Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-10-23
THE CASE OF TERRY,


The colored citizens of the District, and
more especially the pastors Of the local
churches, are much perturbed over state
ments that there Is In circulation a petit
ton for the pardon Of ex-Policeman Terry.
who was recently convicted Of an assault
with intent to kill Willis Washington, a
colored man In this city. who subsequently
died. Terry Is now serving a term of i'm
prisonment In the penitentiary at Albany.
These colored citizens say that the pun
ishment visited upon Terry, was eXtrGordi-
narily light, and they contrast it with the
sentence, which was inflicted recently upon
two negroes, who were convicted of the
same crime, and received the fun penalty
of the law.
This matter engaged the attention yester-
day OF the Ministers Union which is com.
posed of all the Baptist ministers OF this
city, and some from Virginia and Mary
Iand, me meeting was held in the vestry
room OF the Mt Carmel Baptist Church, OF
which the Rev. W. p. Gibbons, Pm. D., is
pastor. Rev. II. Clay Robinson, the pres
ident OF the association, presided. After
the devotional exercises. the first thing
winch occupied the attention of the con
terence was counter petition, which Will
be presented to the President, asking him
not to interfere in tho Terry case, but to
allow the law to take its course.
The attention of the ministers was d.
rected to the matter by the president OF
the union, all the papers were passed around
from minister to minister, and each one
attached his name to it. There We're about
one hundred ministers present.
The Petition.
The petition is as follows:
1T having come to the knowledge Of the
Undersigned that petition will be pre-
scented to the President of the United
States asking for the pardon Of ex-lolice-
ma Tor rx,I,A
sault with intent to KILL and sentenced to
the penitentiary for three years. we there
fore beg leave to protest against the grant
ing IF pardon for the following reas sons:
lst The assault was unproyoked, UNI
necessary and of the most brutal cruelty
and wholly ineXcusaDle.
ID The sentence Of the court WAS light.
IN view OF the enormity of the offense,
pushing mercy to it's extreme limit
3D. A pardon of Terry would be taken
as a license to the police to continae their
outrageous conduct toward the colored pop.
Tla;iOn of the District
4th. The lives of colorel persons are
heic at too small value: there being an I'M
written law that no white person shall he
punished for numbering a cClored man in
this District.
18th. We firmly believe that the we'll
Known Immunity from proper punishment
accorded policemen for their vicious as
sauits upon colored persons encouraged
Terry to fire the shot which terribly wound
Ell and ultimately caused the death of Viii
lis Washington.
9th. We feel that the coicred citizens of
the United States residing in the District Of
Columbia are entitled to the full protec-
ton OF the law, and that light sentences
and speedy par6ons for assaults on their
rights, only aggravatc and encourage crime
against them
The petition is also to be presented at
the several churches on next Sunday and
the pastors Will urge upon their parish
toner's the importance of entering their
protest against the pardon. The petition
VIII also be presented to the Union League.
the Equal Rights Council. the secret and
benevolent societies amorg the colored peo-
pie for Signatures.