Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1897-09-03

| as is generally supposed, that the COM
| plete remains be produced; any portion
that may satisfy the jury that death
has occurred, and the portion exhibited
is proven to be a portion of the dead
body in question, seems sufficient, yet
1t would seem in an age Of refined, or
subtle crime such as this, that soon
this necessity will have to be overlook
ed. In more ancient times the produc-
ton OF signet ring has been accepted
as conclusive proof OF the owner
death. 1t is almost an impossibility,
however, to destroy every vestige of
the dead body. We subjoin here, brief
ly, the particular case which, more
than any other, reaffirmed and empha-
sized the necessity of the production
OF the corpus deficit. This case will
be found accurately stated and more at
length in Phillips Evidence.
One night, or evening, two sailors
quarreled on board a vessel going to
sea. One struck the other a terrific
blow with a marlin spike which
knocked him overheard into the water
Boats were lowered and a search made,
but the missing man was not found.
The sailor making the assault was plac-
ed in irons, and at the first port was
handed over to the Authorization trial.
He was convicted and sentenced to ex-
ecution. To counsels objection that
no dead body had been produced, the
judge ruled that, as the testimony
showed that the blow was of such force
as to produce death, and that the body
having been seen by several sailors,
from the time of tho blow until it
struck the water, that this constituted
a viewing of he dead body sufficient to
meet the requirements of the law.
Some time before the date set for the
execution sailor wandered into town
and upon learning of the state of af-
fairs, declared that the sailor supposed
to have been murdered was not dead,
for he himself had met him but a few
days ago in neighboring town.
He was taken before the Judge and
reaffirmed his story saying that he ~rao
he knew the fellow well. A respite
was given the prisoner. ana seaiG
made for the missing sailor Lfo "ao
r,,1u1 III a uUwu near the one Wnere ne
had been seen by his old companion.
Taken before the judge, he said that
the night of the quarrel that he was
knocked insensible, but upon striking
the water, he regained a sort Of dazed
consciousness, and instinctively com
menced swimming. The reason that
he was not picked up was that he
swan from the vessel instead of toward
it, and after remaining in the water
some time, was picked up by a vessel
bound for the Bay of Biscay. He in
time returned to England and was sur
prised and sorry to learn that his old
comrade was charged with murder.
The convicted sailor was therefore
released, and the judge declared that
thereafter he would never consider
case involving murder unless the dead
body was in actual evidence.
Entirely too much stress and import
ance are given these rare and isolated
cases by the counsel for the defense,
and, as recent writer expresses it, it
seems that our laws in their present
drift, are becoming safe guards for
crime; this seems a rather eXagger
ated statement, however, when we con-
slider the great number of convictions
in the past few years for crimes of a
mysterious and covert nature.
BARON JONES.