The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1911-09-14
CHESTNUT GETS FIFTEEN YEARS
SLAYER of w. r. Sabin Convicted of
Manslaughter.


years in the State penitentiary or a
like period on the public works OF
Orangeburg county was the sentence
imposed to-day upon Robert Chest
nut, following his conviction of man
slaughter for the killing, on April
25, last, of William R. Sabin, young
lumber dealer of this city. The
prisoner, whose Staying of a fellow
being, twelve of his peers have pro-
nounced unjustifiable, listened with
downcast eyes as Judge James W.
DeVore uttered the words which le-
gally deprived him of next to his
most cherished possession-his lib
erty, which the law now claims as
the penalty of his act in taking hu-
man life.
Showing plainly the effects of his
confinement in Jail since the day OF
the tragedy and the ordeal undergone
during his trial of the past three
days, the prisoner stood in the dock
and had nothing to say when asked
by the court why sentence should not
be passed upon him. His counsel,
who had striven to satisfy the jury
of his innocence, pleaded eloquently
and earnestly for leniency from the
court in passing sentence. With
voices at times affected by the emo
ton, which was evident, Messrs.
Adam H. Moss, William c. Wolfe
and Thomas M. Raysor drew atten-
tion to many of the phases of the
case favorable to the defendant and
laid much stress upon his good char
acter as testified to by number OF
witnesses, begging that the court
would take these into consideration
in fixing the punishment and make
the sentence as light as possible.
Counsel for the defence also took oc-
casion to thank Judge DeVore for
his uniform impartiality throughout
the trial and the learned manner in
which he expounded the law from
the bench, stating that he had been
Just to the State and fair to the de-
fendant. They asked for a sentence
that would vindicate the law, calling
attention to the fact that anything
like a long term might mean a life
sentence to the convicted man, who
is now 3S years Of age.
Might Have Been Murder.
After giving careful attention to
the remarks of counsel for the pris-
oner, Judge DeVore stated, address,
ing the defendant, that since the ver-
dict was rendered he had been great
ly concerned over the amount OF
punishment that should be meted out
in this case. He told the prisoner
that an intelligent jury, after con-
sidering the law and the evidence
for about ten hours, had failed to
recommend him to the mercy Of the
court, as they were told in the charge
they might do. The court further
declared that in it's opinion the ver-
dict was just one; in fact, Judge
DeVore stated that he felt satisfied
that a verdict of murder, under the
testimony, would have stood the test
of the courts. Without attempting
to lecture the prisoner or make his
burden any heavier, Judge DeVore
reviewed some of the testimony, par
ticularly that Of the defendant,
which, the court declared, In It's
opinion, was sufficient to convict OF
either murder or manslaughter, with
the elimination of the evidence given
by every other witness in the case.
Pardon Possible.
Continuing, Judge DeVore said the
testimony of the defendant showed
that he deliberately got his gun,
went to hisvictim's place of business,
his castle, and without sufficient pro-
vocation, so far as the testimony
shows, took the life of William R.
Sabin. Judge DeVore reiterated
his opinion that taking out all of the
testimony except that of the defend
ant, the jury was bound to convict OF
manslaughter or murder. In finally
passing the sentence of fifteen years
Judge DeVore did not leave the pris-
oner hopeless, for he stated that, af-
ter a portion of the sentence has been
served, chow much he did not say,
however,) he would, if still alive and
circumstances prompted him, join in
a petition for a pardon.
How Jury Stood.
That the length of the sentence
surprised the prisoner, his counsel
and many spectators was evident,
although none was heard to say that