Nevada County picayune., 1889-02-20
HANGED TOO SOON.
What Circumstantial Evidence
 Did fot an Innocent Man.

Oid tot an Innocent Man.
 The lawyers were talking about circumstantial evidence and several remarkable cases. in which innocent persons who had been condemned were mentioned. says the Brooklyn Citizen.
 ''Perhaps the most singular case of the kind" said lawyer, lis one which is recorded on the books. and is pretty old. It gave rise. as l un. derstand. to the change in the law | requiring the body of murdered person to be found before any one can be punished for the crime.
 1.-Two merchant sailors went to an inn in an English seaport. To make the story clearer, I'll calkthem Jack and Tom. Jack pulled out well. filled wallet to satisfy the landlord that he and his friend could pay their way, They invited the landlord to drink with them, and Tom produced big Jackknife curlously handled, to cut his tobacco. The inn was close on the harbor. The front door opened upon the quay, and at the side was a covered way which led to the sleeping-rooms in the rear Near by on the quay were stone steps down to the water for the accommodation of boats,
 After the two men had had a good time they retired to one of the rooms in the rear, where they were to occupy bed together. They were both just sober enough to know what they were about. The next morning spots of blood were ob: served u0on the floor of the covered way, from the door of the bed-room occupied by the sailors, to the quay. The landlord went to rouse up his guests, but found only one of them there. It was Tom, and he was fast asleep. and required great deal of arousing. When asked where bis cqmpanl9A was he appeared confused and alarmed, and said he did not know.
 "On the bed-clothes and floor there were large spots of blood. The water in the basin was bloody, and the towel showed that bloody hands had been wiped upon it. The jack knife, seen the previous evening, in the possession of Tom, was found upon the tahle, and was likewise stained with hlqod. Under Toms bolster. on the side next the wall. a wallet was found filled with money, and was identified as that which Jack had exhibited the night before. Ev- erything so far pointed to murder, and to Tom as the pernetrator, the authorities were notified, and Tom was arrested. He told a very re- markahle story.
 ''He said that when he and Jack were about to get into bed, Jack sug- gested the idea of robbers, remarking that it wouldn't take a very clever fellow to get in at the window, and, as they were likely to sleep soundlY after their carouse, 1t would be easy for theft, if he got into the room, to rob them. Tom had already got into bed, and was lying next the wall, so he suggested that all their money should be put under his pillow. It would be comparatively easy task, he said, for thief to draw the wallet from Jacks pillow, but it would be much more likely to rouse one or the other of them if a thief attempted to reach over and take the meney if it was placed under Tom's pillow. This suggestion wa9 adopted, and the wallet belonging to Jack was placed under Toms pillow. Soon after they got into bed, Jack complained that his nose had began to bleed, and arose: He poured some water into the bowl, and tried to stop the hleed- ing. Then Tom arose and assisted him. Finally Tom said that he had heard that cold metal placed at the back of the neck would stop hleed- ing at once, and thereupon he got his big jack-knlfe, opened it, and