The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1901-11-12
MARKET ST. ~ n DooCo~l1 9O99t MARKET ST,
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Baxter, whom the Prosecutor denounced
as an adventurer. He had been the means
of causing separation, and to the Pros
ecutor the scene during the trial was very
painful To see the wife, daughter and
son sitting in the court room arrayed
against the husband and father who had
been deserted in favor of the usurper, was
enough to bring tears to all eyes, He had
seen a letter written by Baxter to that
''1axen- hair boy" telling him to '1ook out
| for that heller (his father and see that he
did not create trouble" And during the
| trial, while the father was sitting alone,
| bowed down in his grief, with a bursting
heart and fearful eyes, that boy rushed
past him to the prisoner, about whose neck
he threw his arms, giving to him the car
esses that were the fathers right. Yet in
the face of all this counsel had the temer-
ity to ask the court to temper justice with
mercy. Mr.. Atkinson said he could hard
| ly think of punishment sufficiently severe
for this man.
Judge Gaskill then addressed the prison
er as follows:
| You have been convicted of an assault
with a revolver upon Benajah P. Wills Of
this town.
| The jury seems to have had some diff
Guilty in reaching their verdict being out
nearly twenty four hours, and with theil
verdict they couple recommendation tC
mercy.
feel bound to regard this recommends
ton and give it its due weight.
1t is needless to refer to your conduct
and relations with the family of Mr.. Wills,
out of which the incident grew that
gave rise to this indictment.
Since this assault was committed you
have married his daughter, but as the
whole of the exciting events that preceded
| and followed the assault were excluded
from the trial, so it seems to me that in
pronouncing Judgment | should sentence
YOU for the crime of which you have been
| convicted, and not for offences OF which
you may or may not be guilty.
| must however, make such disposition
of the matter as will protect the peace of
this community, and dealing with you to
treat you as | would any ordinary person
before me for sentence on like charge.
| must have due regard for the injury
done the assaulted party, but not allow the
Court to be made the means of visiting
vengeance upon the accused
The offence of which you have been
convicted is technical. The dividing line
between an assault with intent to execute
a purpose, and mere threat which is not
indictable, is very narrow. The jury
| found that an assault had been made ana
| i f,,ft
Yet in view of the fact that the night
preceding this occurrence, the house in
which YOU staid was surrounded by an
angry mob, threatening you harm, so that
YOU were led to start for the earliest train
to take you from the town that your
danger seemed so imminent that the in
mates of the house handed you the revolv-
er for protection if needed that you were
threatened on your way to the station by
man who followed you there, coupled
with the fact that you were Unexpectedly
confronted by Mr.. Wills and some of his
friends, it has been urged that your action
at the station was not so much OF an
assault as it was the eYincing of purpose
to protect yourself if molested, or threat
as to what you would do if harm was
threatened.
In connection with the verdict and the
recommendation to mercy, ana a1ter care
full and patient consideration of this whole
matter, feel l must take the above facts
into consideration in passing sentence.
1t is the policy of the Court, whenever
practicable and wise, to impose fine in
stead of Imprisonment. 1t helps to pay
the court expenses and relieves the tax
payers. $500.
be light one. 1t will be the equivalen
of two years imprisonment.
The judgment of the law aud the sent
ence of the court is that you pay fine o
$500 and costs, and stand committed unit
/ the fine and costs are paid.