The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1904-08-18
PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT
Promptly Denies Application to Com
mute. Death Sentence of a Negro
RapIst III Justice Ia Dealing
With This ndy6 leihotB Crime Will
Minimize Lynching Spssx

Thos j. Penees W. .hington Correspondence
Raleigh Post
President Roosevelt refused to com
mute the sentence of the negro, John
w. hurley. whom Judge Pritchard
condemned to die for criminal as
sault on a young girl OF his race.
In denying application for the com
mutation, the President took occa-
sion to denounce the crime of rape
as most Infamous, and advanced the
opinion that il this character OF
crime be speedily punished by legal
death, lynching will be minimized.
The claim has been made that Bur
ley is of unsOund mind and Judge
Pritchard was appealed to to urge
communication of the death sentence
by the President. Judge Pritchard
told the President that Burley should
hang if of sound mind, but that if it
should be disclosed that he is NEIL
tally unbalanced he would recon-
mend executive clemency. The Pres
ident satisfied himself that the con-
demned negro is sane and issued the
following statement, setting forth his
views with reference to the case:
"The applicationfOr the cOmmuta-
ton of sentence of John W. Burley is
denied. This man committed the
most heinous crime known to our
laws, and twice before he has COM
mitted crimes of a similar, though
less horrible character. In my iudg-
ment there is no Justification what
ever for paying heed to the allega-
lions that he is not of sound mind,
allegations made after the trial and
conviction. Nobody would pretend
that there has ever been any such
degree of mental unsoundness shown
as would make people even consider
sending him to an asylum if he had
not committed this crime. Under
such circumstances he could certainly
be esteemed sane enough to suffer the
penalty for his mOnstrOus deed.
have scant sympathy with the plea
of insanity advanced to save a man
from the consequence of crime, when
unless that crime had been committed
it would have been impossible to per-
suade any responsible authority to
commit him to an asylum as insane.
Among the most dangerous crimi-
nails, and especially among those
prone to commit this particular kind
of offellse. there are plenty OF a tenn
per so tiendiSh or so brutal as to be
incompatible with any other than Il
british order of intelligence. But
these men are nevertheless responsible
for their acts, and nothing tends
more to encourage crime among such
men than the belief that through the
plea OF insanity or any other method
it is possible for them to escape pay
ing the Just penalty OF their crimes
The crime in question is one to the
existence of which we largely owe
that spirit of lawlessness which takes
the form in lynching. 1t is a crime sc
revolving that the criminal is not en-
titled to one particle of sympathy
from any human being. 1t is essen
tial that the punishment for it should
not only be as certain but as swift as
possible. The jury in this case did
their duty by recommending the intiic-
ton of the death penalty. 1t is to be
regretted that we do not have specia
provision for more summary dealing
with this type of cases. The more we
do what in us lies to secure certain
and swift justice in dealing with these
cases, the more effectively do ework
against the growth of that lynchine
spirit, which is so full of evil Omer
for this people, because it seeks
to avenge one Infamous crime by
the commission of another of equa
infamy.
"The application is denied and the
sentence will be carried into effect.