Clarke courier. [volume] (Berryville, Va.) 1869-1997, 1907-07-03

ne Is placed on trial sets up the
plea of reason dethroned by the
inexpressible mental anguish 10
which he had been subjected on
hearing that one very near and
dear To him had been the victim of
irreparabIe injury. There the
"unwritten law' rests its case.
The courts have ruled in the latest
cases In New York and in Virginia
that 1t rs not competent for the
State 20 present testimony to,show
that the rnmor which IL is claimed
unseated the reason of the defend
ant was unfounded: that the crime
charged against the victim of pri-
vate vengeance was never commit
ed; that there was M provocation,
possibly even in an Intelligent IN
terpretation ofthe" "unwritten law. >
to Justify the taking OF life. Tie
courts have ruled that tie state of
mind of the defendant. after hear
ING story of wrong which may
he mere invention. a sheer fabri-
cation, Is the onlY consideration TO
which tie JURY must give attention.
Tne truth or falSity of a story which
impels men To kill other men is
utterly immatcrial. Uudrr tho
"nrwrittcn law" all that Is neces-
sary Is to show that some person
told another a narrowing story of
wrong, calculated to produce er,o-
ti"nal insanity. Then a man may
run amuck and put to dcath ,he
person who Is alleged to have
wronged wife or daughter.
If juries are To give any consid-
GRAFTON whatever 10 the principles
underlying the "unwrit,cn law"
and even under the most provek-
ing circumstances that LAW" is
too dangerous and demoralizinr To
be recognized or justified in any
drgree-it should not be strength
ened by the exclusion of evidence
relating to the crime which led To
an appeal TO that law" " There
should he statutes in every State
providing for the admiS>ibilitv Of
evidence tending to demonstrate
the truth or falsity of statements
which lncitc persons suffering from
"brainstormS" or emotional insan-
ity TO homicide. Every State owes
tins simple measure OF protection
to It's citizens. II such statutes
were enacted il is probable there
would be fewer applications in the
future of the "unwritten law" If
a man who has latent homicidal
mania knew that he must make
a stronger defense then mental
excitement superinduced 10y a
tementwhich he accepted hastily
as conclusive; that he would have
no standing in court unless he en-
dcavorcd to ascertain the truth of
that statement; that all the facts
bearing upon the alleged wrong
would be admissible as evidence
it Is reasonable assumption that
he would reflect seriously before
executing the death penalty irreg-
ularly on another man. 1t is time
for the written law to meet the
conditions created by the "un-
written law" and by a statutory
enactment to open its gates wide to
all the evidence relating to the
credibility of men or women upon
whose unsupported statements men
are now put to- death under the
code of private vengeance. Tho
"unwrittep law, a. we have al
ready said, knows no North, South,
East or West.
There is perfection in no part of
the country. There are splendid
types of American manhood and
womanhOod in all parts of the
country. The man who invokes
the "unwritten law" il no more
Southern than he is Northern or
Western. He is no more Ameri-
can than he is French or German.
1t is an utterly bad law" and
public sentiment everywhere ought
to insist that it be repudiated by
courts of justice. Our civilization
has outgrown the "unwritten law. "
Our courts are able 60 punish
wrongdoing. And as this "law, -
a relic of cruder civilization, can
not protect q woman from the
scandal and notoriety attending a
trial, its absurdity as we'll as its
wickedness is manifest.
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