The Arizona sentinel., 1888-05-05


 seen that all the doors and windows of the house were securely closed. The houscmaid in coming down stairs that morning had found the drawing room door and one of the windows open. but as there was no evidence of force having been used it was sup posel that they had been opened from the inside. There was no evil dence whatever 10 fasten the crime upon any one. Suspicion fell by turns upon Mir. Kent. the nurse. and upon daughter of the former by his first wife; but nothing was discovered sufficient to justify the committal of either for trial. The young lady had been heard to utter expression of dis like against the murdered child. and had on several occasions shown some slight degree of jealousy towards him. A night dress of hers was miss ing and no satisfactory accounts were | given of its whereabouts, but there was nothing more. As was very natural she had shed tears when in- formed of the cause of her arrest, but had borne herself throughout the ex- animation with wonderf ul fortitude and apparently with the utmost con- seriousness of innocence.
 Shortly afterward she entered a a semi-conventual order connected with the Church of England. remain ing in seclusion about five years. when she voluntarily came forward, con- fessed herself guilty of her brothers s murder and was committed to take her trial for the crime. When ar- raigned she pleaded guilty to the in- dictmont and on her plea alonr, with out any further inquiry and without even the case being sent to the jury. she was condemned.
 From the report of the trial I make the following extract:
 "At inc O clock the learned judge took his seat on the bench and the prisoner was placed at the bar She stood firmly but meekly. with her eyes east down and her hands clasped be- fore her.
 ''Silence having been proclaimed the Deputy Clerk of Arraigns said:
 "'Constance E mile Kent, you are charged with the wilful murder of Francis Laville Kent on the 29th of June. 1860 Are you guilty or not guiIty?'
 Prisoner: Gin a low tonc): Guilty.
 ''Jud ye: Are you aware that you are charged wi having wilfully, intentionally and with malice mur- dered your brother?'
 1.-The prisoner made some answer, but in so low a tone that it could not be heard.
 "Judge:I must repeat the ques- tion. You are charged with having wilfully, Intentionally and with malice killed and murdered your brother. Are you guilty or not guilty?'
 Prisoner Gin low tonc): Guilty.
 Judge: The plea must be recorded. '"
 The judge. evidently kind and gen. erous-minded man, then assumed the black cap and with great feeling in which the prisoner joined with hys- terical sobs, sentenced her as his duty and the law required. And thus with out any inquiry into the character of the influences which had been brought to bear upon her, and the tendencies of her disposition while in the religious institution, the sanity or insanity of her mind. her ante ccedents, her hereli- tary predisposition or any other point which might have served 10 throw light upon the case, 10 lesson her crim- inality if really guilty. or to weaken the force of her plea if innocent, Con- stance Kent left the court convicted of the highest crime known to the laws of man. If innocent. her case is one more added to the long list of others mOnomaniacs. ecstatics. enthusiasts, hysterical persons and liars-who have confessed to the commission of offenses which they did not perpe- trate. If guilty, she is, so far as l know, the solitary instance of an individual confessing to a crime and being sentenced to death upon no evidence than that of admis- sion.
 Men and women before this, in the face of overwhelming testimony against them. or while in a drunken debauch. or on their death-beds, or standing on the scaffold with no hope of escape. or unIntentionally. like the robbers in the Cranes of Joyous, con- fessed their crimes; but if any crimi- nal or sane mind has ever yet volun- tarily supplied all the evidence that could consign him or her to an igno- minious grave the case has escap ed my observation. It can not be doubt ed that during her sojourn in the semi conventual house in which she re- mained nearly five years Constance Kent was subjected to influences cal- culated to act with morbid force upon a mind already of abnormal charac- ter. She knew that her father and others had been accused of the murder of her brother. and that even 10 that day the suspicion was not altogether removed. She had been taught that self-sacrifice was glorious thing, and she knew that she had only to come forward and accuse herself of the crime in order to free her father and at the same time immolate herself That these were sufficient motives can not be questioned; that they were potential with her is, I think, reasonable