The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1910-08-04


erDegree of Homicide Than
the One Committed. |
Charlotte News.
Why are there so many murders in !
this State? is q question to which |
the answers are as varied as they are !
numerous. But the general concen-
sus OF opinion is that were there |
more convictions followed by pun
ishment of merited severity there |
would be fewer such crimes.
These can be no doubt that too
many..men who commit wilful mur-
der GO free or are convicted of and
punished for n lower degree of homi- !
eide than the one they commit. Why
this is SO is a question also to which
there are many answers. The blame
is laid on the lawyers, on the iuries,
on the law regulating the selection of
iuries, on the law dividing murder
into two grades and requiring the
State to establish deliberation and
generalization in order to convict OF
murder in the first degree, in place of
the old law which made the killing OF
a human being with malice afore-
thought a capital felony and which
presumed malice upon proof by the
State of the killing. Under the law
as then existing the defendant had to
rebut the legal presumption OF malice
unless it was done by the States
evidence establishing the killing-in
order to reduce the grade of the
felony from murder o omanslaughter
This was the common law, the law
of this State up to the time OF the
passage of the act of the Legislature
in 1895 we think it was-establsh-
ing the two grades of murder. This
act, as anyone can understand,
makes it much more difficult to con-
vict of murder in the first degree
even in the absence of the other OBJ
stacles to conviction above emu
merated.
But that law cannot be held re-
sponsible for the numerous acquittals
+ outright on the plea of self-defense or
insanity of men charged with MUIR
der in the first degree even in the alb
sence of the other obstacles to con-
viction above enumerated.
| But that law cannot be held re-
sponsible for the numerous acquit-
tails outright on the plea OF self-de-
fense or insanity Of men charged with
murder whose guilt of some degree
of unlawful killing was made per-
fectly manifest by the testimony pre-
sented to the Jury.
| There have been cases in this State
and no doubt many of our readers
can call to mind one or more-in
which the uncOntroverted testimony
of the States witnesses or even that
of the defendant himself showed that
he was at least guilty of manslaugh-
| ter and still the Jury acquitted on
the ground of seIf-defense. There
have been other cases in which the
jurors seemed to Jump at the plea of
insanity as an excuse for acquitting
where the circumstances showed most
deliberate conduct at the time of the
homicide as we'll as Il perfectly sane
condition prior to and following the
act. Jurors acquit men OF murder
and turn them loose upon commu-
nifty on the plea OF insanity, upon a
showing which the same jurors would
not hold sufficient to relieve them
from responsibility upon a contract
executed while in the alleged state OF
insanity.
Whose fault can it be that this
state of affairs exists but that OF the
Jurors who render such verdicts? also
of the law which gives the defense
such great advantage over the
State in selecting the iuries and
thereby securing unworthy juror?
! Lawyers are blamed for the part
they play in selecting iuries-too
much we think on occasions, but Of
course they take advantage of the
opportunity the law allows them
some OF them undue advantage;
but the law should be Of such char
acter as to make that impossible.
Thorough revision of the jury sys-
tenn OF the State should be made In
our defective laws regulating the
making up OF the jury lists and
the drawing iuries we believe the
greatest obstacle in the way of
proper enforcement OF the law
against the graver felonies lies.
Some say there are too many exemp-
tions from jury duty. That the
many classes exempted enables come
of the best citizens to escape this
service cannot be denied. There
should be fewer exemptions in order
that this better class of citizens
might be compelled to serve the
State in this important capacity.
And at the same time there should be
greater restrictions. The names OF
too many men who are not worthy
or competent to sit OH iuries are put
in the inry boxes. Jury service
should be elevated above the position
it now holds in public estimation.
1t should be made more OF a privi-
lege, so that men would consider it
an honor to be worthy to sit upon a
jury.
We do not expect to see the day
when such conditions exist, but the
nearer approach is made to them the
less complaint will there be OF muir
derers going free through improper
yerdicts OF iuries and less miscarriage
of,iustice generally.
While we have had reference in the
above to murder trials alone much
that we have said regarding jurors
and our jury system will apply to
Ijuries in civil cases