The Brookhaven leader. [volume] (Brookhaven, Miss.) 1883-1891, 1889-08-29
4 Judge With Backbone.

the prlZe-hgbting cases to degenerate
into contemplate farce alike dis
honorable to the State and utterly
subversive If the ends of justice.
Crazed. rs it would seem, by a species
of low hero worship, a certain class
Of people around the depots where
Sullivan passed, and even the grand
jurors and citizens of Marion county,
were anxious to condone one of the
most defiant and deliberate violations
of the authority of the State that has
ever been witnessed, and let the chief
actors and their aiders aud abettors go
free, or at most, with only nominal
punishment. But Judge Terral, an
tieipating the intention of the grand
jury to shirk their responsibility and
relegate all these cases which
special term of Circuit Court had been
called to try, to- au ordinary cOun-
try justice of the peace, who shared
the position and sympathy of the
jury, called them in and demanded
that they indict or else submit to be-
ing replaced by men who had re-
gard for their oaths.
After Sullivan had been indicted and
convicted,in spite of unwilling jurors
and the subterfuges, technicalities
and sophistries interposed by cunning
lawyers, desperate effort was made to
thwart the ends of the law by appeal
ing to the court for clemency. A
strong oral appeal was made in open
court by two of the attorneys for the
defense, urging clemency, and petit
ton, signed by all the grand and
petit jurors who had been forced I'M
der their oaths and the instructions of
Court to indict and convict, as well as
others, was presented, praying the
Judge to let the prisoner 60 with a
fine only.
However, Judge Terral had the in
telligence to clearly discern his duty,
and the nerve and moral courage to
perform it, despite the sentimental
clamor that had been raised about his
ears. Disregarding alike the petition
of the jurors and the specious pleas
of Sullivan's attorneys, he refused to
fine the champion at all, but imposed
IS he 10 hn ~
Jail.
Nothing would have been consider
ed nicer than for the court to have
fined Sullivan, even if he had placed
the fine at $1,000. Boasts had already
been freely made that Sullivan and
Kilrain would be carried to New
Orleans and given benefit by their
friends to pay all fines and expenses of
the trial; but imprisonment hurts and
placed an entirely new face on mat
ters. That can't be "benefted' away
or atoned for by proxy. 1t also en-
phasized the fact that Mississippi
wasn't after "boodle,' but the vindi-
cation and respect of her laws, and
that prize-fghting is not going to be
"liccnsed" by simply allowing the
violators of the law to go free with
fine. Renaud would no doubt have
received taste of imprisonment also
had the legal proof against him been
stronger.
In this connection, we cannot re-
frain from the suggestion that other
Judges and Governor Lowry would
do well to initiate the splendid ex-
ample set by Judge Terral. Nothing
is easier in this country than to raise
maudlin sympathy for a convicted
criminal-no matter what his offense
and there is no end to softhearted
and thoughtless people ready to sign
any petition asking for executive
clemency, let the crime be assassna-
ton, cold blooded murder, larceny,
arson or what not. What we need is
Governor who realizes this fact land
like Judge Terral, will turn a deaf
ear to all false and sentimental pleas
and let the law be indicated and
justice carried out. If the Governor
will pursue this course, there will not
only be no more prize-fghting in Mis-
sissippi soon, but there will be very
perceptible elimination in the crop
of murders, assassinations and other