Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1886-12-10

menu cOulO 2Qu W lbo WoiSues VI UC hcouCu
by your Excellency when called on to pro.
(2) Your petitioner has been convicted
for a crime that has not been proven COM
mitted.
That the girls death was caused by
drowning 10 not denied. That she was
euen partially snsensible when she entered
the water there is doubt expressed by
"perhaps." Upon this word hangs the
theory IF crime. Should not your petit
toner have the benefit of this doubt The
only ground for the 'sperhaps'' is knot
or swelling'' on her forehead. (Sae DR.
Tayor's. record, page 60 DR.. Taylor
washed the mud from her face Oh the en-
bankment when she was taken from tb =
water after 10 o'clock. He did not thea
see the ''knoI," though he noticed several
'.trifl,ng abraslons. Would he have failed
TO have seen it had 1t been there at that
Glmes He did not see it until neat dag
rhe budy had been s.pulled along in the
mud" tor thirty feet before taken out OF
the water. May it not haye been caused
by the forehead coming in contact with a
Urick OF something as The body was pull
I'd along on The mud" and consequent y
came there after he had washed the mud
: from her face ? This is more reasonable
shan to suppose that 1t was there and not
seen by this careful expert
Your petitioner respectfully submits thai
| In. theory of 'scuffl )" on the embank-
uen5 is completely dlsproved by her
placid look" and the condition of her hair
aud clothing. The tracks prove that
there had been no scufaa between man
aud yofaan. for in thar Case the mans
tracks would have remained and the
| W mans destroyed AS it was, only the
| woman's tracks we're there and 1.-TWO heel
tracks, apparently mans.
The food IN her stomach and the c0ndi.
tinn of her body Indicate the hour Of her
| 0eatil. By the condition of her body the
hour would be by or O'Clock Of ~
| morning IF the 14lh. AS to the food, Dr..
| TAYLOR SAYS; add six hours to the time
| she last partook of food and you would
have very accurate idea of the hour of
| her DEATH (--) She was last seen
| to partake of f,-od at dinner between and
P. M. the 18th lat the hotel. This would
bring the hour of her death before T.
III. Carefully considering the evidence
az to her returning to the hotel after
leaving at about 2. M. there is nothing
TO prove that this was not about the hour.
If she ate after her dinner it was not at
the hotel, but after she left there. between
and Z p. M.-how long after is not
| known-this would bring the hour of her
death after IL CLOCK that night. Take
either hour as the time and the evidence
proved your petitioner at his hotel, nearly
| two miles from the reservoir. To say the
least, the Commonwealth testimony
leaves the hour of her death in doubt.
DIR. Taylor stated after the post-naortena
examination, and when there was no ex-
element about the case, that it was q
case of suicide and not of violence" And
at the trial the medical facts are not in
| consistent with the theory of suicide-they
do not prove it, either for or against it.
! AS to the motive to take her life, your Pc
| titiOner will content himself, with simply
but emphattcallu denying the motive
charged to him without proof To go into
| the details Of this charge would cast re
| Elections on the dead. which your petition
er has no desire to do, and only result IN
casting suspicious upon the living without
furnishing conclusive evidence. None had
better reasons for taking her life than
she. These reasons are too apparent to
need being mentioned here. They all served
to make the seeming quietness and forget
fulness of death preferable. She gave ex.
pressiOu to this feeling to the conduct OF
! on the train coming to hichmOud, show
| ing that her mind was IN the channel
| favorable to suicide. 1t may be presumed
that her mind was in this condition when
she reached the Dupstans. on Reservoir
street, the only friends she is known to
have had in that part of the city. It il
not for your petitioner to dig down into
the grave of the dead girl and gather there
the knowledge of her movements, which
are buried with her dust; but the suppo-
sltlon is reasonable one that, leaving the
red shawl upon their fence, she goes down
| that street until she reaches the reservoir
only few hundred yards beyond, and
there, with only G dis eye to pity, she
| buried all her shame and faults beneath
those waters, knowing hat the worlds
cold frowns would then be mellOwed into
tears of pity and forgiven ess.
One of the Judges of the Court of Ap
peals, after admitting oil Of the evidence
of the Commonwealth to be true, and aftel
rejecting the evidence of your petitioner,
declares that the Commonweal has new
er proven that crime has been commit
| ted. Your petitioner asks the careful
consideration of this opinion. togathel
with all of his evidence in his case. He
respectfully submits that it would be 9
physical impossiDility for person OF BIZ
size and strength -undeveloped by bard
labor-to take this woman. as heavy as
or perhaps heavier than himself, and
raised her, in sebseless. Timber condition
from the ground aad thrown her over
that fence, clear of the sloping eInbank-
ment into the water beyond. She Ger
tainly could not have been stood on her
feet inside of the fence, and then thrown
face foremost into the water, as the Com
monwealth claims. for it Is also claimed
that she was senseless and Timber.
To show how the presumption of in
nocence" operated to protect your petition
er, he presents with that petition a pub
lisned interview, that has not been denied
with one of the jurors, who states that the
| most damaging thing against your petl-
toner was his not being able to account
for himself during the night of the 18Th.
This with refusal of his counsel, to have
hey opened:
Nv. H. p. Berkeley (dry goods clerk al
Lansburg 4 Brothers on Seventh street
| Washington was next seen and asked:
Have you signed Cluver1us'S petition!
l have not, he answered.
Have you been asked?
] have not.
Would you sign the petition asking the
Governor to pardon hun?
would not.
Would you for communication to impris
onment In the State prison for life?
Not expecting to be interviewed I con-
slider that question rather premature. II
is thing that requires some thought be.
fore answering. 1 would not like to dc
so without some additional facts wert
made known which were not brought out
by the defence during the trial. The
most damaging thing against Cluverius-
nay. might say his chain of evidence was
broken by his not being able to account
for himself during the night of the 18th
and the refusal of his counsel to have the
key opened and examined by joel. Dis
palch, Nouenber, Is, 1885,"
Your petitioner was almost stranger ir
this city. If the life and liberty OF mar
is made to deperd upon his ability t.
prove that he was at u certain place at {