The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1909-02-18

The defendant sat composed dur
ing the trial and the verdict did not
greatly affect him.
The Last White Man Executed.
The Laurens, S. c., News of last
week contains a full account of the
last legal execution of white man
in Laurens county, together with the
story of the crime and the trial. It
is of special interest now, as illus
trating the contrast between the ad-
ministration of justice then and now,
and the work of the courts in it's re-
lation to crime.
The execution took place in 1854.
The prisoner was one DR.. Thos. Kin
man, described as man of intelli-
gence, of fine personal appearance,
and possessed of considerable wealth
in land and negroes in that county.
The crime with which he was
charged was stealing a negro-a
capital crime under the laws at that
time. He had been arrested in the
spring, but released under bond, and
when his case was called for trial on
Monday of the October term of court
he was on hand, and was then COM
mitted to Jail.
The evidence against him was
purely circumstantial, and as given
in the recital, seems to have been
weak. 1t was in effect that man
had driven through the country with
covered wagon, in which he had
strong, able-bodied negro. This
negro he sold, taking the money, and
then the negro escaped from his new
owner, Joined his old owner again
at some prearranged place, and was
again sold in another place. This
performance was repeated several
times, until finally Kinman was
caught. At the trial none of the
witnesses could possibly identify
him, and he was convicted princi-
pally on the evidence of three passes
which had been given the negro, such
as were required at that time OF ev-
cry unknown negro found on the
road. These were signed by ficti-
tious names, but the handwriting
was described to be DR.. Kinman's by
witnesses.
In the charge of the judge to the
jury he made strong summlng-up
of the evidence, as was the custom
at that time, and the jury returned
q verdict of guilty within thirty
minutes. Kinman was sentenced to
death. A new trial was petitioned
for and refused; then the case was
carried to the court of appeals
which reviewed it and sustained the
verdict. And within short time
after the first trial the sentence was
executed. Seated on wagon beside
the driver, with the coffin in the
wagon behind him, the unfortunate
man was driven to the place of pub
lie execution, where he mounted the
scaffold in the presence of vast
multitude, and himself giving the
signal for the fatal drop. On the
scaffold he confessed that he was
guilty as charged.
This is in strange contrast with
the administration of justice in our
courts at the present time. To con-
vict a man of wealth and social
standing, even of the crime of muir
der, is simply impossible now, and
so is a speedy trial in a criminal
case, where the defendant has money
enough, or can raise it, to employ a
lawyer. There are the laws delays,
the resort to technicalities, the ap-
peal from one court to another, and
all the red tapeism of the courts, un-
til it has become almost Impossible
to secure conviction in any criminal
case, and if the case is of such a na-
ture that a conviction can not be
avoided, the pardoning power of the
governor is held ready to complete
the defeat of justice.
! Before the Civil War the courts or
South Carolina ranked highest in the
country for swift and sure admins
tration of justice according to law,
as the trial of DR.. Kinman illustrates.
And at that time in no State Of the
union was life and property safer,
and less of crime than in South Caro-
lima. Now, under the administra-
ton of the law which only in few
cases results in conviction and in no
case in speedy enforcement of the
law. South Carolina leads in murder
and manslaughter, and has the repu-
tation of being a lawless country
where crime is rampant. And the
same applies more or less to every
State and especially to the Southern
States.
If there could be a return to the
sure and swift administration OF the
law, as it was a half century ago, 1t
would stop the deluge of lawlessness
which has swept over the country
and still grows worse from year TO
year.-Augusta Herald.
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