Goldsboro weekly argus. [volume] (Goldsboro, N.C.) 1885-1909, 1903-10-22
HAND shaking JUR|ES.
1OLD-TIME CITIZEN' ENTERS
VIGOROUS PROTEST
Against the New Fad of Hand
shaking in the Temple of JUS
tice, and Appeals for the
Upholding of the Dig
nifty of the Law.

EDITOR ARGUs:-There are many
new things transpiring in this new
era that are not calculated to be o
benefit to the peace, dignity and
majesty of law.
We see in the papers that when a
man was recently declared innocent
who had taken the life Of another,
he shook the hand of each of the
State, another man shot down on
the street and killed and that when
thejury paid the defendant the COM
pliment to say he had done no
wrong, that the man whose hands
had been stained with human blood
should rise up and shake hands with
the judge and jury.
We are writing to enter a protest
against any court Or jury shaking
the hand of any man whose hands
are damp with the blood of his muir
dered feilowman IN the court room
that has just been The scene of such
horrible recitals.
Ii these things are to continue
where money aud influence are to
paint crime with many strokes of
radiance that dlspel the aWfuiness of
the offense, let 1T go further and
hold public reception, and at this
banquet shake hands and congratu-
late In eloquent speech the safe de-
liverance from a law that was in
tended to bear equally upon all. AT
this public demonstration let no
word be spoken by Court, jury, or
mortal man that can jar the finer
sensibilities of a man who has been
outraged by being placed in Jail for
practicing at human target.
If this is going too far, would
it not be well to implore the man
who is planning murder in his heart,
that when the hour for standing be-
fore the bar of justice is come, that
he refrain from the new idea of
shaking hands with Court and jury,
thereby causing less respect for the
dignity Of our courts, that ought to
be uppermost in the mind OF every
good citizen.
On one occasion man was being
tried for murder: the evidence
seemed to convince everybody but
the jury Of his guilt they said in
nocent. The defendant stepped up
to that able and dignified Judge, the
Iamented John Kerr, and proffered
his hand. With the refined nature
that was always observant in this
grand nd man, he said: "You can
not shake my hand, for yours ale
polluted with human blood !"
About ten years since, in one of
or eastern counties, a negro by the
name of Kinsey was charged with
some misdemeanor. The jury re-
TUNED verdict Of not guilty. The
negro got up and publicly thanked
the Court and jury for clearing him
and received sentence OF thirty
days in Jail for contempt of Court.
This judge did not want such un-
seemly conduct witnessed before the
Superior Court in this State.
If men charged with grave offences
want to shake hands with anybody
after the jury exonorates them, let
them be- content with shaking the
hands Of their lawyers, who have,
for a consideration, done their best
for them, and then retire from the
temple of justice without acting dis
tasteful to people who sit on the out
side, and sometimes do not agree
with the jury.
Juries are not always immaculate,
but il is likely the best system for
trials.
1t is for the purpose of maintain
ing a dignified position by our
courts that this article is written, So
that this new fad of shaking hands
will end.
OLD TIME CITIZEN.
Goldshoro, n. c., Oct. goth, 1908.