The Caucasian. (Shreveport, La.) 1900-192?, 1912-12-19
A Case of Misapplied Sympathy,

Wednesday afternoon Mrs. Eva
Bailey was sentenced by Judge
SutherIin to five years servitude IN
the State penitentiary at Baton
Rouge.
The crime for which Mrs. Bailey
was convicted by jury of more
than average intelligence, was re-
sponsive to the Indictment by the
Grand jury and fully sustained by
the evidence submitted at the trial
of the case.
The crime is: attempting to ad-
minister poison to her husband with
the intent Of murder"
The crime was deliberate. 1t was
conceived with generalization, but
it failed in its murderous intent be-
cause the victim rejected the coffee
after tasting it, in which the poison,
strychnine, had been placed, and al
though nauseated from the meagre
quantity he did swallow, he recov-
cred after he had received the at
tention of his physician.
The failure to get rid of her hus-
band, G. C. Bailey, who was an OBJ
stacle to her illicit companionship
with Albert L. Watson, stimulated
the intent of murder which was exc
cuted eight days afterwards by Wat
son, who has been convicted OF
murder and has been sentenced to
be hanged.
Although Mrs. Bailey was not
tried with Watson for the murder
of c.. C. Bailey, her husband, she
was an indirect participant in the
crime of which she had, the full
knowledge before and after the fact.
Upon what hypothesis should
maudlin sentiment be wasted on a
woman who has forfeited every
reasonable consideration for mercy,
when she disgraced herself, first by
being untrue to her marriage vows,
and became criminal Of the worst
type when she attempted to strych-
nine her husband to his grave.
II may be noted that Watson, I'M
til after his conviction and his SEN
tence to hang, shielded the woman
and assumed all blame for their
crimes, but in confession to rep
resentatiye of the New Orleans
States of November t9, he says that
Mrs. Bailey had begged him to muir
der her husband.
And in the statement to the States
representative Watson explains the
poisoning of his own wife in the
words quoted: Mrs. Bailey gave my
wife the capsule Of stryehnine that
caused her death. My wifewas sick
then at Flanagan; it was on the lot,
day of June 1911. Mrs. Bailey saw
me put the medicine in a capsule.
She knew what it was that she gave
my wife. She suggested the whole
awful plot and she deserves the
same punishment as door worse,
for | was weak and run down physi-
cally and in no condition to with
stand temptation
II matters little how these crimes
we're committed, but it is sufficient
to realize that Watson and Mrs.
Bailey are the criminals and neither
should be shielded with that senti-
mentality which is nauseating, and
which is reflective on justice and Is
q trayesay of law and order.
Because Mrs. Bailey is woman
is no warrant for any indulgence of
pity. She exercised no pity on the
sick wife OF Watson, nor did she en-
join or restrain the hand of Watson
when he dealt the blow which killed |
her husband when asleep and there
fore defenseless.
There has been too much play on
sentiment for the criminals unde-
serving, and it We're time that each
criminal, especially after having had
q fair and impartial trial, and shall
have been convicted by a jury of
more than average intelligence.
The penalty for the crime for
which Mrs. Bailey was convicted is
from 1--WE to twenty years imprison-
ment. 1t was not expected that the
maximum years would have been
melted out to her, but the minimum
sentence of only five years is not in
keeping with the crime for which
she was tried and convicted. In this
case sentiment has been misapplied;
atleast this is the candid opinion of
the Caucasian expressed respectful
IL but unreservedIy.