The Mathews journal. (Mathews C.H. [Court House]) 1903-1937, 1912-12-12
GLAUDE'S CASE PRESENTS A
SPECIAL PLEA FOR MERCY

The Fairfax Herald, of which Hor
! X. Donahoe. former state Auditoi
nd man recognized to be of mos
and excellent judgmen
the edltor, prints the following ed
orial IL It's current issue:
THE ALIENS.
A great many prominent peo-
PIE are trying 10 nave the death
sentence pronounced upon Floyd
ana SIaude Swanson Allen COM
muted TO Imprisonment Tor life.
a heasy responsibility rests uDon
Governor Mann, and those who
Know him feel assured that he
VIII give the matter the most
carefui consideration. Ii. after
uuc collaboration, ne believes the
ceath penalty should be inflicted.
painful as IL must be TO him. ne
Wli 80 direct. On the other hand.
should ne feel that cIemency and
mercy can be properly. exercised-
he viii be brave enough TO COM
mute the sentences. The burden
OF his responsibility is a heavy
one, and the public confdes i'm
his Judgment and fairness.
The Hillsville tragedy was
truly n deplorabie affair. No
one would attempt TO justify the
"a NAAC -AAACAST INC
Governor can consider the mat
rer from a standpoint denied 60
the jury. Without being moved
by any maWl<ish sentiment. a
very large percentage of the
thinking people OF Virginia would
approve n communication of the
sentence of the Aliens TO life Inn
prtsonment. The imposition of
the death penalty could not re-
CfOVft lilo hn
right Judge Massie and the other
victims, nor would IL have a more
deterrent effect upon the noun
tatneers than life imprisonment
would have. If it be possible
that the departed are conscious
OF and interested I'm what trans
pires on earth, who can doubt
that these victims themselves, as
all must be, debtors. TO Divine
mercy, would say, ssBe mercifuI."
The case OF the Aliens differs
very materially from the case OF
Henry Clay Beattie. The latter
deliberately planned the murde.
of his wife, and took her. life
after cool elaboration. The Az
lens acted on impulse, and the
public mind cannot divest itself
Of the impression that at least
some OF the court officials ex-
pected, IL they did not actually
welcome, trouble with the Aliens
under the conditions that OBJ
tanned at HillsviIle.
But there are other and moro
cogent considerations. Has the
State done her full duty towards
these mountaineers? Has she
tried to educate them and elevate
their standard of citizenship? On
the contrary, has she not actual
ls3 licensed a traffic I'm their midst
OF demoraIizing tendencies snd
promotfve of IawIessness?
The environments of these peo-
PIE must be considered. People
are the creatures of environment
and always will be. The day Is
coming when the infliction Of cap
ieal punishment will be regarded
as n relic OF barbarisTn. Sir
Thomas Dale, one of our early
with nlalefactors. One offender,
history relates, had bOdkin
thrust through his tongue and
was chained to a tree until he
persisted, while others were put
TO death by hanging, shooting.
breaking on the wheel and the
like. Yet, IL is related, Sir Thomas
had '.assiduously Iabored TO i'm
press the truths of Christianity on
the Indian maid" (Pocahontas)
and wrote a friend i'm London thaS
''an his work in the plantation CT
Virginia was undertaken for Gods
cause and His immortal HONOR
His inhumanity must be consid-
cred in connection with the GUS
toms ef the times and the locality
in which he lived. Some allow
ance, therefore, should be made
for the crude training and en-
vlrOnments of these mountaineers.
for which the State is in no small
measure responsible.
The case OF Claude Allen seems
20 appeal specially for n mercifuI
consideration. Who, with a spark
OF manhood "a his bosom, would
stand idly by and see his father,
though n transgresSOr, shot to
death without raising a hand TO
repel mis- aSSailantS? Commodore
stephen Decatur, i'm his celebrated
toast, Our country! May she al
ways be i'm tire right; but our
country, right or wrong" struck a
patriotic and responsive chord i'm
the hearts of his countrymen, and
IL is hard TO utterly condemn and
withhold mercy from Claude Al
len when he acted towards his i'm
puisiVe, though erring, father as
Decatur would have acted towards
his country, fright or wrong"