The Mathews journal. (Mathews C.H. [Court House]) 1903-1937, 1907-05-16
Under these circumstances thess

EVERY juror THINKS ninnSeH Il
reasonable man, and his emotions.
his EhivaIry; his belief that the
man who has paid the death
penalty for his wrong doing met
with his just deserts, his cOnvic-
ton that society is we'll rid of
such a rfteinbet; indeed; innumei-
able suggestions will lead him TO
question seriously his own course
under stress Of Similar horrible
circumstafIceS-and he can't con-
vict his fellow man finder the
written law. when every fibre of
his being declares that similarly
situated he wOHid have acted
similarly.
We did not hear the evidence
in the Strother trial. We accept
the verdict of the jury, which Tes
suited as every one expected.
We have net eheard. the case Of
Judge Loving. wissfhnld our
conclusions until it is In. Hows
ever. in the face Of the universal
commentator of the action of
the Strother brothers. we cannot
exactly understand why Judge
Loving has so strained the I'M
written law" Our view of this
matter MAY possibly be colored
by the fact that while we don't
know him personally, he is so
we'll and so favorably known To
us through mutual intimate
friends as a splendid, kindly.
chivalrous and Iovable man; but
we do not believe that we are in
fiuenced in drawing this COM
parison.
In the Strother case, the heat
and rancor, the fire and flame of
first knowledge had burned itself
out. and the period Of quiet and
orderly discussion had ended.
The wrong had been atofied as
far as atonement was possible by
marriage and no previous effort
at escape had been made. The
blot upon the family name had
been erased by the Vows at the
altar and the disgrace TO which
woman's weakness had lent itself
was far less at the time OF the
shooting than it had ever been
Siiice its discovery by the Strothet
brothers many days before.
With Judge Lovifigi while the
facts given are meagre. there has
been no cooling time. In hts dis
tracted parental mind there was
one ever present picture. growing
more terrible the longer contem-
plotted. His daughter his eigh-
tcen-year-old girl, the child of
his heart. debauched, disgfaced,
What man with Kindred ties,
and with warm red blood iii his
veins, could look upon this pic
ture of shattered life, Upon the
appalling Indebtedness. its hope
essness. and in his heart blame
the father? What was there left
Tor him TO do? The cold reason
Of the law offered no solution, its
aegis no protectiofi. The God of
all the ages constituted iiih4 the
protector of his family and its
honor. and who will place him
self in Judge Loving's position,
with the belief of his daughters
disgrace certainty iii his mind,
and proclaim that we would take
any other course !
II the " uhwfitteh law" has
any place iii the minds Of the
jury. either as a mitigation OF as
a Justification. it htust be iii the
haStiness of the dcti0h, in the
outbnrst of the btainstatht, In the
stress and stfafh of powerful
emotions, ahA not n deliberate
determination and after tafious
and lengthy discussions and atgu-
mentS.
We have believed that thefe is
no necessity for ettactihg the tih=
written law into Statute. We
have felt that each unfortunate
case as it arises could be dealt