The Lexington dispatch. [volume] (Lexington, South Carolina) 1870-1917, 1904-10-12
The Lexington Dispatch.
Wednesday, October II, 1904.

Some newspapers (God save the
nsrk) have lately been commenting
pretty severely upon what they claim
TO be defects in our jury system
Their abuse of the present jury
system has been unstiuted and often
times grossly insulting. We dare
cay that the readers of such journals
have often been shocked at the bold
assertion that, if not expressed in SC
many words, yet, what is infinitely
worse, that the juries Of our lawfully
constituted courts are nothing but a
set Of s'pe,jured wretches" whose
verdicts are Influenced solely by and
upon the number of dollars and
cents that are placed in the scales OF
jastice. Ooe remarkable feature
connected with this unreasonable on
slaught upon our present jury system
is, that while these so called, or
rsther self constituted guardians of
she liberties Of the people. are ours
ing out the system from A to lssard
they suggest nothing better. To
the intelligent and reflective reader
Of these hide bound and morally
warped journals the conclusion is,
that they would have the juries to
eonvict the unfortunate person who
stands charged at the bar OF justice
With this or that crime, whether
they be guilty or innocent. In their
zeal to ride rough shod over the con-
sideration of the guilt or innocence
Of the prisoner at the bar they have
apparently overlooked, or are unmind-
fal of the fact that the law itself
throws around the prisoner perfect
network of protection through which
is is difficult matter to penetrate.
ASK any Solicitor Of any of the Cir
caits, or for that matter any prosecut-
ing attorney and he will tell you that
at the very Threshold be is met with
she we'll known presumption of law,
ssthat every man is innocent until be
is proven otherwise" and to this is
added the additional burden of es.
tablishing the guilt of a person
charged with crime beyond all reason
able doubt. In considering the law
and the testimony in any given case
it is made encumbent upon the pre-
siding judge to instruct the jury that
the benefit of all reasonable doubts
ss to guilt must be given to the &C.
cused. Then the first consideration
for the jury is to brush away every
element of reasonable doubt, or else
place it to the credit of the person
whose life or Liberty is in jeopardy.
Having accomplished this to the en-
tire satisfaction of twelve different
jurors, their next step is to take up
the threads of testimony as they
were woven at the trial and then ap-
ply the law governing the case and
from the two find their verdict.
We are led to make these remarks
from the fact that recently the New
berry Observer has had some caustic
reference to the findings of Lex
iagton juries, in the course of which
studied effort was made to impugn
the intelligence, to say nothing of a
grsver and far more degrading and
debssing imputatiop, Of our people.
Now the facts are, the people of
Newberry and the people of Lax
;ngton are one and the same. They
ara in the main offspings-:he chill
dren of one grand and glorious mo-
sher-Saxe-Gotha. Newberry has her
Subers, her Boozers, Harmans, Hen
drixs, Roofs, Wheelers, Slighs, May
ers, Longs, Shumperts, Eptings, Bow
ers, Summers, Johnstones, Crossons;
the Cromers and Barres, and Aulls,
and Kinards, and Sesse; yes, even
Wallaces; and hundred and one
other names familiar to us all by rea-
son of close kinship. So have we.
They are bone of our bone, flesh of
our flesh and blood of our blood.