Richmond planet. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1883-1938, 1896-11-21
THE JUDGES CHARGE
Condemns the Lynching.
AN ABLE PLEA.
L8WIeSSneSS not to be Toll
era ted.
PLAIN TALK TOA GRAND
JURY.
The Oath of Office. - Was
Randolph Innocent?
NO JUSTIFICATION FOR THE OUT
RAGE EVEN IF GUILTY.

The following is an extract from the
charge of Judge Henderson to the
grand jury of Montgomery county.
Maryland at Rockville, on Monday,
November 8, 1898
1t is one OF the ablest pleas which
has ever emanated from the bench and
places him in the list OF the most dis
tinguished jurists in this country:
AT the last March term of this
court l congratulated the grand Jury
and the public generally upon the
notable exemption of this county from
all crimes of q serious character. 1t is
matter of profound regret that such
congratulations cannot tie repeated at
this term. Since that time an epidemic
OF crime seems to have spread over the
county, and during the entire summer
crime has followed crime in such rap
id succession that the Jail has been
kept crowded to it's full capacity, and
the places of those released on bail
have been Immediately filed by other
! accused persons. so that perhaps never
before in the history of this court has
| there Seen such a number of cases
ready for presentation TO the grand
L ~ AAAhNAtooCAy dHOh Ato
tion. Some of them under charges of
the gravest character.
TIE WORK or FIEND.
TN the early morning of May % last,
an assault was made upon the sleeping
family of Mr.. r Lemuel Buxton OF
Gaithersburg, which for its horrible
| fierceness, atroclty and brutality and
the absence Of apparent motive, is with
out parallel, at least in my experience.
1t was the work of fiend or a mad
man. By this assault Mr.. Buxton, his
wife and his two daughters were des-
perately wounded, and the injury in
fiicted on his youngest daughter Sadie
were such that they resulted in her
death ten or twelve days thereafter.
For the commission of this dread
full crime a Negro named Sidney Ran
dolph was arrested, and after the in
vestigation made by the coroner's jury
who by their verdict charged him with
the perpetration of the crime, he was
lduly committed to the Jail Of thi!
county to await the action of the grand
jury.
ION the l4th of June last, before the
horror and CONSERVATION excited by
this awful tragedy had subsided. ter
rible affray occurred among party o
Negroes attending a church meeting o
some kind at Sandy Spring, which re
suited in the violent and immediat,
death of Clarence Thornton and tn,
lnfliction of severe wounds upon sew
eral others engaged in the affray.
WORST OF ALL.
"But, gentlemen, in its essentia
character and in its deplorable, far
reaching and permanent effects upo
the people of this community and thi
county. by far the worst crime in tn
whole list which will be submitted t
you for consideration and investigs
tion. was that committed by smal
band Of lawbreakers, who on the nigh
of the Sd of July last, made an attac
, upon the county Jail and forcibly ab
! I Quoted therefrom and brutally muI
dered Sidney Randolph, who was cor
J fined therein TO await your action o
the charge of numbering Sadie BuxtoI
THE CRIME OF LYNoHING.
"Lynching under any circumstance
is deplorable. 1t is crime which III
Idermines the foundations of civil go'
ernment. and is a return to or possibl
y a survival of savage idea which d.
J mands the immediate forfeiture of
: life in return for life taken, withoI
l waiting for condemnation and execI
tion by the processes of law. It's pra,
tice is dem0raliZing to courts, jurit
> and the public morals.
There are sometimes, however, col
ditions which serve to palliate, viii
= they cannot excuse, much less justif
. this crime; but none of them existe
in Randolph's case. There was no 81
iden. tremendous aud general on
burst of popular horror and indign
tion clamoring for instantaneous vel
gance. There was back of the Grim
nal act not even the demand or suppo
of partial public sentiment.
NOT APPROVED BY TIE COMMUNITY.
cit is, indeed, doubtful whether. Of
side of the actual participants, the
can be found in the community OF
30 person who is willing to apologize fC
ia much less approve it.
re ut was the deliberately plann,
7e work of q small party of organic
conApiratoFs, who waited for six wee
at after the commission of the crime
n which Randolph was held when the m
t chinery of the law had baen put in re
IN ular operation, with a reasonable pro
te peet that the trial of the prison
would result in his conviction and eX
~ oAAO WnO WhibcQ AuIbntE uI
A they had certain knowledge that {
h, sheriff had left the town and the d
he soner was absolutely without prot'
n, tion, and then stole under cover
te darkness and disguised and commit
's- the dastardly deed,
'fhey are guilty of a needless erin
hn for which there is neither justificati,
ry apology, excuse nor palliation, and
OF der the circumstances the killing
All Sidney Randolph was willful, del
'st crate, cruel, cowsrdly and treacherC
ey murder. COwardly. because had
sheriff been at the Jail the crime wol
'us not have been attempted.
ONE BRAVE MAN NEEDED.
Vas One brave man armed with a Sc
ar of duty, his obligation to protect
the prisoner IN his custody and a revOlN
would and could have successfully
wo sisted the whole gang. TreacherC
or because the sheriff could have rem
In ed his prisoner to place Of safety
he not been assured by persons {,
\ could have contrOlled the action of
lYnching party and prevented the c,
mission Of this crime against the n
esty of the law and debauchery of !
! he lie minds il they would) that no lyI
ing would be attempted OF was {