The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1900-07-12


Society and Regardless of the Oath
Taken to Sit Together, Hear the
Evidence and True Verdict Give Ac.
cordingly, Jurors are too Often In
fIuenced by Blind Prejudice or a
SickIy Sentiment Against Pronounce
ing the Penalty Prescribed by Law.
The following from the Wilson
Times, although referring to local
matter, applies to the whole State:
Whittier are we drifting? This
question may well be asked by the
quiet, conservative, God-fearing citi-
zen, who desires to obey the law, to
see justice done, and in turn prays
the full protection of the law. And
naturally, the second question that
presents itself with startling force is,
have we any law, when it comes to
the punishment of criminals whose
crimes are punishable by death ac-
cording to the letter of the law, when
they have in cold blood, and with
malice aforethought, deprived their
fellowman of the priceless boon, and
something to be desired more than
anything else in this world, that
something, when it ends. all else ends
the right to live and breathe and
enjoy the blessings God has given
him, which is his privilege as much
as his slayer's?
Several times during its short
career the Times has pointed out the
tendency of our juries, the care with
which they are selected by the shrewd
lawyers of the defense, the advantage
the defense has to select men whose
prcludices or sentiment may be
| worked upon, or whose opinions as to
their right to find fellow man guilty
of murder were so negatived that this
question in their minds was allowed
to preponderate, and the guilty man
escaped. We have also called atten-
tion to other murders that deserved
nothing more nor less than the hang
mans moose, and the guilty culprits
| were either turned loose upon the
community or sent to the penitentiary
| to do service for short time. The
penitentiary having no terrors for a
| large class Cf our criminals, this we
| consider practically no punishment
for so heinous an offense as murder.
But this case of which we are about
to speak, that was, in the short space
| of an hour and a half, decided ''not
| guilty." in the character of the kill
| ing, the cowardly, cur-like manner in
| which it was committed, for hellish
brutality and fiendish deviltry, has
never been excelled in the annals of
this county or in any county in the
State. We wondered at the time of
its commission how our people could
| restrain themselves, but they did, and
it proves that the people of this COM
munty are patient and law abiding,
and is compliment to them, but not
to the juries who are straining to the
greatest imaginable tension our peo-
ple's love of order and obedience to
law.
We understand that almost all the
jurors thought it necessary to have
witnesses to testify who saw the gun
pointed and the trigger pulled before
they would have brought in verdict
| of guilty, and therefore these urors
| refused to say that jefferson was
guilty, though they believed in his
guilt.
| Even casting aside his confession
of the murder, which was testified to
by two reputable witnesses, what
| caused them to believe in his guilt if
it was not the evidence? And when
they say they believe he killed Calvin
| Barnes, they tell the truth, for there
is no evidence that he did not kill
him. but ample evidence that he did,
and coupled with his confession, we
cannot see how they could have
brought in a verdict other than guilty.
Now, either the evidence caused
them to believe in his guilt, or they
were determined from two other
| causes to bring in the verdict they
| did; and these two are, either objec-
tion to capital punishment, or-we
are panied to saynit, and only say it
| because we feel it is time to do some
plain talking to the people of Wilson
county-it was prejudice-prejudice
that was skillfully played upon by the
defense until the juror forgot his oath
to God and his duty to his fellow
man.
And, fellow citizens, did you ever
stop to think how prejudice, in the
hands of the skillful manipulation,
may be made to grow into mountain,
until it eats up the very marrow of
our souls, how it arrays neighbor
against neighbor, tenant against land
lord, husband against wife and child
rem against father; how that in its
consideration we lose sight of justice
in Wilson county, and we will never
be people moving hand in hand for
the upbuilding of our county, and
for respect of the Jaw and prosperity
of us all, until we can camly lay
aside prejudice and look at a question
| on the merits of the case.