The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1905-11-29
IN ABSURD LAW /.
Sentenced to be Hang for Muir
der of Her Husband
WHO KILLED HlliSE II

Under Anticipated Law Size
Was Put on Trial for
Her Life.
By singular coinci6en5 sin u,tan-
usly with the publication n London
Eagland, Ct the cabied report of j.
:-ph Choate's speech at the Lotus
Cub, in New York, wherein he ex
resssd the opinion that British law
was superior TO the homs-made article
and better administered, we have oeer
;reate6 to q striking demonstration OF
IS assinine qualities. With black
csp on head, a British j2oge IL Lon
don has solnenly pronounced sentence
Of death on an old woman fer The
,aur6er OF her husband, whom she die
OF murder, ard to complete the iir-
sicial tragedy British chaplain has
solemnly invoked the mercy OF Goo
n her guilty soCt," which vas no
uilty. And al this with tie full
knowle6ge that she did not commit
The crime for which she was convicted
and that she will never be hanged To-.
1t. In a conde mned cell tie aged VIC
Tim OF legal cruelty whose sad plight
Las evoked expressions Of the deepest
sympathy from all classes is awaiting
he exercise Of the crowns preroeative
4 mercy: After brief period Of i'm
prison ment she will probably be ie
.eass6-to exc out what remains O.
ner wretched existence branded as {
nur6eless. Judge and jury are agreed
hat she should meyer have been COZ.
victed. But they had no other recourse
than to conform TO stupid ard anti
quated law which ought long ago to
lave been repealed.
Mrs. Marian Seddcn's story is one
Of the most pitiful that has ever been
told in the grim old Bailey court. She
vas IS years old and her husband was
IS. They had been married twelve
years. After their marriage they
started confectionery shop at Ssaines
For time they we're fairly successful.
Then trade fell of and thsy moved to
q shop in Mortlake. There things
went from bad to worse. TIE EuS.
bands health failed. When quarter
DAY came round they had not erougk
money to pay the rent. Dsath cr Lne
work house seemed to be the only al
tentative open to them ard they chess
death, but the husband alone tounc
it.
1--WE decided" said Mrs. Seldom,
st the Inquest on his body, that rs
had better both leave the WoI d
sether.'' After passing slee pies
night worrying over their lot, blac
despair gripped her. II can't staoo
this any longer" she saic to her hus-
band. Rising from the bed see wen,
to cupboard and took from 1t q tot.
tie containing q linimenu conpose6 ot
bslladonla and sconite, which hao
been used to relieve her husbands
pain. 1t was marked poison" She
drank halt It's contents. Then she salc
to her husband, There is nothing fof
us but this OF the work house. Are
you going to take you sha1s 2" Yes" "
replied the 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 htuse,
told her what they had Gone and be.
sought here to see to it that they were
saved the ignoniny OF rauper burial.
Then she returned to the bed and lay
down By her 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 Eao
happened. The police removed the
couple to the work house, which they
had so dreaded. There the doctors did
their best to prevent them escaping
from it by death-ss ~ duty they
we're bound to Go. They saved Mrs.
Seddoh's life, but her husband, more
fortunate, succunbeo.
There followed, Of course, a c0roners
Inquest. The jury brought II a verdict
Of suicide while tenporily insane.
Then the police arrested Mrs. Seddor
and charged her with the murder Of
the man who, according to the ccro
ner's jury, had committed suicide
Parsdoxical as it sounds the law justi
fed that charge. Fer the lew ceclar.
es that il two persons conspire tt
commit suicide and one survive that
survivor Is guil9y Of murder.
The evidence al the trial made Il
clear that 1t was not q case OF murder
that Is according to common sense
notions. But the law was sQualiy en-
phatic that it was murder, and the
Judge told the jury that they w(ull
have to stand b7 the law. The jur!
reluctantly brought in q verdict o.
guilty, adding strong recon- menca
tion to mercy. And the Judge reiuc
tantly sentenced the woman to death
He said it was the saddess case he hat
ever tried. His opinion OF the Law
which compelled bin TO impose asen
tencs that was utterly abhorrent t;
his notions Of right and justice be KEEP
to himself, for IN G court o. llsSic
the most stupid Law must be treate'
as something sacred.
''We did not want to inc the We
man guilty." said one Of tee jurgnen
atter the trial was over, "buo ate
what the judge told Us We could DO
do otherwise. OF course, ne knew tia
-o,,oo ro,,lS not he haNreS. 2n
of course, the judge knew it, toc
when he pronounced sentence OF deaf
upon her. IN this case the law is Gel
tainly an hass,h and it is absurd t
retain it on the statutes.
One OF the council WHO took psrt /
the trial said to tie writer:
1.-THE case reveals & flaw il cur IA
which certainly ought to &c amenoec
W. eo,,rHt, to have murder IL the hrs