Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1907-07-17
.UNWRITTEN Law AGAIN

Mother and Son Acquitted of Charge
of Numbering Man Who Ruined
Their Daughter and Sister-Ver-
dict of Jury Announced to Judge
While They Were at Dinner Dur
ing Recess Just After They Had
Been Sent From Court Room to
Consider Decision.
Laplata, Nd, Special.-1t took the
jury in the Bowie murder trial but
five minutes to decide that in South
ern Maryland at least, the "unwrit-
ten law' is the law to which the Sc
aneer must hold himself answerable.
And while there was no m -ked de-
monstration when the verdict became
known, there was sufficient evidence
that the verdict Of the jury was the
verdict of the people of this section
of the country. Both jury and people
acpuit Mrs. Mary e. Bowie and her
son, Henry, of all blame for their
acknowledged Staying last January of
Hubert Posey, the seducer of their
daughter and sister, Priscilla Bowie,
who with her child, has made q pa
thetic picture in the court room. That
there was no demonstration vas
doubtless due to the fact that the YER
dict of the jury was announced to
the judges while they were at dinner
during a recess, just prior to which
the jury had been sent out of the
court room to consider their decision.
State Attorney Winners request To
the jury that they bring in a verdict
of manslaughter, was not more note
worthy than the frankness with which
Congressman Sidney h. Mudd, cf
counsel for the defense, appealed to
the "unwritten law" in behalf Of
his clients. Throughout his address,
which evidently voiced the senti-
ments of most of his hearers, Mrs.
Bowie and her son sat in stolid COM
posure, while Pricilla Bowie wept
continuously.
"Gentlcmen," said Congressman
Mudd, "we shall claim that these
defendants were justified, by what
the newspapers have called the sun
written law" He then cited many
cases in which the avengers Of wrong
ed daughters, sisters and wives have
been acquitted, and continued:
"Never since the formation Of
this government has there been tried
before a jury Of American citizens a
single case of murder following wall
ton seduction in which the verdict
has been other than instant acquit-
tal." He argued for the "supre-
macy Of the law indelibly written oa
the quick-beating human heart, over
the cold type of the statute books, I"
and said:
"The family in this land Of ours
is the nuclueus and the nursery Of
the Commonwealth. The protection
Of the sanctity of the family tiesy the
chastity of women, the development
and maintenance of a salutary and
exalted respect for the honor Of the
mother, the sister and the daughter
become natural and essential fea-
ture of the law in this land. In
nearly every State of this country
there will be found an exemplifica-
tion and recognition Of this fact and
an adoption of this doctrine.
"It is in this sense that I conf
IDENTIFY claim the protection of what
l have called and claim the 'unwrit-
ten law as an adequate defense for
these defendants.
State Attorney Wilmer argued
against the "unwritten law" but
urged the jury to give the defendants
the benefit of every possible dorbt
and repeated that lie did not ask for
a verdict of murder, but for one ct
manslaugitcr. The jury, however,
evidently took Nh. Mudd's view OF
the case and when they filed into
court it was to declare that the kill
ing Of Hubert Poscy was justified.