The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1896-10-15
Case of Lorenzo Foster.
GUILTY OF MURDER IN THE SECOND
DEGREE, ONLY.

4
| DEGREE, ONLY.
So Says the Jury Because DeIibera-
ton and Fermentation Were Not
Proven-Baptist Acquitted For
Want of Sufficient Evidence to Con-
| vict.
The case of the State gainst Lorenzo
Foster and Tony Baptist, the young
negro men charged with the murder of
Carrie Faulkner, particulars of which
were published in these columns week
before last, has been disposed of. The
jury found the former guilty, but fixed
his guilt at murder in the second de-
| gree, the grounds upon which this de-
cision was arrived at being based on
the failure of the State to show pre-
| meditation and delberation in the
commitment of the crime
The jury was composed Of good men,
| most of them to us personally we'll
known, aud it is not our purpose to
| question their honesty or sincerity of
purpose An the discharge of their duty
It was equally divided as to race, there
being six white nlen-and six colored.
While as just stated we do not ques-
on the honesty of the jury there is 70
| diguisiDg the fact that the verdict
was not satisfactory. If they had fail
ed to convict at all there would have
been more paliatlon for the act. Then
it might have been argued that they
did not believe the testimony of witness
MI, a. g.
HIM and others by Foster; that al
though the shoes taken from his feet
| correctly fitted the tracks found near
the house of the murdered woman, and
these were identified by peculiar marks
they bore, by three different witnesses,
yet the State failed to prove that the
accused had been nearer to the house
than thirty yards; that it failed to show
that he ever had the axe with which
the murder was committed in his hand;
that it failed to fix upon him the actu-
al preparation of the deed; and al
though circumstantial evidence was
strong against him, still there was
reasonable doubt in their minds and
the prisoner at the bar was entitled to
such doubt;-w say if this had been
the view taken Of it and a verdict Of
acquittal had been returned it is believed
the verdict would have been more sat
some upon the community.
But they say by their verdict that
Foster was guilty-that he it was who
ruthly took the life OF helpless and
defenceless woman in the brutal man
ner of her taking off. Still, he was not
a fit subject for a severer punishment
than 80 years in the penitentiary-the
full penalty Of the law for murder in
the second degree-if the judge should
see fit to impose it. There was no
premedita ton, no deliberation, no
studied preparation for the murder be-
fore it was committed. that the State
could show to warrant any other YER
dict under the law This, in the face
of the fact that the murderer dealt the
woman five blows on the head with an
axe, three of which it was testified to
were sufficient to produce death; that
there were perhaps dozen more struck
upon her arm and shoulder of charac-
ter to cut and bruise this part of her
person in a frightful manner. Was
there no premeditation and delibera-
ton in all this? Certainly such treat
Dent would hard y be given an inno-
cent and hel pless woman-white or
black--who was struggling to protect
her person and her virtue whatever
misfortune may have overtaken herr
and for which she sacrificed her life, in
q l, n ,yJl III of; cnirit
If Foster had struck the woman one
lick and then gone away, although that
blow had been sufficient to produce
death, the absence of generalization
and deliberat1on might have been es-
tablished beyond question in the minds
of outsiders. But the very act itself
the manner in which the deed was
mmitted-negatiyes that view of the
case in the eyes of the public. And this
opinion is emphasized by the law, as
quoted by Mr.. Hicks in his COMMUNE
cation published elsewhere. He Says:
':True, The court says it requires no
length of time after the deliberation or
generalization and before the killing to
make it murder in the first degree, and
this deliberation and generalization
and attempt to commit felony may be
proved as we'll by the surrounding cir
cumstances, if they exist, as by the
words or acts of the accused, but it
always holds that the deliberation and
generalization must be proved to have
occurred or it is murder in the second
degree only"
Let US apply the law in this case and
see how it works: Foster did not go
there with the intention of killing the
| woman, it may be assumed; but no hu-
man being however low his order ofin-
| telligence would visit the home OF a
lone woman as he did for the purpose
of "hiring'' her as he says without
weighing the consequences beforehand
| and celebrating on the course to pur-
sue if met with rebuff or obstacles
| placed in his way. And failing to ac-
complish his end he made up his mind
then and there to murder her to pre-
vent her from telling on him. Then it
! was that malice entered his heart and
| generalization possessed his mind. The
| next act was deliberation in raining
brutal and savage blows upon the de-
| lenCeleSS lcdu VI HIS flSGi'h ou'ii ~
left her for dead as he thought. If
such a murder does not call for aveng-
ing OH the gallows then case would
be difficult to find, say those who take
the opposite view of the jury.
But, as Mr.. Hicks says, they were
guided solely by the law and rendered
| a verdict strictly in accordance there
with. The ''act to divide the crime
| of murder into two degrees and define
same,'' is quoted in full below:
The General assembly Of, North Caro-
| do Enact:
| SECL1oN l. All murder which shall be
| perpetrated by means OF poison, Tyre
in wait, imprisonment, starving, tor
ture, or by any other kind OF wiifu'' de-
iberate and premejitated killing, Oh
| ,rb;.h cbo II no commit rod in the perDe