The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1905-11-22
AN ABSURD LAW.
Sentcrced to be Hang for Muir.
der of Her Husband
WHOKILLEDH JMSE IF

She Recovered, But He Died and
Under Anticipated Law Size
Was Put on Trial for
Her Life.
By a singular coincieent sin ultan-
eous9y with the publication In London
England, If the cabled report OF j.
seph Choate's speech at the Lotus
Club, in New York, wherein he ex
pressed the opinion that British law
was superior to the hcme- made article
and better admin istered, We have been
treated to q striking demonstration OF
it's assjnine q)alitlties. With black
cap on head, a British lege in Lon
don has solmenly pronounced sc ntence
of death on an old woman for the
murder OF her husband, whom she did
Lot murder, al d to complete the far
cicial tragedy q British chaplain has
sole mnly invoke the mercy Of God
en- her guilty SOUL" which was not
tuilty. And all this with the full
knowledge that she did not commit
the crime for which she was convicted
and that she will never be hanged for
1t. In ccndt mned cell tie aged We
tim Of legal cruelty whose sad plight
has evoked expressions Of the deepest
sympathy from all classes is awaiting
the exercise Of the crowns p%reroeatiVe
Of mercy: After a brief period OF i'm
prisCl ment she will probably be re
leased-to exc cut what remains OF
her wretched :xl teIce branded as a
murde1ess. Judge and jury are agreed
that she should l., ytr have been con
victed. But they bat no other recourse
than to conform to q stupid ard anti
uuated law which ought long ago to
lave been repealed.
Mrs. Marian Seddon's story is one
of the NIT pitiful that has ever been
told in ths k,,n old Bailey court. She
was IS years nc and her husband was
IS. They had Lcen married twelve
years. After their marriage they
, ~t--, "a confectionery shop at Staines
pic''"lme they were fairly successful.
ir' trade fell off and they moved to
q shop in Mortlake. There things
went from bad to worse. The bus.
hands health failed. When quarter
day cane rCurd they had not enough
mor"7 to pay the rent. Death or the
g w. ra4gse set med to be the only al.
At i've open to them ard they chose
'9de.. b, but the husband alone found
it.
We decided" said Mrs. Seldom,
. at the IL quest on bis b.dy, that we
had better both leave the word to.
gether.' After passing a sleepless
night worrying over their lot, black
d.srair g1ipped her. II can't stand
this any ltrger," she said to her bus.
band. Rising from the bed she wen,
to q cupboard and took from 1t a rot
tie containing q liniment composed II
bella6cnra and sccnite, which ha6
been r,ed to relieve Ter | u ard
pain. 1t as marked "roIsoL." Sat
drank hail its confer ts. Then she sale
to her husband, There L. nGthirg for
US but this or the work house. Are
you goir & to take you shar, {" Yes"
replied tie man, and snatching the
bottle from his wife's hands he drain.
ed what remained of the poison.
Mrs Seldom then sought her sister
In law, who lived In the same house,
told Ter what tt ey had done and be-
sought here to see to it that they were
saved the igpominy Of rauper burial.
Then she returned to the bed and lay
down by Ter husbands side, to died
with him, she thought. But the poison
worked slowly. As in duty bound the
sister In law told the police what had
happened. The police removed the
couple to the work house, which they
had SO dreaded. There the doctors die
their best to prevent them escaping
from it by death-as IN Guty they
were btu9d to do. They saved Mrs
Seddoh;s life, but her husband, more
fortunate, succumbed.
There followed, Of course, q coroner's
II quest. lie jury brought in a verdic,
OF suicide while temporily insane
Then the police arrested Mrs. Seddor
and charged her with the murder Of
the man who, according to the coro
ner's jury, hsd committed suicide
ParadcXical as it sounds the law justi
fed that charge. For the law dsclar
es that II two persons conspire tt
cen NIT suicide and one survive that
survivor is guilty. Of murder.
Tie evidence at the trial made Il
clear that 1t was not q case OF murde'
that Is according to common sense
notitrs. But the law was equally EN-
ptatic that it was murder, and TIT
Judge ted the jury that they vi u!t
hev We to stand by the law. The jur.
reluctantly brought in a verdict o
guilty, tddirg a strong recon menda
tion to mercy. And the judge reluc
family s%eIterced the woman to death
He said 1t was the saddest case be hat
ever tried. His opinion Of the Law
which compelled linn to impose a sen
tepce that was utterly abhorrent t
bis rot.ors cf right and jussica Re KEEP
to himself, for in a court OF j1stic
the nest stupid law mutt be treate'
as something sacred.
1--WE did not want to find the We
man G uilty," said one OF the jurymen
after the trial was over, bud afte