The Indianapolis journal., 1890-05-11
SOUTH CAROLINA MOB LAW.
Hopeless View of Charleston Paper-Ths
Lexington Outrage Absolutely Indefensib ie.

Hopeless View of a Charleston Paper-The
Lexington Outrage Absolutely Indefensib ie.
Charleston News and Courier.
The lynchipg at Lexington assumes q
darker hue at every turn. 1t MAS abso-
lutely without excuse or justification. It
cannot be defended upon any ground of
necessity, or expediency, or right. There
is not a ray of light upon the whole sicken-
Ing. tragedy.
The affidavits and statements submitted
to Judge Wallace. upon whose recommen-
dation Governor Richardson granted q re-
spite to the condemned man. serve to in
tensify the hideous character of the butch
cry which was committed by the mob on
'i Wives and % dauShtsrs a @ n0H These affdayits S @
and statements were published i'll the
News and Courier yesterday. They show,
in brief that no outrage was committed
upon the person of Rosa Cannon, and that
the mob murdered man who was certainly
was, in all probability, not concerned in
the assault which was alleged to have been
committed. Miss Cannon herself testites
that no such assault was committed. and
the strange negro from Columbia" who
went to Simeon Corley's house on the
night of Jan. 26. for the purpose of get
ting something to- eat and some money.
There was no evidence TO connect Willie
Leapheart with the attempted robbery,
and all the facts go to show that the mob
In Lexington murdered him for an imagi-
nary crime. The Developments in this case
constitute most appalling commentary
npon the blindness and lawlessness of
lynch law. A horrible mistake has been
made and the life of an innocent man has
been taken to crafty the brutal passions of
an irresponsible and unthinking mob.
All this were bad enough, but the whole
of the story has not been told. At the in
quest of the body of Leaphart on Tuesday
a - ru I'm n inx
he came to his death by gunshot wounds
inflicted by unknown parties" The sheriff
swore that K. G. Caughman announced on
the streets that he had had the negro
lynched;" that the sheriff had identified A.
Marks, standing outside the Jail with fifty
or seyenty-tive men, that Pierce Taylor
said he had been in the Jail on the night of
the lynching, and that he had
seen Jim Ogleby read the paper.
claring that Governor Richardson and
Judge Wallace were responsible for lynch
law in Lexington, and that "our wives and
daughters must be protected at all haz-
ards" The sheritfs wife swore that she
man, A. Marks and Pierce Taylor by their
voices Coroner p. S. Corley testified that
Pierce Taylor and Tom Seay had said that
they were in the Jail on the night of the
lynching. In spite. however, of all this
evidence-the positive statement of Caugh-
man that he "had had the negro lynchedn
and the statements of Taylor and Seay that
they had been in the jail on the night of
the lynching-the coroner's jury. after de-
liberating for ten minutes. returned a YER
diet that Leaphart had been killed by per-
sons unknown to the jury, Surely there
was never SO shameful travesty upon
Justice. so outrageous defiance of the duty
which good citizens owe to the State.
We do not wonder that 1.-The verdict was
a surprise and disappointment to Solicitor
Nelson, who directed the Investigation of
the crime 1t will be o surprise and disap-
pontment if the solicitor de not exhaust
all the means within his power to bring the
perpetrators of this inhuman deed to ius-
tice. 1t will be surprise and dlsappoint-
ment If the law-abiding people of Lexing-
ton do not take the necessary steps to wipe
out the foul stain which has been placed
upon their honor and civilization. We
shall despair of the State if such n crime
is suffered TO go unwhipped of Justice