The Abbeville messenger. (Abbeville, S.C.) 1884-1887, 1885-11-24

pared nj the instance OIL the Court.
Governor Sheppard urged in support
Of the motion for bail that it would be a
severe penalty upon these defendants if
they were confined until the next term
Of Court. They were
GENTLEMAN OF
in tho community in which they lived
not ordinary violators os the law. He
would venture to say that there. VAS no
community in South Carolina whore IN
equal number Of men could be arrested
| VIII" would represent 81 much cha, acter
as was represented by these OFFEND
ants.
| Gen. Butler said that n very different
condition Of things existed now from
what existed when the first application
fol- bail was made. These men. he re-
minded the Court, had voluntarily sur
rendered themselves to the sheriff; they
had been confined in Jail for six weeks
or more, and the ends Of Justice had
been fully subserved. The defendants
were l~aw-abiding citizens, not vaga-
should say that they had been un-
justly dealt with. Erroneous and ex-
aggeratcd impressions had been circu-
NV iScPSStlts thchls llSSe lIlpTCS-
sions had been circulated by artificial
means. (the telegraph and the defend
ants had been almost the victims Of n
"hue and cry" After all, the people Of
Edgefield were more concerned about
this case than anybody else, md he
would venture the assertion that there
was not a man in old Edgefield who
asked anything else than u full, fair,
| frnn nnl D>~o~s1 Tl..
is what the defendants demanded for
their W characters. for their families
and for
THE CHARACTER or OLD E~DGErIELD."
The General, in to
the invitation Of the Court tc express
his views, said that it was the province
Of the State only to call the attention Of
the Court to the law Of bail in criminal
cases. The whole matter in the phase
IN which it was now presented to the
Court was n question solely in the dis
erection Of the Court. AS matter Of law
the defendants were not entitled "ot
right" to bail after bill found. The
Court was fully advised Of this, and must
act on its W responsibility. Tho coun
sci who represented the State were glad
that the duty and responsibility Of de-
Gliding the question was transferred
from them to the Court.
This ended the apparently inexhaus-
tible argument, and the Court at once
proceeded to render it's decision.
THE JUDGE GRANTS BAIL.
"When the grand jury returned a true bill
against the defendants" said Judge Hudson,
h-,al Tha o.ssN~ e. I'LL
not be considered as a matter of right, but
only as q prayer to the Court for the exercise
Of the power conferred ON a Circuit Judge by
the common law. Under ordinary circum-
stances, after a "bill found" the Court would
not admit a defendant to bail but there
might be extraordinary circumstances un-
der which bail might be allowed. In this
case, to have granted bail before now, would
have been the exercise of a judicial discre-
tion, which would not have been warranted
by the circumstances of the case. At the
time when the application for bail was made
the Judge of the circuit was literally ON
his way to the locality to hold the Court.
At this stage Of the proceedings, how
There are thirty-one men confined in the
county Jail. We are now on the eve of win
ter; the jails are admitted to be badly and
insufticicntly furnished; to keep that number
upon The county. The Court cannot ignore
these facts. The circumstances arc such a.
the Court cannot but regard as cxtraordi-
nary and PECULIAR and, therefore, with no
intimation of any. opinion ns to the weight
of the evidence the Court will, considering
the peculiar and extraordinary circum-
stances OF the case, grant the motion for bail.
The order for the renewed bail in the case of
those who have already been bailed will be
signed. Their bail was only for their appear
ance to answer to q true bill. When the par
ties have been arraigned their bonds will
have expired, and they must be peliy-
cred into the custody of the sheriff until
they have boon released by due process of
law. All tho defendants will be required to
give bail iu the sum of $500 cach."
This ended the Culbreath case and
Courthouse and Jail were both spenily
cmptied. The prisoners all gave bail
within an hour, and after spending a
short time in town repaired to their
homes. leaving the nnrivnlled Jones,
the only performer Of a triple murder,
to his W pleasant reflections, the only
occupant of the county Jail.