The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1901-10-16
Lynching and Some of Its
Causes.

| now having so much to say about lynch
| ing? Who has been lynched in North Car
DINA that didn't deserve such fate? Why
| Go people occasionally take the law into
| their own hands and deal out summary
| justice! Ihere is an answer to such
| questions, and it is worthy of the atten-
| ton OF all intelligent, .observant minds.
There exists want of confidence in the
| administration of our criminal laws. The
! rules of practice governing our court
| trials, In TACT the whole system, seems
| inadequate to the proper protection of the
] innocent and the conviction of the guilty.
Justice is too often miscarred in our
| supposed courts OF justice. This deplora-
BILE fact is traceable to we'll known causes,
| some of which can be and ought to be
removed. In the first place our jury sys-
| tenn is grlevously at fault In capital
| felonles the law gives to the defendant
powerful and unreasonable advantage
by permitting him twenty-four peremptory
| challenges, while the State is only al
1 lowed four, the effect of which is, the
prosecution stands largely at the mercy
OF the prisoners counsel as to what kind
and character of men shall constitute the
! trial jury. Under such a one sided SyS-
! tenn an astute, tricky and disreputable
! lawyer land nearly every county sup
ports one or more conducting the side
! of the guilty. accepts jurors not from the
| best element of our citizenship, but the
majority OF the panel of his selection are
men of limited intelligence of doubtful
morals and easily swerved by improper
| influences.
All intelligent men who witness court
proceedings in capital crimes, know that
it is quite the rule for the defense, when
! the cause is desperate, to take as jurors
men without responsibility ignorant, I'M
| trained as to the true obligations resting
upon them The sad spectacle is often
: presented Of an attorney if he is paid
! the required sum of many dollars, appear
ing in. behalf of vile brute, and in order
. to have such a dangerous criminal ac-
quilted and set free, unwhipped of JUS
tice, he resorts to disreputable methods
| unheedful of any moral sense of con-
seriousness. Under our system juries are
often packed to shield the guilty, and
! this kind of practice has become a spe-
| cal feature III the reputation of some of
our reputed criminal lawyers. Under the
indefensibls plan of permitting the ac-
cused six times as many percmptory
challenges as The State is allowed, it is
easy to place men WHO can and do prevent
righteous ve-dicts. i Is the want of
! confidence land this feeling is growing)
in the adequacy and safeguards of pres
! ent laws, the fear of the laws delay
and uncertainty by reason of its sense
less technicalities, and other hindrances
which move the people in some cases to
take prompt action and execute the SEN
tence deserved.
! Twenty-one gears ago one of North
Cardinals most distinguished citizens
was assassinated. / stood in the court
house of Martin county and saw the most
prominent attorney OF that county in or
! der to clear the murderer IF his good
citizen use as a tool to pack the jury
! a man who had been convicted Of cattle
stealing in his native county (Pitt) This
rascal took his stand behind the clerks
desk and by the nod or shake of his head
Jurors were taken or rejected for the
man on trial. The jury selected in this
way, packed jury, acquitted the murder
err They did so in the face of the sworn
| evidence of witness, whose character
was unimpeached and unmpeachable
that the defendant confessed to him his
guilt, stating who hired him to do the
murder, the pay he received and the
many Incidents concerning the whole af-
fair. To this testimony was added on
the part Of the State several strong cir
cumstances connecting the prisoner with
the crime and tending to show him guilty.
When the outrageous verdict was render
ed the Judge presiding, the late Hon. John
A. Gilmer, said to the prisoner: Stand
up The evidence in this case has been
such as to have fully warranted a ver-
dict of guilty, but for some unknown
cause the jury have seen fit to do other
wise. You are released solely upon the
leniency OF this jury. would advise you
never to return to that section where this
deed was committed
| The assassin took the judges advice
! and remained away eight years. On his
first visit to Washington. n. c.. after his
long absence. he got drunk and became
bosterous. His companions remonstrat-
/ ed with him and told him he would be
! locked up, He replied, mo policeman
can lock me up, | have killed id
sight bigger man than they are" calling
Gen. Grimes name. He was locked up Cor
dsorderly conduct His utterance came
! to many OF the great Generals friends
and a group OF as good men as the old
commonwealth ever produced got togeth-
err. They bought rope and after wait
ing till three o'clock the next morning
/ for the fellow to become thoroughly
sober, took him out and lynched him.
! Was this right? / say yes, emphatically.
! The machinery OF the law had proven
powerless. "rhe Judiciary was exhaust
ed" and he walked the earth guilty
: and boastful man. A public duty was
I performed. because the manly sons OF
General Grimes were just entering upon
manhoods years and those who knew
! General Grimes knew that no son Of his
could live in the same county with his
! fathers assassin. He was Justly lynched
| to avenae the murder OF one of North
| Cardinals noblest and bravest sons and
/ to save these young men the neces
! gity Of shooting him down on first sight.
/ Many instances Of such miscarriages of
| Justice in our courts have caused people
| to distrust the machinery of the law and
I look upon our court houses as places
/ where justice Is oftener thwarted than
| obtained. / have no harsh words for our
| Judges. Their duties are restricted. They
have to act within certain lines as the
Vs.