Live Oak daily Democrat. (Live Oak, Fla.) 190?-190?, 1907-05-23

4
most OF us will lie at one time OF
another, and that many OF US ten
little white lies that never amount
Tn much either in injury or good
Rut WHY the truth would not do bet
tor ar any and all times none can
tell.
But is it so with the deliberate
liar the liar, who. If necessary
wouId take the life of human De-
ing nv lying. Such a liar as this
is a seourge to the community IN
which he lives, and, if the opinion
of the great majority of those per-
sons who have attended the prelim-
mary examination OF Thomas W.
Troy. for the killing of George C..
Newcomb, before County Judge Hey
ser during the past several days. Is
TO be entertained, there are some OF
this calibre of liars in our midst
liars who would by their lying saeri-
fee a human life.
All these were state witnesses.
Witnesses, who, above all others.
should tell the truth, the whole truth
and nothing but the truth 1t is
not the purpose of the State or Of
its laws that an innocent man shall
be punished. 1t is the aim OF the
law to punish the guilty and vindi-
cate the innocent The State should
+ be impartial, unbiased, and above all
strictly fair to an accused, and in
this comes the old and well estab-
lished law Ito the prisoner shall be
given the benefit of the doubt"
{ Mind you. the Metropolis is basing
, its opinion upon the opinion OF
those who have followed the hearing
/ of the case against Mr.. Troy. The
crime with which he is accused is
one of the most deplorable in the
annals of Dade county. The State
is investigating it for the purpose
of determining whether the accused
shall be indicated by dicharge
or held for further trial.
Simply this and nothing more. The
truth Injuries no one, and why the
witnesses for the State should be al
lowed and seemingly encouraged to
lie in the manner in which they are
i accused OF doing, is a mystery.
| Would it not have been to the
credit of the attorneys for the State
and judge presiding to force these
witnesses to tell the truth.
Would they have lost prestige by
so doing? Would they not, as a
matter of fact, have elevated them
selves in public opinion by conduct
ing a fair and impartial trial? Then
why should the witnesses lie? II
may be that the dead man was a
personal friend. Granting this to
be the case, would they not have
shown their friendship by coming
into court and telling the whole
truth and nothing but the truth
| That would have been true friend
ship to the deceased and justice to
the living.
When a witness tells the truth
there is no possibility of a lawyer
tangling him up On cross examina-
ton. But according to opinion
such has not been the case in the
Troy hearing Some of the State
witnesses have been badly mixed UP
and made to correct themselves by
the attorneys for the defense. Upon
this fact is based the charge that
they perjured themselves.
If the accused committed a foul
and unwarranted murder the Me-
tropolis would be the first one to
condemn him and urge that he pay
the full penalty of his crime, but il
does not hold any more than does
the public that a man should be pun
ished upon perjured testimony, and
it firmly believes that every wit
ness in this or any other case who
deliberately swears falsely should be
punished How the court will pass
upon the testimony before him re,
mains to be seen.