The Savannah morning news., 1901-07-17
MAY SAVE MITCHELL,s LIFE.
Application for Communication of
Sentence of Condemned Man.

Sentence of Condemned Man.
George Mitchell. charged with q
double criminal assault, convicted on
one indictment and sentenced by Judge
Falligant to hang Aug. 2, may escape
with life Imprisonment. While Mitchell
has been preparing for several weeks
Tor his death. he has never given I'D
hope, and confidently expects that his
sentence will be committed to life i'm
prisonment.
The case is reviewed by Capt w. N.
Clark, counsel for the condemned man,
IN an application TO the Pardon Com
mlssloners for a Communication of the
sentence. The application has already
oeen forwarded with the signatures of
eleven members of the jury that found
the man guilty. The case is fully ex-
planned in the appeal, which follows
There came on for trial at the June
term, Chatham Superior Court,
the case of the state against George
Mitchell, charged with rape. The pris-
oner was unable to employ counsel, and
IN the discharge of my professional
duty, and, as a matter of the simplest
charity, rendered to him such aid as
L could in his defense. He was con-
victed and sentenced to death, the time
nXed Tor his execution is the End day
OF august, 1901. l cannot, upon a re-
view of the case. say that there were
any errors committed by the court,
which would entitle the prisoner to a
new trial, nor can l, with fairness, say
that the evidence does not justify the
verdict. Under these circumstances /
have not deemed it proper to move for
a new trial, but do deem it to be my
duty to ask from your honorable body
a communication of his sentence from
the death penalty to Imprisonment for
life.
Il am informed by certain of the jul
rors whose names are hereto appended,
that it was their wish to commute the
sentence to Imprisonment for life, but
they were instructed by the court
that recommendation to mercy would
require the court to infict only the
punishment for assault with intent to
commit a rape.
1T is remarkable but nevertheless
true, as matter of law, that the eff
feet of a recommendation to mercy in
the case of Rape. does not commute the
punishment to imprisonment for life,
but strange as it may seem, reduces it
to Imprisonment for not less than one
year, nor more than twenty years, in
the penitentiary. The jury was I'M
willing to render a verdict which might
result in only a year in prison. Their
real desire was, not to inflict the death
penalty, but to imprison for life. l re-
spectfully represent to your honorable
body. that the desire on the part of
the jury should be carried out, not
only because it is their desire, but be-
cause the punishment is adequate, and
for the further reason that while the
evidence iS ba1 f11in orlx the
prisoner was the person actually perpe-
trating the crime, yet he persistently
insists that it is a case of mistaken
identity. 1t is difficult to tell one ne
gro from another and it will be OBJ
served, by the testimony of William
Frederick, a witness for the state,
who was introduced for the purpose of
identifying the prisoner, in answer to
the following question propounded by
the court You had a chance to see
him; is he the man that you SAW The
reply was: I don't recollect a colored
man so we'll to see him the first time;
if he was a white man 1 would know
him better
I'm a word, while it is more than
probable that the prisoner was the
perpetrator of the crime, yet there is
room to be mistaken in his identity. 1t
will be observed that there is a mark
ed conflict of testimony between the
two witnesses for the state, Patience
Maxwell and Sallie Hamilton. The
stories are most extraordinary and re-
markable, if true, and no one can read
the testimony without being both
shocked at the atrocity of the crime
as alleged by these witnesses, and yet
made doubtful as to the truth of their
testimony While they agree in the
main facts, they do not agree in GER
tain particulars. and there is sufficient
conflict in their testimony to create
a doubt as to the truthfulness of their
evidence. 1 deem it my duty to pre-
sent for your consideration the appli-
cation for a Communication of sentence"