The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-10-12

process Of jaw, ana putting him to death by a mob, to prevent 1is enjoy ment of due process of law. raises phase of the constitutional power of Congress, under the fourteenth amend ment. quite different from that pre- scented by any other offense committed by private individuals against the per- son of arStss as ang osnss sss e not a.ns what constitutes "the equal protection of the law. Except as to rights cre- ated directly by or dependent upon the Federal Constatution. ana iaws. the privileges which constitute the meas ure for the equal protection of the laws. The words. nor shall any State deprive any person of life. liberty or trench further upon the legislative power of the State. than the provision as to the equal protection of the laws. By the very. terms used without due the United States itself defines and cre- ates a direct right to be heard before a tribunal which does not act arbitrarily. but upon established rules. before which person has the right to offer testimony. and be heard in his defense. The Constitution to this extent, at least, defines and creates directly, spe- cific rights in this regard; leaving to furnish the tribunal, and provide modes, not inconsistent with the pro- vision. for securing this extent of right. The other provision leaves the States free to create the measure of right to be afforded. and does not trammel the power of the Legislature in that re- gard. or compel 1t to afford any par ticular measure of protection meted out to one class shall not be denied to oth- CTS under similar circumstances. It Is worthy of consideration. whether un- der the fourteenth amendment, Con- gress has not greater power to legis- | f.fA tIxr fr. ha naa 10 hor n the other. It would seem. on princi- pie, that Congress Id empowered to pass direct legislation punfshing persons who prevent the State from affording cused of crime, and in its custody, by taking him therefrom, and killing him to prevent . trial. when 1t might not have the same power when the unlaw- the right to the equal protection of the law. as to some other right, which de- bends entirely upon the law Of the State. and is not directly defined and munity of the citizen is not merely to prevent the state from putting him to death without due process or law,
 but to have the State to see to 1t, that life, when in its custody, upon accusa- tion of crime. The court does not doubt that the citizen held in custody of the state on accusation of crime. eonst,tusion eas saie Of tas Gsh' unssd states process of law" by the State, that Con- gress may protect 1t, at least by pun ishing individuals who resist State of ficers when they are seeking to afford 1t. and this without any. regard to the race of the citizen. or of the mob who take him from the authorities and mur- der him.
 prived of Constitutional Right.
 There is another phase of the acts of this mob at the jail. which 1t is your duty to probe to the bottom. One of the rights secured by the Constitution of the United States to citizen, when held in the custody of the United States upon accusation of crime, Is to be pro- tected from lawless violence. Such a prisoner has the right or immunity to be undisturbed In the enjoyment of that protection, and 1t is the duty of the United States to see that he enjoys lt. Logan vs. The United States, IA U. S., 2ss. Evidence will be laid before you that the lives of the United States prisoners were put in jeopardy by fir- ing the jail, and that at least one of these prisoners was nearly sunocated, while the officers were vainly trying to get him out of his cell. It is felony be punished capitally, to wiifully set fire to a jail in which prisoner is lodged. The law of Alabama. however. is immaterial here. save as 1t bears upon the question whether the firing of the jail waa q criminal act It was not only criminal by the laws of Ala bafna, but 1t was violation of the laws of God and evinces a spirit of general rnalevolence to mankind.
 A conspiracy Is a combination of two or more persons by concerted action to accomplish a criminal or unlawful pur- xrhfot fc Af and in itself criminal or unlawful by crim- inal or unlawful means It is general rule of law that every sane person, who wilfully does an Illegal act, espe- cially one which evinces spirit of general malevolence to mankind, is pre- stunned to intend all the natural and probable consequences of his act, though in the execution of his bad pur- pose, it produces a different effect from that intended. or inJures person whom it was not in his mind to harm, or violates rights or laws which 1t was not his purpose to infringe. The same principle applies when an illegal act Is done by agreement between two or more persons. The guilt or innocence of the purpose for which they agree or combine, determines their responsibility for whatever follows. as the natural and probable consequence of the things. done within the scope of the purpose, to effect the illegal design. If several persons, TOT instance, cOmOlne 10 uluT- der a particular prisoner in jail, and in order to get possession of his body agree with each other to set fire to the jail, they cannot be heard to say In court of justice. when charged with conspiracy to commit arson, that they did not conspire to commit arson at all; but only to murder the named prisoner.
 Neither the conspiracy to fire the jail nor setting fire to 1t, nor the conspiracy to murder Naples. or his murder, are of and in themselves offenses against the United States. The only contin- gency in which the offense against Naples would amount to an offense against the United States has already been explained to you. One illegal transaction, however, may constitute two ofrenses; one against the States,
 Whether an act which is an offense
 against the State, is also an offense against the United States. frequently depends, as in this case, upon the mo- tive with which the act is done. A mere conspiracy to set fire to the jail would not bring the off, lenders within the laws of the The only law applicable to this matter Is Section 550S of the Revised Statutes, which makes a conspiracy to injure or oppress a citizen of the United States in the enjoyment of any right secured to him by the Constitution. an offense against the criminal laws of the United States. To bring the conspiracy within the influence of the United States Stat ute, 1t is only necessary that 1t should have been formed with the intent to ihJure a citizen of the United States in the enjoyment of right secured to him by the Constitution or laws of the United States. Under the United States Statute, the offense of conspiracy Is