Jamestown weekly alert. [volume] (Jamestown, Stutsman County, D.T. [N.D.]) 1882-1925, 1885-10-01
SENTENCE Of THOs. MAGILL.
The Closing Scenes or Case Made In.
tensely Interesting by a Faith.
i full Wife.
(From the Bism arck Tribune.

(From the Bismarck Trbune)
At 2 O'Clock Saturday afternoon Thos
w. MagIll was brought into court ant
sentenced by Judge Francis to three year
and one month at hard labor in the peni
tentiary, In pronouncing sentence th'
judge said:
| This is the time set by the court fol
pronouncing judgment upon the convlc
tion had in the case of the Territory o.
Dakota vs.. Thos. w. Msgill, under in.
dictment for murder, the verdict in the
case being manslaughter in the second
degree. The time for pronouncing judg-
ment has been extended several times at
the request of the defendant, and 1t now
becomes the duty of the court to formally
under the law, inform the defendant OF
the nature of the Indictment and the ver-
dict, and to ask him If he has any legal
cause to show why judgment should not
be pronounced against him. l therefore
say to you, Thomas, that you were in
dictcd by the grand jury of this subdiyi-
sion for the crime of murder, in the Kill
ling OF Melville H. Bessey, committed at
Menoken, In this county, on the 2lst day
of October, 1884. You had two trials
upon this indictment, to which you
pleaded not guilty. On the first trial the
jury disagreed. On the second-both of
which trials were long and exhaustive,
and in which you were ably defended
the jury brought in the verdict of man
slaughter in the second degree. 1t now
becomes my dnty to perform the last act
in this proceeding, AMI pronounce upon
that verdict, the sentence and judgment
Of the court. l now ask you If you have
any legal cause to show why judgment
should not be pronounced against your"
Mag,ll replied, "No sir; l have net"
''lt Is always pleasant to be upon the
side OF, and to extend mercy. l have re-
ceived from several sources requests for
lenient sentence IN this case. One of
these appeals came to me from personal
and steadfast friend, of more than quar-.
ter of q century; another came filed with
those womanly instincts and prompted
by that love and affection, which can
only stir the heart Of woman moved by
the closest ties of kinship-by blood.
That letter prize, and if there were any
temptation that could lead me from what
l conceive to be the path of duty In this
case, that letter would be as strong as the
temptatinn in the garden of Eden. 1t is
easy to ask clemency when those asking
it have no responsibility. 1t is hard to
resist 1t, but for the calling Of duty, and
when Mercy by her pleading beckons US
away from plain duty the plea should not
be acquiesced IN. l have given to this
case more time than anyone else, not ex-
cepting counsel on either side. l have
sat through the long trials, and the evl-
dence is plain and clear before my mind
now. have endeavored to give this
defendant the rights which the law gives
him. With respect to the verdict of the
jury, this court has nothing whatever to
say; but l reflect that there is upon one
side tho public, society, law, peace, and
the welfare of the community; upon the
other side q defendant who unlike many
defendants is not frlendless, because
when q frlendless defendant Genes be-
fore the court, sympathy is rare; but SYM
pathy comes from the ties that bind US,
largely, and this defendant appears be-
fore this court not friendless. He appears
supported by the love, affection and he
roism of his wife, whose affection and
steadfast hcroism to this husband, has
been under the eye of this court daily,
and the court respects and honors her for
it. Were that reason that should
swerve the count from what it esteems to
he its duty, it would be powerful rea-
son, but duty is to be performed by the
court and not by the public; by the court
and not by those who have asked for
clemency. shall take into consideration
the fact that this defendant has been in
custody IN the Jail of this county since
the 2lst day of October, 1884. l shall
take this into consideration, not because
the law requires it, for 1t does not, but
because I believe it to be just. Thus the
court intends fearlessly, calmly and justly
to administer the law in the case"
The court then requesting the defend
ant to stand up, said: "The sentence
and judgment of the court IS, that in this
case Of the Territory of Dakota against
Thos. W. Magill, under indictment for
murder, in which the jury rendered a
verdict of guilty of manslaughter in the
second degree, you, Thos. W. Maglll, the
defendant be confined at hard labor IN
the ptnitentiary of the Territory of Da
kota at Bismarck, in the county of Bur-
leigh and Territory of Dakota, for the
term of three years and one month, said
term to begin at the hour of o'clock IN
the afternoon Of this, the 26th day of
September, 1857
The court then added that the sheriff
would execute the order of the court,
giving the defendant q far opportunity
to arrange any matters that he may de-
sire to attend to, and to that end the
court will extend to him any fair and
reasonable facility in Its power.
MRS. MAGrLL's GRIEF.
For the first time since the opening OF
this most interesting case was Mrs. Thos
w. Magill, wife of the prisoner, overcome
BY grief. As the Judge uttered the
words. "three wears at hard labor the