Evening journal., 1910-05-27
AN ERROR
OF JUSTICE
BY BERTHA D. ALsOP
Copyright, 1910. by American Press
Association.
BY BERTHA D. ALsoP

The Lyons mail coach was bowling
along over road fanked on each side
by wood. Among the inside pas.
sengers was a gentleman notable for
white wig. He chatted freely with
the others, making himself generally
agreeable so that when he alighted
at village midway between Paris
and Lyons he was greatly missed.
Not half an hour after he left the
coach a man riding black horse left
thicket beside the road. shot the
courier Of the mail. robbed him and
made away with the booty in the di.
rection from which he came.
Several of the passengers. hearing
the shot, put their heads out of the
window and saw the robber.
Great hCavensg cried one. 'It is
the gentleran who was riding with
/ us awhile ago. / would know him any.
where. especially by his white wig"
And l would know him without the
wig" said another.
The courier was dead, having been
shot through the heart. His body was
| left at the house Of peasant. and the
coach proceeded. Arriving at Lyons.
the murder and robbery were reported
and mounted police sent back to scour
the country for the man in the white
wig. He was found in the town at
which he had alighted. A couple of
gendarmes ran up to him and seized
him while drinking a glass of wine in
a cafe.
what does this mean7' he cried.
you think to throw the police off
the track by assurance" said one Of
the gendarmes. "You got or the
Lyons mail yesterday at this village
rode ahead by circuitous path. stop.
ped the coach. shot the courier. robbed
him and dashed away. What have
you done with the plunderr'
This is a mistaken cried the man.
"You can prove the mistake before
the magistrate. Come along"
The magistrate asked the prisoner a
number of questions as to his bust.
ness, what he was doing on the mail
and his name. He said that he was
wine merchant of Paris and travelling
for the purpose Of buying wine. His
name was Jean Lesaurques. The mag.
istrate upon a statement of the facts
attending the crime concluded to send
the suspected man to Lyons for trial.
Lesaurqucs was thrown into prison
to await trial for murder and robbery.
The driver Of the coach identified him
as one who had travelled inside for
some distance and as the man who had
committed the crime. Several of thu
passengers who had caught sight of the
murderer testified to the same thing,
Lesaurques claimed that on reaching
the village where he had left the
coach he had mounted a horseback
and ridden out among the vineyards
Unfortunately he had not stopped t.
speak except with one vine grower
but as he would have had time to roh
the coach and talk with this man aft
erward an alibi was not proved.
The prisoner was convicted and was
about to receive sentence when wo
man rushed into the court and said
TO the Judge:
Your worship is about to send an
innocent man TO be guillotined. This
man is not the murderer"
How do you know thatg" asked the
Judge
Because know the man who plan
ned the robbery, and he told me all
about it. The man who committed the
murder is one Dubosq. The prisoner
very much resembles him.
where is this Dubosq to be foundg"
asked the judge.
THAT question is not easily answer
ed. He is, a, professional criminal and
the worst of the gang that conspired
TO commit this robbery"
The judge thought for a time and
then said:
The testimony Of this woman is not
admissible. She admits that she has
the confidence OF the gang that did
the murder. II is a very natural de
vice for them TO send her in here tC
tell this story in order to save the mur
derer. This case must rest on the tes
timOny Of those who rode with the
prisoner I'm the coach and those who
saw him shoot the courier. Jean lie
saurques, have you anything to say
why sentence of death should not ht