Richmond planet., 1896-05-02

OF lawyers TO persuade Jurors tC do
wrong. It Ger ainly comes not within
the sphere OF professional honor TO ask
jury to turn amurderer loose upon the
community Now, my friends, let us
go TO the record of this case.
Who is charged with the murder of
that poor helpless woman? The pri-
soner at the bar She is the individual
you are trying. But it comes out in
the argument of this case, that she is
charged with having Jointly in connec-
tion with Pokey Barnes and Solomon
Marable committed this murder.
What does it mean2 That Solomon
Marable, Pokey Barnes and Mary Aber-
nathy entered into a conspiracy to
meet at Old Man Pollard's, murder his
wife and take away from them this
money.
THE QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER.
We are to consider whether Mary
Abernathy was party to the commits
sion of this murder Now, what are
the facts that the commonwealth rely
| to aid you in coming to that conclu-
sion? 1t is that Mary Abernathy was
the last person seen on the porch OF
/ vrs. Pollard and she must account
/ for herself or you are TO consider el
guilty of the murder. Suppose you
| Mr. Hunt had been on a visit to Mrs
| Pollard on that dag, rs ii has fire.
Iquently happened TO me, rs it has fire.
IQuently happened to you no doubt
Mr.. Pollard had left you sitting on tha
porch and in five, ten or fifteen min
utes you had hidden her goodbye anC
in five or ten minutes she had beer
murdered and you had been called Il
4 81, f>t do. ,>f pol
Il lard
In the name of God, what other an
swer could you make than that yo
bade her goodbye?
WHERE MARY ALTERNATELY WENT.
Where would you have gone? 7
! your home Now. the testimony
that Mary Alternately went to her hom
No body denies that. Now, gentle
= men of the jury, you must considt
the facts. the condition and the col
lduct of the party charged with tn
crime. Now, it is a fact that this mul
u der was committed in the sunlight,
d, 1.-THE broad open day. There is no que
tion about that 1t is also a fact, an
l am repeating my friend, Southal
: that it was also committed for the pu
: pose of robbery.
Now, say there is not one partic
{ of testimony to produce the slightes
the remotest, the most unconsequeI
tial suspicion that Mary Abernathy
= lconcerned in this crime except thi
= which the commonwealth is pleased
/" call her admissions.
b TO REASON TOGETHER.
= Now, my God, let us think. Let
reason together and let us know VIII
IL we are doing. l say that that woman
d conduct that day as far as we know,
l. was perfectly consistent with her i
r nocence and went to establish her j
IN nocence.
10 Where was she at three o'clock tn
10 day2 She was at her own home. VIII
did she leave it and why did she lea
y it? She left it because her husba
y told her to go to Mr.. POllard's house
see what the bell was being rung
&c and it was being rung at very unst
." sonable hour of the day.
Mark you, according to the theory
the commonwealth that woman h
been conspiring to commit thatmurd
~ She ent Co Pollard's house almost
!; the hour when she was about to conn
the murder and she found the husba
-Ft VI bllO ldO WhObO lllC sic was W Va
"a She had the courage to hold a cow
ou sation with Mr.. Pollard, his wife q
y Mary Barnes, to discuss the method
- getting bugs off his vegetables,
~ drink his water and with dark crime
ns her heart to sit on the porch and
- allow him to leave her sitting on
~ porch with the lady upon whom
ed "a was to spring and destroy.
THE POLICY OF THE MURDERER.
But what is the policy of the m
he derer? Does he saunter off from
ar seat of the murder and take his sea
,ut his chair? And / undertake to
ith that never since God made man,
Ter body ever committed murder in t
ice way.
Why, when the sin of Eve and Ad
he was committed, which brought sin
on on all mankind, conscious of tt
he guilt, they made aprons of fig-les
and put them about them and
ite themselves. And so it has been v
by the commission of crime through
ch, ages.
ian Is there a man on that jury, one
lu- itary man on that jury who, if he, {
ing templated the commission Of
It a crime would have done so in that "
his Men some times in the heat of blt
tn would kill man, but what one, i
the was done for the purpose of robl
would have acted in that manner.
s DRASTIC COMPARISONS.
the What do murderers usually dor Y
our it is to do as did the creature who n
dered this woman. 1t is to fee
we wrath to come. 1t is to get aV
ith Now Mary Abernathy was at her h