against in the furio
n raid that will, so far as appearances go,