San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1886-06-23
A PERvERs1oN OF JUSTICE.
Have Citizens of Texas no Rights That
Detectives are Bound to Respect

The outrage perpctrated on Mr.. David c.
Hagey, Of this city, In the name of law, de-
serves more than passing notice. II will be
remembered by the LIGHT readers that Mr..
Hagey was arrested in this city OH the night
of the third inst, at the instance of Detective
r. .. Bales, of Austin, and spirited away 10
that city to answer II tTumped-up charge OF
completely in the murder of Mrs. sue nan
cock, which occurred December "A, 1870. Mr.
HagCy not permitted to communicate
with his friends in this city, where his mother,
brothers and uncle reside. but was hurrleu
away to Austin, aud thrust into jail. After
trying for five days to secure an examination
he was released on 500 bail, pending
his examination which was set Tor
the Eth inst At that examination not
one iOta of evidence was adduced
to show that Mr. Hagcy was in any way con
nectcd with the murder, or mad knowledge OF
il any more than any other of the innocent
citizens of Austin, to hundreds OF whoml II was
known before il was known to himself. Inc
only ground for his arrest was the sworn
statement Of this creature Bales, who made
affidavit that ito the best ~ his knOwledge ana
belief. IIagcy committed the murder. when
confronted with the witnesses by whom he
DrODos,d to substantiatu his sworn statement,
Bales was so positively COntradicted that the
assistant council for the prosecution, Dudley
G. WOOtcn. retired in Indignation from the
case. There was not offered in evidence by
the state, and a single fact, or uttered
word. or constructive act, to SHOW that
HagCy had the slightest knowledge of the
murder until from one to two hours after ii
occurred. although he was boarding AT the
house and attended party with the daugh-
tiers of the murdered woman that evening.
when the state had closed its case, Dir. Hagey,
for his defense, introduced unimpeachable
testimony to prove that he left the house OF
the murdered woman between and CLOCK of
the night of the murder, and that he was not
within at least a half Il mile OF the house until
he returned with the young ladies at midnight
to find the neighbOrhOOd in the widest eX-
element and the assaulted woman uncOn-
sCiOus from the wounds, OF which she after
ward died. No more complete alibi could have
been proved than the evidence for Mr.. Hagcy
established, and when the motion for dis
missal of the case came before Judge Walker,
il was granted with the remark that lie did
not see what hat man was brought there Tor
These facts are set forth 10 emphasize the
crying abuses that are porpCtrated in the
name of Justice, ami under cover OF legal
forms young man OF excellent character.
Of irTCprOachablc morals of respectable fam
lily, Is dragged from his home aud thrust into
Il fclOns cell on the statement Of leech who
had attempted 10 use him aS a tool TO assist IN
securing the Sl,OJ reward offered for the ap-
pTehensiOn of the murderer. There are no
words too black IN which t. paint the despica-
bic nature Of :hc man who would abuse his
office and pcriue his soul to accomplish moth
ing. unless it was to gain the $1,000 reward.
That this was the reason seems probable from
the letters previously written by Bales TO
HugCy, and also from the fact that when
HagCy was spirited away to Austin he was put
in the same cell with Hancock. against whom
there were suspicious of his having committed
manufacture evidence against Hancock
Bales knew that Hagey was innO-
cent, rs innocent any other un-
suspected citizen, but because he imag-
incd there was Il chance for him to receive
blood money reward, he swOre to what he had
no grounds under heaven for believing, and so
attempted by the most damnabc pcrversiOn
OF his office to bring disgrace upon an limo
cent person. The law should deal sharply and
summary with such men as this detective.
They too are dangerous TO he left at liberty to
prey upon society and lay plans for selt-en-
riChing at the expense of the innocent. There
is something radically wrong in our methods
of criminal procedure when such Outrages
are permissible in the name of the law, and it
is sincerely to be hoped that the law which has
been thus insulted will be Vindicated to at
least the extent Of making Detective Bales
feel the strength of its arm when arragned
before its bar to show cause for making the
oath he could not justify. Cases of this kind
are altogether too frequent, and it is about
time righteous example was made of some
of these society pirates who disgrace the pro-
ipSSiOIi of detective,