Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1886-03-27

there was no considerable provocation in
that case, and if a man of ordinary self
control, man whose head IS generally
clear, could have, under those circum-
stances, avoided the very transaction that
occurred here2 But counsel on the other
side will argue to your Honor that there
was cooling time: that he had heard this
on Thursday night. and by Sunday had
ample time to COOL" His vile and chill
dren around him, his gray-haired wife
broken-h hearted, his home destroyed-what
kind of food is this with which TO cool
man? The more reasonable the man, the
more self-controllable the man, the longer
he broods over it the less control he would
have. He sees the doors of the houses of
tier friends forever closed against his
daughter, her life wreck, and the destroyer
! there seeking her out to do her personal
injury, and perhaps to take her life.
WHAT KIND OF COOLING FOOD IS THIS?
Where is the man in the State of California
who will sand up i'll public and say that
under such circumstances he could cool in
few days. On Sunday morning he had
seen Sheriff Beamer, and had talked with
hlm concerning these derogatory reports.
He found tina. they had gone forth not
only at the depot in Sacramento, and on
the streets in Woodland, but thar they had
come to the knowledge of the public Off
GERS OF the county. ] say then, taking this
evidence altogether. taking the constitu-
honal power with which your Honor is in
vested. that You should grant this defend
ant bail. Coupling the facts with the
absolute certainty that the defendant will
appear for his trial, | do not think that
there IS Court in this State that will say,
. conscientioasly and iudiciaIly, that this is
case VI murder without considerable provo
cation II il is not considerable provoca-
ton, then it is impossible to arouse it in
the breast OF human being. The facts
and circumstances of this case show moth
ing more than case Of manslaughter If it
shows that
( Your Honor has a right, in examining
( this evidence and the facts in the case, to 20
further. | believe that you have a right 10
ask yourself the question, Can twelve men
ever be found in the State Of California.
who, under these circumstances will inhict
the death penalty on this defendant2 The
usages of the people make the law | say
/ that your Honor has q right to take that
question into consideration. And | have
no doubt that you will determine that it is
one of the mpossibiliiies-ihat it is one of
the things that never can be expected Ii
is one of the things that the law of God
and OF human nature will forbid and pro-
hibit. Twelve men will never ba found in
any civilized country who will say. under
these circumstances and considering the
him, and the fact that
NO MAN KNOWS WHO COMMENCED TIns
AFFRAY,
Who turned the frs finger. or who raised
the first hand. No jury will ever say that
this man should be led TO the seafiold and
executed-for what? Counsel on the other
side will say that the defendant said he had
q right to defend the honor of his family,
/ and that he deliberately went out to xiii
Mr.. Craft. After the thing was over, after
the scene had taken place ne said to Mr.
Pendegast: " Yes, | believe that every man
has right to defend the honor of his FAM
ily." Every good and true man says so.
/ YOur Honor and myself say So 1t is part
of the Penal Code of this State, 1t is L part
of the organic law Of this State. il a part of
the law of nature that every man has a
right to defend his family. that every man
has right to protect those who are near
and dear to him, and God forbid that that
law should ever be changed. 1t never Will
while true manhood existss
We ask your Honor TO say in this case,
in the exercise of sound judicial dis
cretion " ! am satisfied that bail will Sc
cure the appearance of this defendant
As | have said, there is one universal rule
which runs through the decisions in every
State in this Union, that if bail will secure
the attendance ofthe defendant, that he shall
i4bt W IN lIlSOllCu lili ltiSDufilell DSIDIG
trial is never imposed for any purpose ex.
cept to secure the attendance OF the defend
ant. Taking into consideration that he is
an old man and is not near as apt to leave
as younger man taking into considera-
ton that his race of life is nearly run, then
ask yourself whether or not the interests #
Justice will not be as well sutsarvcd by adj
hitting him to bail as by keeping him in
/ prison. We are ready to give bail in any
I sum your Honor may indicate-reasOnable,
we ask, of course. | may truthfully say
| the representatives of the homes and fam
/ lilies of Yolo county are here saying to
your Honor by their presence, We are
ready TO 90 on this mans bond for any
amount. We have known him for thirty
/ years; we know every hair of his head
/ we know that he is right, and when his
/ trial is called he will answer ready for trial
/ before jury Of his countrymeB ready
and willing; glad to receive the verdict
! that will be- that must be rendered under
I the facts of this case
Argument of Henry f. Eightou, Esq.
! lfyour Honor please the writ of habeas
/ corpus is the great writ of right, Itbecame
part Of the unwritten constitution OF
Great Britain before our Government was
| formed. 1t became part Of both our Fed
eral and State systems from the time when
those systems were organized. 1t has re-
manned from the period of the Declaration
of Independence down to the present mo-
ment in every State and in every Territory
within this Union, recognized and an in
dispensable mode of procedure In the
! ninth section OF Article / Of the Federal
| Constitution it is provided that that right
! shall never be suspended except in certain
& CrNaf ti.lt. b IA
here to advert In Article 3 OF the amend
rnents to the Federal Constitution, it is
provided that no man shall o. deprived Of
/ his liberty without due proc ~ Of law, and
/ the right to the WI: of AaLeas corpus is
due process of law. That declaration in
the fifth amendment to the Constitution Of
the United States is reat1irmed in the four
teenth amendment, Section where it is
stated that
NO STATE SHALL ABRIDGE TIRE PRIVILEGES
Or THE lMMUNITIEs OF CITIZENS
OF the United States, and among those
privileges and immunites is that of n re-
sort to the writ of habeas corpus. The
jurisdiction under the writ of habeas cor
pus is one III which Courts are only bound
by legal principles and by the precedent
that the full benefit of the writ itself shall
be awarded to every person who seeks 10
! employ 1t for the purpose Of procuring bis
Iiueldhou nun liupflSOHucilt5 cllner BY
discharge or by admission to bail Now
| the writ Of habeas corpus being so knit
into our judicial institutions, I apprehend
| that the State which attempted even to
abrida,e or limit, and, much more, to deny.
the full and free exercise OF the writ, would
not have even a republican form Of gov
eminent. And, therefore, when you come
to inquire into the meaning of constitu-
tlonal or statutory provisions in relation to
that writ. you must bear in mind all the
history and all the precedents by which
| that writ is surrounded, and realize the
fact that no power exists, even in the peo-
pie themselves, within the jurisdiction Of
the State, to deny or to limit or to abridge
its exercise.
Now, then, what has tie Constitution Of
this State undertaken TO do with respect to
that writ 1t has simply attempted to give
| TO 1t more extended application to make
it more vitality serviceable than it was be-
| fore the Constitution was adopted The
writ OF habeas corpus TO admit to bail, be
fore this State was created. could be award
ed III any and every case where 4 criminal