The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-08-31
&c zoo the oourts 70 BlameP

Within the last few days four men OF
more or less prominence have been shot
to death in towns so near to Savannah
as TO make US feel that we had almost
/ a local interest in the tragedies. Capt.
/ H. o. King was killed in Atlanta last
| Friday by a man named Carr, to whom,
/ it is claimed he owed a small sum Of
money. The evidence at the inquest left
no room for doubt that the crime was
committed deliberately.
/ On Tuesday at Blackville, S. c., Solo
mon Brown, a young man Of consider
/ able prominence, and a state dispensary
constable named Gribbeu, were killed as
! a result Of an alteration between them
Wednesday William Chatfeld Of Aiken,
| S. c., son of the manager of the High
land Park hotel, was killed by a police
man of the town. The facts presented in
the published accounts do not show that
| the killing in either of the instances men
toned was iustifable. They do show,
however, that men are too ready to use
deadly weapons, and numerous other
! tragedies show that they do use them
without provocation with fatal effect.
Are not the courts largely responsible
! for this readiness to use deadly weaponsl
If persons charged with murder were
tried promptly, and punished if found
guilty, would there be so many homicides}
1t is safe to say there would not.
1t is seldom that a white man is con-
victed Of murder, however outrageous the
murder which he committed may have
! been. The reason is that he is not re
| quired to stand trial until he thinks he is
| reasonably certain of being acquitted
| He may be indicted promptly enough, but
when his case is called he applies for
continuance and generally gets it. After
he has been in Jail for time he asks to be
| admitted to bail and his application, as
rule, is granted. Having gained his free
| dom he is in no hurry to be tried, and the
! court does not appear to be anxious to
! have him tried. On one preteXt and an
! other he has his trial put off from term to
term. When the Indignation of the pub
lie has subsidized and the witnesses for the
state have gone to parts unknown, or
have forgotten the important facts of the
killing, his case is called and verdict of
acquittal obtained.
would be indignant if charged with
having permitted the murderer to escape
punishment, and doubtless they would be
sincere in asserting that they did all the
law required of them; but, after all, if
they had insisted upon trial Immediately
after the crime was committed, or as soon
thereafter as it was possible to have a
trial, the chances are the murderer would
have been convicted instead of acquitted
The one great reason that deadly
weapons are used so frequently is the
almost absolute certainty that they can
be used without much danger of legal
punishment. The criminal may have a
good deal of trouble to get rid of the in
dictment, and it may impoverish him to
do it, but at no time, if he is white man,
is he greatly apprehensive of ending his
life on the scatfold.
Until the courts act with more vigor
and greater promptness in bringing those
charged with crimes of violence to Justice
such crimes will continue to be of fire.
quent occurrence.