The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-07-18
DEFENSE BY MURDER.


The murderess, Emma Connolly, has been
acquitted. This was expected, and nobody
will be surprised at the result of the strial."
1t will be remembered that Miss Connolly
was slandered by certain man named
Steedly. For this offense he was publicly
horsewhipped by two indignant relatives of
the young lady. Questioned afterward con-
corning the allegations he had made reflect
ing upon the character of Miss Connolly, he
explained that he had told nothing but the
truth, but that he had not thought that his
words would become public, he did not
wish to do her harm. This, coming to the
ears of the young lady, rendered her SO
angry that she resolved that nothing less
than the life of the man would satisfy her,
so she sought him out at Sunday-school two
weeks ago and shot him. There is some
show of justification in the idea that
woman should be allowed to de-
fend her good name. But there are
certain objections to proceeding to
the length Of committing murder, so that
few ladies think of such a terrible thing.
Even taking it for granted that the accusation
was wholly false and malicious in its every
feature what possible good could it do the
lady to become self-appointed executionerand
kill her traducerY AS the case now stands,
with the man beyond the possibility of reply
ing, there remains doubt of the young ladys
innocence of the charges for which she has
voluntarily committed murder. It has the
appearance that she feared to let him live,
lest he prove what he had said concerning
her. AS it is, she is safe so far as any word
can come from the lips of the man she assas-
sinated. If it were right that this man
should be killed, it is a scandal on the male
relatives of the lady that they did not take
it upon themselves to attend to the bloody
business There is that in the commits
sion of murder that does not become
woman, and must ever leave on her stain
that she cannot wash away. It is brutal to
take human life, and especially after delibera-
ton. The man who does SO, except under
the greatest provocation and in the heat of
passion, is not the kind of man that society
cares to honor and trust. How much worse
for woman to do such thing! Miss Con-
molly may be as pure as snow and chaste as an
icicle, but now she is nothing less than MUIR
deress, and tainted with the suspicion that she
was afraid to let this man live lest he prove
what he was killed for. She is not the kind
Of woman man would care to make his wife,
the mother of children. There is nothing
delicate or attractive in The thought that she
had fvindicated her honor" by taking
the life Of man, no matter how
grieyously he had wronged her by word
of mouth. Had her life been wholly
above reproach, there would have been no &C.
casion to resort to the crime of assassination
it would have been its own best defense, and
the words Of SANDER would not have furnished
it, however painful it may have been to have
suffered such an infamous assault It is we'll
for the world that the women in it are not of
the kind Miss Connolly has proved herself to
be. The world stands in need of women who
will not feel called upon to shoot and kill
when scoundrels assail their regulations. The
slanderer should be punished in the seyerest
fashion, for he richly deserves it; but pure and
good women are not obliged to become MUIR
derers in order to convince their neighbors
that they are pure.