Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1886-11-05
CASE.

,ase Of the young lawyer cow
waiting execution for the murder OF MS
cousin, governess, does not seem TO
diminish in active interest since his rate
has been assured, but appears rather To
take on deeper public concern. Inc
Governor of Virginia in whose hands lies
the power to pardon or commute, Is re-
ceiving letters daily from this and other
States, written in the prisoners Denall.
Some of them are rather curious. One
written by gentleman in Baltimore, over
fifty years of age. asks the Governor TO
commute the sentence to term less than
.. life sentence, the idea being that he Is
,, Young man and the Governor should
| "piye him one mere chance of doing good
in life.'' A lady writes from Norfolk ask
ing that his life be spared as life Is zoo
divine to be sacrificed through clrcum-
stant1al evidence" A gentleman writes
from Georgia that ''no American snouio
| be hanged on this testimony" and ex-
| presses the opinion that the jury and the
Supreme Court of Appeals were both
Influenced by "the tide of public opln-
| ion," A gentleman writes from N orthamp-
ton county in this State, asking that his
life be spared and saying that somehow or
other he ''has deep sympathy with
, him. A young lawyer writes from At
lanta. Ga, asking his pardon on the
ground that he is "the subject of public
preiudice and that his life is to be given
as an Offering to appease the same" He
thinks, however, THAT an unconditional
/ pardon is out of the question, but COM
| mutation seems to be demanded by the
| circumstances of the case" A college
mate, for four sessions, of Cluverius, now
| living in New York, asks that his life be
| spared as he cannot believe, from his cor
rect conduct at Richmond College, where
! he was Railways polite, kind and hospita-
ble," that he since has drifted so far
away as to be guilty of the crime of which
he is accused.
Despite, however, the evidences of SYM
pathy the prisoner is receiving, the ex-
pressed doubts of his guilt, and the hun
dreds of signatures to the petitions for
his life. it is an memorable fact that the
accused holds his life in his own hands
If he could make statement of his Whsre-
abouts on the night of the radlder, sus-
tanned by any reasonable evidence-or
even REASONABLE degree Of probability
whicha@ .<rot fall before an investiga-
'eMSl sis little doubt that his petitions
would receive the signatures of thousands
| of humane men and women in the Com
monwealth. But if he cannot do this; if
| he throws no light on where he was or
what he was doing on the night of the act
with which clrcumstaDtial evidence has 30
closely connected him as the perpstrator,
the Governor cannot be expected to inter-
| fere, When the prisoner was arrested and
| informed of the charge against him, he
promptly told the officer that he. was at
Mozart Hall on the night of the murder
| and that be could account for himself all
| during that night. But On his trial he
| put in no evidence to sustain that state
ment, nor in his appeal, nor petition for a
rehearing have his counsel ever touched
on that point in an explanatory way. That
explanation, and his own life, both lie in
| the hands of the accused-if he Is inno-
cent