Evening journal., 1896-02-18
A DAnksrous Precedent !.

n DAuA1E0ua EIeC9ueut.
Regarding the justness Of the verdict
rendered Ia the case OF Brown and Swan,
the two Fsrnhurst asylum attendants
convicted Of siAJing Laou Pisa. an Italian
inmate. there isa dlHsreocs OF opinion.
with the weight In favor OF the prisoners
A Jury OF twelve men has declared that
thsy are guilty Of manslaughtsr. and
that verdict must stand nntil new one
is rendered, should the unfortunate men
be 50 lucky as to get new trial.
One thing may bs said for the Jury
aud that Is that IL certainly served tho
ends Of justice by scqultrihg Lynch. FOR
there was absolutely no testimony which
went to show that be WAS, directly CT
Indirectly concerned in the killing OF tn
italian.
In view Of that verdIct We doub. thn
wisdom Of the state In holding him under
bail for appearance ct the May term o.
the Court Of General Sessions to answer
to two charges Of assault and battery
upou Inmates Of the Institution.
One OF these assaults is alleged to have
bsen committed in 1891. and the other In
1884 Going back 80 far into the history
Of the institution makes It appear that
the state is reduced to desperate straits
to get a legal hold upon man whom Il
WAS unable TO convict OF murder In the
second degree or msnslaughtsr. It smseks
OF persecution rather than prosecution.
and We do not believe that any twelve
men can be found In Nav Castle county
who will bscome parties to II The fact
that the state WAS forced to &, back
four or 6ve years to fad ground for =
charge Of assault and blttery Is proof
positive that Lynch Is not as black a. he
has been painted 10 print aud out OF
Print
The usefulness OF our asylum will DO
greatly impaired, aud tbs safety aud
liberty Of It's officials threatened II thsy
are to be rendered subjs cot to the charges
Of dIstFaught inmates.
NAPLES war a good witness for tbs
state. He told straieht story but It Is
not impossible that Cakes or some other
enemy OF Lynch. Brown aud Swan
coached him 80 effectively at the asylum
that be came to believe all that be heard
and detailed 1t with terrible efsct. Men
of dIstempersd minds eau tell very
plausible stories, and not only tell them.
but stick to them
There is IN the asylum at the present
tins Sussex county man who could, II
placed on the wltnsss staud make II
exc,sdingly unpleasant FOR the Delaware
railroad officials. who be claims. have
robbed him OF lands aud valuable
securities There is an old woman there
who claims an ex- governor aud two
other prominent citIz ,ns Of Dlswars As
her sons. aud Is willing to Prove Il at any
time, =, d uuder tbs ruls OF court which
admitted NAPLES to the stand these men
may be called upon at any time TO prove
their right 10 the names which they bear
Several thrones. particularly that OF the
Qlee1 Of SAebs. would b, In sopArly.
we're Inmates OF the asylum to se be-
lleyed, and their stories abound Ia =
bewildering mixture Of fact and dstiol.
With al dns rsspsot to the bsnch. we
balieve that the introduction of insane
men - witnesses against sane men is a
dangerous precedent to establish, for It
leaves. in the minds OF this public, a
reasonable doubt As to shs guilt or inno-
oet &C OF the accused.