Albuquerque evening herald. [volume] (Albuquerque, New Mexico) 1911-1914, 1911-11-18

there Of the length Of four feet. ~
the breadth Of two inches. aud Of
the weight OF ton pounds. and which
said club TIE said q W and g. W.
then and there in hands had aud
held. the said g.. " and g. W. did
then ana there unlawfuiiy. wilifully.
fci0niuusiy premedltatciy on put-
pOHe, and of their malice nfore.
thought strike ana beat him, the
said y. y. at ana upon the right
side of the head Of him. the said y.
p with the club aforesaid. and IN
flictlng on and giving 20 him. the
said y r.. IN ana upon the right side
% the head OF him. the said D. r..
one mortal wound. which said mortal
wound wss 81 the length Of four
inches ana OF the breadth Of two
Inches. ~ which said mortal wound
the snid - =. from said sixteenth
OF January. 1904. the year aforesaid,
IN the county aforesaid until tho
eighteenth day of January. IN the
year aforesaid. Ia the county aiore-
said. did langulsh ana. lnnguishlns.
did live. on which said eighteenth day
Of january. IN the year aforesaid.
the said D. T.. IN the county and
state aforesaid Of the mortal wound
aforesaid. died. and ~ l.. l.. g.. PROS
souting attorney. Upon his official
oath as aforesaid doth say that the
said g. W. and e.. w. him the said
~ y. In she manner and by the
means aforesaid, wlllfully. uniaw full
~, felonlously. prcmcditatedly. on
purpose. and of malice aforethouRht,
did XIII ANA murder. against the
peace ana dignity OF the state"
u II evident that the prosecuting
attorney who drew the indictment
took considerable pains not 10 over
look anything that vas essential and
In 40 doing Incorporated good deal
that might have been omitted. says
the Louisville Courier. Journal The
effectiveness Of his iaborcd effort
may be- Judged by the fnct. ~ stated
by Judge DcCcurcy. that after con-
victiOn had been srcuFed the SUI
preme court set aside the verdict on
the ground that the indictment dld
not clearly show whether the mortal
WAS inflicted with the club"
The average Indictment n such "A
congiomeratfon 81 words as ~ re-
1nire more or less careful study 10
discover what u II all about" Tho
methods employed TO
set forth the charge against the de-
fehdhnt often result IN nefcatInn the
cuas Of justice. since they lsy down
a gap for demurrers on technlcalities
aud some OF our high courts have de-
vetoped remarkable tendency for
finding rs specks Of error Judge
DdtNiorcy says II there were no 9th.
er objection 20 such an indictment
THAN that " IL an Insult 10 the Eng
lish language. u ought TO be abolish
ed. In that he Ia eminently COR
rect. but ne proceeds 20 show that
there are other and more serious OBJ
icctlons. ~ 'intormaiities In the
form Of such absurd indictments and
vsrianccs between their allegations
and the proof offered result daily Ia
VIBRATING men who are guilty OF
crave crimes"
Most of those who have devoted
any serious thought to the matter
xill agree with the Massac husetts
luriat thai whatever justification
here was Cor such technical plead
ngs In the days OF the savage penal
avs OF lhe Iona ago, there II abso-
Iutely none for their survival In the
twentieth century" The super
abundance OF words employed In
drawing u9 "a true biil'' II the chief
reason why 30 many indictments fail
70 stick" The vcrbiage IL redund-
mt and confusing and leaves OPEN
ngr for the shrcwd lawyer 10 find a
fatal flaw Il would he infinitely
better u these matters were slmpll- !
ficd-if there we're less adherence 90
lhe forms of Law and more regard
for tho substance of Justice.