The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1906-07-20
WILMINGTON, n. c
WILL JUSTICE MISCARRY?

News OF the 18th. Since that editorial
was written Judge Shaw has granted
the motion to quash the bill of in
dictment against Lewis, the one of the
Wadesboro lynchers whose indictment
was made a test case. There seems
to rave been a grave blunder made
somewhere. 1t seems, as well as We
d understand the case, that there Was
nothing else for Judge Shaw to do but
grant the motion to quash the bill. If
justice miscarries in this case it will
not be the fault of the governor of the
state or the Judge whom he appointed
to hold the special term Of Union SUI
periOr court for the purpose Of giving
those men a speedy trial. There seems
to be a terrible hitch n the law some
where. If the supreme court, to which
the solicitor appealed from the judges
ruling, sustains the lower our that
may be considered as an end OF the
cases and the men who committed the
outrage will go unpublished. 1t would
~ A'AAG ~ W
them to trial on the charge of murder
in the first degree before an Arson
county jury. If they cannot be tried
under the act of 1903 for the statutory
.offcnse of conspiring to commit a
lynching then the OnIy charge which
can be preferred against them is the
COMMON law Offense of murder in the
first degree. The circumstances sur
rounding this case preclude any tom
ing down of the Offense from murder in
the first degree. There must be
a finding by the jury which tries any
of the men charged that the defendant
is guilty of murder in the first
degree or he is innocent of any Of
Tense whatever. There car be no half
compromise verdict of murder in the
second degree or m~anslaughter. Let
these eases go before Arson county
jurors and who expects them to de-
clare the defendants guilty of murder
in the first degree?
If the supreme court finds Judge
Shaw to be correct in his construction
of the law as regards indictments for
the statutory offense of lynching or
conspiring to lynch then that law
might as we'll be wiped off the books.
1t is a dead letter and lynching is a
legitimate manner OF punishment for
crime in this state. Judge Shaw is
one Of the best ~jurists we have on the
bench. We have no doubt that he has
properly constituted the law. We ex-
pect the supreme court to sustain his
decision. Neither he o the supreme
court is tO blame. The judges of the
superior court and the justices of the
supreme court have to construe the
law as they find it. The blunder in
this case has been made by the leg
i~slature OF the code commission.
The News editorial is:
Whether the men now arraigned at
Monroe are guilty of having been IN
the lynching party is not for us to say.
The court will decide that. If they
- N4'N1 AoN
Gut and rigid punishment at that. II
this j not done, the best opportunity
ever presented in this state TO deal
a death blow to the ruinOuS unlaW-
full, coWardly and barbarous practice
of Il nching will be allowed TO go by.
And The case will not stop there. Not
only will the state have rallied TO do
its duty, to carry out the law, but II
Will have established a precedent
which cannot no nnrOpfpG- II Will have
taken a stand as encouraging l~ynching,
rather than d~iScOuraging il and this
will mean one step towards anarchy,
towards the loss of respect for the
established laws of the state and to-
wards ruin.
1t appear now that the case will not
be tired at this term of court at Mon
roe. The AnSOnian, published at
Wadesboro comes out in the following
headline, relative to the tendency to
p~rOlOng the case. The Alleged Lynch
ers Gain the First point To us it
seems that the above is true. II the
indictments are quashed and the mat
ter : referred to the supreme court
then that will mean the deferring of
the case for six months or more. In a
case of this kind, any delay tends to
strengthen the chances of the Defend
ant. The spirit of justice TO the wrong
ed party or parties becomes ameliOrat-
ed IN the minds of the public and the
guilty party is benefited by the delay.
If the case is put off and finally tried
in AnsOn county there appears little
hope Of ever cOnvicting the members
of the mob even if they are shown to
have been implicated. if the sentiment
Of the people does not change.
The Industrial News quotes the fol-
lowing paragraph taken from the re-
port of a member of The News and
Observers staff on the sentiment in
Arson and Union counties with regard
10 the men now arraigned under the