The free lance. (Fredericksburg, Va.) 1885-1926, 1907-07-04
THURSDAY, JULY !. 1907.
WHITTIER ARE WE DRIFTING ?

WHITTIER ARE WE DRIFTING ?
Now that the Loving trial is ended.
and ended as was expected bv nine
tenths OF the people of this State in
view of the evidence. it is time to
consider little. We had occasion a
day or two since TO call attention to
the dangers established by the ruling
in this case excluding evidence going
tt show that the story alleged to
have been told Judge Loving was
false, or rather TO show. from the
fict that the incidents related never
took place, theimprobability of their
having been told him. and at least
three prominent newspapers which
have come under our observation
take the same view. The Richmond
Times-Dispatch, in two separate edi-
torials, calls for a halt and some
remedy by legislative enactment. and
the News-Leader does likewise. The
Baltimore Sun, in lengthyeditorial
commenting on this trial and the
"unwritten law" says:
The ''unwritten law" has two ele-
ments of strength. One is the ten.
dency OF the average man serving on
a Jury to consider certain crimes, com
mitted in the defense OF alle.red
= wrongs to women, from the sentimen-
tai and emotional point of view alone.
The other is the restriction upon evi-
dence which might show that the
crime had no Justification in fact:
that no wrong had been committed
which justified the taking OF life in
hot blood or in cold blood.
And then further, the Sun calling
for some remedial legislation. saws:
Ii Is time for the written law to
meet the conditions created by the
"unwritten law" and by a statutory
enactment to open its gates wide to
all the evidence relating to the credi-
bllity OF men or women upon whose
unsupported statements men are
now put to death under the code OF
private vengeance. The ''unwritten
law, as we have already said. knows
no North, South, East or West.
Following in the line Of our views
expressed a day or two since. the
Sun urges that there should be
statutes in every State providing for
the admissibility of evidence tending
TO demonstrate the truth or falsitv
OF statements which incite persons
suffering from 'brainstorms' or emo
tional insanity to homicide. Every
State owes this simple measure of
protection to its citizens. If such
statutes were enacted it is probable
there would be fewer applications in
the future OF the 'unwritten law II
man who has latent homicidal
mania knew that he must make a
stronger defense than mental excite
ment superinduced by a statement
which he accepted hastily as conclu-
sive; that he would have no standing
IN court unless he endeavored TO as
certain the truth of that statement:
that all the facts bearing upon tie
alleged wrong would be admissible
as evidence-it is a reasonable as
sumption that he would reflect seri-
Ously before executing the death pen
atty irregularly on another man"
These various utterances from
newspapers of such prominenca a.
the Times-Dispatch, News-Leader and
the Sun 20 TO show growing senti-
ment and demand for some change
in the laws as will protect a man
from being murdered in cold blood
because OF some fancied wrong done
the wife or daughter of another. We
have every respect for that feeling
which impels men to shoot down the
betrayer of their women. but wehave
regard also for human life. left de-
fenseless under the law as it now
stands. Alter the rules of evidence
so that the facts on which these
stories, such as that told bv Eliza
beth Loving and Evelyn Thaw are
based, may go to the jury oshow the
probability or improbability of the
story and we won't have as MANY
cases of this kind in the future
There is something here for the next
Legislature to think on.