Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1904-11-01
ERRORS OF ENGLISH COURTS.
Cases of Mistaken Identity That Have
Resulted in Great Hardships.

Resulted in Great HardshIps.
Every year sees a number Of inno-
cent men wrongly convicted, and while
in some cases proofs Of these judicial
errors come to hand after the victims
have served but few months impris-
onment, in many instances the mis-
takes are not found out until after
those convicted have served their full
sentence. The public rarely hears Of
these mistakes Of justice, and yet In
1897 thirty-one men and women were
released and granted a free pardon
after having been wrongly imprisoned
for over four months. In none OF
these cases was the victim granted
any compensation, nor does the law
entitle them to redress in any shape
or form, while not so much as a writ
ten apology is their lot.
In cases of mistaken identity, SINH
lar to that Of Adolph Beck, there are
very few precedents Of compensatory
bounty having been granted, while
those on record do not show a dispen-
sation Of very large sums. However,
some sixty years ago a most fragrant
instance Of miscarriage of justice oc-
CURED. A well-known solicitor named
Barber was, after a long trial, con-
victed Of forgery and was sentenced
to transportation for life.
considerable time elapsed before
xt,hfn
proved that justice had erred. In this
case 1t was felt that there were moral
and intellectual claims for compensa-
ton for suffering which had been
borne so long, 80 terribly and so un-
deservedly on the shoulders Of an In
nocent man. A long debate was held
to determine the exact sum Of money
which could, in some measure at least,
make up for the personal agony which
the victim had undergone, and event.
ually the House Of Commons ordered
the wronged man a bounty Of $4,000.
Some three years ago a man from
New Zealand was brought to Colches-
ter, charged with having committed
murder. Eventually, however, the
case against him was dismissed, and
taking into account the fearful strain
which the innocent man must have
suffered, the treasury granted him
G600.
The largest sum which has ever
been granted in almost exactly similar
conditions to those under which
Adolph Beck wrongfully suffered i'm
prisonment, occurred twenty-eight
years ago, when a man named Habron
was convicted Of murder at Manches-
ter. fortunately, proofs Of his inno-
cence turned up, but not until some
time later. Never had Justice COM
mitted a greater mistake, and al
though it was felt that 1t would be
impossible adequately to compensate
the victim Of this extraordinary case
of mistaken identity, he was only
granted a sum of s1,0O0.
There are numerous cases OF mis-
taken identity in which the wrong
fully convicted man has not received
penny Of compensation. In 1895 a
man named Stewart was charged with
being an escaped convict. He firmly
protested that his name was Stickler,
but the evidence was so strong against
him that he was sent back to prison.
Two years elapsed before the police
arrested a man who was exactly like
Stewart, and then II was discovered
| that this man was the erstwhile miss
ing jailbird.
Stickler, Of course, was immediate
ly released, but could claim no redress
and his only consolation was that he
had not been compelled to serve the
full sentence.
The exact value Of circumstantial
evidence is a much discussed ques-
ton. William Shaw, some years ago,
was hanged on circumstantial evidence
for the murder Of his daughter.
About a year after his execution the
tenant who rented Shaw's house dis
covered a letter written by the sup
posed murdered girl, In which she
stated that as the man she loved
had Tilted her, she had made up her
mind to commit suicide. The author
tiles were, Of course, unable to ex-
plate this terrible mistake; but the
dead mans body was handed over to
his relatives for reinterment, while
flags were waved over the grave,
and prominent officials attended the
funeral in token that Shaw's inno-
cence was d-IOndOn An