Staunton spectator and vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1896-1916, 1904-01-01
WHAT WILL HIS FATE BE ?

On the 18th of January, unless tie {
Governor commutes his sentence
John Kennedy a youth not yet Il
years of age will pay the highest pen
atty OF the law, he will! be hung In our I,
Jail va
The effehse for w.,ich this stripping
has be co tried and found guilty ana
to death, is grave one. he
with two other persons. attempted 10
wreck a train on the s w. BY. and
the engine of the train was thrown
over and the engineer killed. Detec-
tives were put upon the track OF inc
offenders, and after a while COMES
sion was gotten from Kennedy. On tho
trial Kennedy was placed on the stand
aud he told the whole story, and on
that story he was found guilty and
sentenced. Later on the other Two
o PERSONS implicated with him, were
tried ard were found guilty and sen
teuced-one to IL years in the peniten-
tiary, and the other to l0years. After
the sentence of the other two, sentl-
ment largely turned in Kennedy 8
favor, not that anyone wanted to gee
him other than severely punished. but
there did grow up strong 1eellng
against hanging him. This grew not
so much out of the fact that others
equally guilty had been let off with
lighter punishment, though this did
influence some, as well as the fact that
the prisoner has not arrived at the age
of manhood, where the care of parents
or guardians under the law still must
be thrown about him to protect him,
the public was not willing to require
of him that strict, unyielding, inexor-
able, severity of law to which MEN
who violate it are to be held, hence
there has grown a large and reepecta
BILE sentiment In favor Of this youth,
| In favor of Communication Of his SEN
tence to life in the penitentiary, in
stead of his being hung. We say large
and respectable, because a petition OF
over 400 persons, some of them of the
highest order of our citizens, has been
signed and sent to the Governor ask
| ing his comm utation of this death
p enalty.
In ad dition to the youth of the pris-
oner. his life Of ignorance, his entire
previous eliminat ion from those infiu
ences tending to morality and higher
and better manhood are moving
power amongst those who do not be
lieve, that youth as we'll as ignorance
and unfortunate birth and training
should be held up to the same inexora
BILE standard as those should be helo
!, who, Notwithstanding their birth
training, age and associations have
fallen. Not long since a man NAMED
Massie, a strolling gypsy, shot ane
q killed his wife in this county. A NOR
r heartless, cruel, brutal murder wa
G never committed. He was full grow
man and no matter what his previou
9 life. training or association. be hat
= long passed from boyhood. A jury o
! this county found him guilty OF mul
der in the second degree and be wa
Isentenced to Is years in the penitentl
. airy. Here, however, is boy who TO
q brutality in execution nor design goe
. not so far as Massie, who is made
+ suffer the extreme penalty of the Law
- This youth is to suffer the same pena
. ty as Lawrence Spiller, the negro hen
; who some years ago committed tt
4 most brutal, dastardly and unmentlol
10 able crime in the catalogue, upon
# little girl, and then beat her brazil
,l out with a stone This seems dispr'
n portionate, unreasonable, if indeed
! does not SAVIOR Of harshness our Law
p were not intended to inhict. III
o- Governor can make this life sentenc
Iv Why does this not satisfy? Is thel
n any good reason that it may not =! "
70 can see none. Whilst we never hav
"a believed in the custom, it has grow
10 to be almost part of the law, ths
" when an offender turns States ev
II dence his punishment is liRhtenet
Why may not this be done here,
r there were no other reason to do sc
~ IL there is a cry for blood here it dot
n not come from the majority of the CT
ic liens of this county. There may
re some who demand an eye for an ey
X and a tooth for tooth, bat we belleN
y there Is no such sentiment among'
X our people. We believe large maJo
:. ity OF them would be glad to kno
,e that in Augusta county an ignorar
ID boy had not been hung. We trus
IL therefore, that In this case the Cove
e nor may see his way to commute tn
,e death penalty, and that we may net
N sickened on the 18th OF January b
v the stencil of human blood, and TT
Il nauseating spectacle of public han'
Of ing.
~ The following is told Of the Ho
). John 8. Wise when resident OF VI
ginia, and when be was in a conte
on6 10 WOr