St. Landry clarion. (Opelousas, La.) 1890-1921, 1906-12-15
THE MAILED WRATH
OF THE LAW.
Sentence Day in the District Largest Batch
OF Prisoners Known in Years, and Graver
Grimes for Expation.

two years in the penitentiary. Blu
Mr.. Durio, struck with the peculia
! choice Of Pitre, suggested to Hi
/. Honor that perhaps the prisoner ha
not understood the question of tn
I. court, and asked to be permitted t
repeat it to him, which the court re
(quested him to do. When the ques
tion was put to the prisoner the sec
I ond time, he replied oil would rathe,
work on the works here His Honol
than gave him eighteen months in tht
parish Jail, subject to work. Pitrt
said that he had never been in trou
bic before, and had not stolen watcf
from Mr.. Ducoudre Dupre. Pitre il
about twenty-five years old.
Adam Pitre, a young negro, got
three years for entering dwelling
house in the daytime with intent tc
commit felony. He said he was
convicted because his witnesses were
not at the trial.
G. T. Eagland, a bright young
negro, about 20 years old, had a
bunch Of convictions to his credit
two counts for forgery and one for
uttering. The trouble with you
people, said His Honor, is that as
soon as you learn to read and write
you get t-into your head that you
ought to make a living without work.
ing, with the result that you get in
trouble = He got two years on one
count Of forgery, three years on an
other, and two years for uttering
six years in all.
Tony Roy, another abIe-bodied
young negro, got six years for for
gerry. A little education again. re-
marked the Judge, as Tony walked
back to the dock, better keep out of
=,
school,"
Francis Joseph was the third negro
to face Judge Lewis for forgery.
Here's another man can you read
and write? said His Honor, to which
Francis replied that he could, "a
leetle. Just enough to get you in
trouble" suggested Judge Lewis. He
is the negro who forged Mr.. Ernest
Dejean's name to orders on the Ope-
lousas Mercantile Co. Three years
in the State penitentiary.
Lawyer B. q. PaVy plead earnestly
and eloquently to the Court in an
effort to convince it that the Jury
had made mistake in convicting his
client Fabien Stephens, Hat-nosed,
chunky, black negro who stood CON
Victed Of manslaughter. 4Why, Your
Honor, the only reason this man was
was because jurors that
week thought It was incumbent on
hem to convict everything that was
heir off week, when everything and
anything went by the board, just so
hey faced the bar of Justice His
Honor retorted that it was good some
;ime that jurors remembered their
luty. Stephens got five years in the
zen. A petition had been presented
% His Honor from the citizens Of
Grand Prairie, Stephens home, asking
or clemency.
Pierre Andrus, tall mulatto boy,
tood convicted of killing another
larkey with a baseball bat. He got
even years.
Edward Smith, another yonng ne
,ro, went for life for murder. Il
vas in my right, Jedge,' was the
,risonor's answer to His Honor's
question, to which His Honor an
lounced that he differed with him on
hat point.
Joseph Toussaint, the Morrow peg
egged negro convicted Of committing
ape on 12-year-old negro girl, had
Iotfring to say why sentence should
Iot be passed on him. He got a
ife term.
Joe Peterson, the young negro
uck convicted Of rape upon 4 child
f his race, at Washington, also got
ife sentence. You are lucky you 1