Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1905-06-21
wALHALLA, g. c.,
WEDNESDAY,. JUNE "a. 1905.
Dis,rust Of the Law.

lures connected with our rather luxu-
RANT crop of crime is growing lack
of confidence in the process of law.
This lack of confidence is settling
into deep.seated conviction on the
part of no inconsiderable number of
people that the courts are not to be
depended upon in netting out the
proper punishment for crime. This
is not to raise the question at all as TO
whether or not the courts do actually
deal out justice as it should be dealt
out. We may grant that it does.
Still we have the strong and wide
spread conviction that it does not.
Indeed, it is entirely common to hear
the statement made, as soon as
man has committed any crime, par
ticularly if he is man of wealth
and influence, that he is certainly
guilty, but no jury will be found to
convict him. In word, the people
are losing confidence in the very
citadel which they themselves have
set up for their protection--the
law.
just three recent concrete in
stances will illustrate these general
statements. A little while ago a
negro farm hand in Darlington county
killed his white employer. The
neighbors rose up in hot resentment,
bent on lynching. But cooler judg-
ment and wiser leadership prevailed.
They were persuaded to trust the
matter to the regular processes of
the law, and we're assured that exact
Justice would be meted out to the
offender. The negro was properly
tried, convicted, and sentenced to be
hanged. But some sort of influence
was brought to, bear upon. the Cover
nor, who commuted the sentence TO
life imprisonment. The result is
that the confidence of this commu-
nifty in the whole system of legal
machinery is shaken. They say that
they trusted to the law, and the law
gave it's verdict. But an outside
power interferes and sets it aside.
Hereafter" they further say, 1--WE
shall take matters into our own
hands, for the machinery of the law
cannot be depended upon to protect
u.s." So the temper of an entire
community, in its distrust, is 80
wrought upon that it is ready, when
eSer occasion offers, to mete out JUS
tice after it's own lawless method.
Take another case. In Lancaster an
inoffensive young man was shot down
by community desperate, The
murderer was soon caught and
promptly lynched. The Solicitor of
the district, backed up by the influ-
ence and authority of the Governor
of the State, set to work to appre-
hend the lynchers and bring them to
trial. But Investigations develops
fact that they are the "leading
Sftizens" of the community. We
have read no more disheartening
reading in long time than Solicitor
Henry's account of his earnest yet
futile efforts to get at these "leading
citizens" However, they said, in
defense of their action, that they did
it because the law itself could not be
depended upon to inflict merited
punishment. Once before the man
whom they lynched had been tried
for murder and acquitted, and they
feared he might again be turned
loose upon society.
Yet one other case. A young ne
gro man, confined in the guard house
at Eutawville for trivial offense,
was taken out one night, carried to
the river, an iron weight was attached
to him and he was tossed ont of
boat and drowned. Once again the
Governor of the State, with COM
mendable enterprise, interested him
sslf in the matter. All the forces of
the law were set to work, and
group If men were brought
to trial before jury of
their neera. After being ont only