The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1892-02-10
CaDital Punishment.

Our .neighbor, the Greenwood Observer, Is
opposed to capital punishment, and reasons
with kindness and force against the execution
Of murderers.
The law in this part of the State has long
been dead letter, and juries, in violation o
their oaths and In utter disregard OF the pup
lie good, have uniformly acquitted men OF IN
fiuence who have slain less preteptious neigh
bors no matter how slight the provocation.
We believe that no jury in Abbeville coun
ty has ever convicted man who had iriends
for killing a friendless neghbor, and we al
know that friendless men have been murder
ously killed with impunity in this county
Some of us, at least, believe that jurors. In or
. der to exculpate murderers, have themselves
voluntarily ruined their own characters ano
blackened their own souls In the estimation
of q respectable public by rendering verdicts
which were contrary to the facts, the law
and the evidence.
While we believe that Jurors have commit
ted perjury in some Of their verdicts, we are
as firmly convinced that our judges haze, al
times, acted most reprehensibly in granting
bail.
If the criminal law was rigidly enforced fol
O1eQceS aRdluSI luC POaSoh, WV AAe1'SAS ~
ple of this State would have some protection
and those citizens who now take the law Into
their own hands would be less ready TO shed
human blood.
II those who put pistols in their pocket
with murderous intent, and who so oiten
, plead IN extenuation for their crime most
cowardly fear of their victims, knew that
they would be held to a strict accountability
for their innate cowardice many murders
would be prevented.
The Observer reasons against capital pun
ishment. Such reasoning is unnecessary In
Abbeville county. We neither execute nor
imprison white murderers. By the Kindness
of our Judges they are not even required TO
lie In Jail until the day OF their mock trial
when their formal acquittal by perjured
Jury of their countrymen may be legally re-
corded.
II the shooting Of a neighbor was an offence
which was punishable by execution or in-
prisonment, there might be reason to plead
for mercy for criminals but as long as we have
jurors who are willing to perjure themselves
and who will not convict white man OF any
/, crime, the Observers tears are needless and
the Observers Iabors against capital punish
ment is Just that much thrown away.
). We Join the Observer In sympathy for the
I con victed murderer who now lies in A6be-
Vile jail under sentence Of death. This mur-
derer Is stranger amongst us-a railroad ne
gro-belonging to a neighboring county.
AS Abbeville county does not punish white
men-not even by imprisonment-for the
crime of murder, and as but few negroes have
suffered the extreme penalty of the law for
similar crimes, we trust that Governor Till
man may commute Dan Thomason's sentence
10 life imprisonment. We believe Dan Thom.
ason killed his co-laberer by hitting him on
the head with his axe; we believe he robbed
his victim we believe that, he threw the body
OF the slain man into Coronaca creek; we be-
lieve his crime was murder. pure and simple.
But as our juries make 1t the rule to acquit
our own native murderers, we think the
stranger would be sufficiently punished,
and the law might be satisfied Win
life imprisonment. The jury did right TO COR
vict him. To have acquitted him would have
been TO commit perjury, as others have done