Evening journal., 1913-11-19
GOES To JAIL
WITH A SMILE
ON HIS TACF
Wv MAS AOA
Charles B. NayIOr Given Three
Year Term for Killing
Youth
NO RIGHT TO SHOOT
TRESPASSER, COURT SAYS


Charles B. Nayinr al near Town
send walked out OF the court house
yesterday afternoon with a light step
and a smile on his face. He had Just
been sentenced TO three years i'm
lprisOnment for the killing OF harvil
Francis last January on his farm,
He shot with small rife in the di-
rectlon OF some trespassers on his
marsh and the bullet struck and kill
ed Young Francis.
Mayor who Is 60 years OF age,
was convicted az the March term Of
the Court Of oyer and Terminer OF
murder in the second degree, Upon
application OF Daniel o. Hastings and
Richard s. Rodney, his counsel, he
was granted new trial. This took
place last week and the Jury brought
In a verdict of manslaughter. Before
Naylor was sentenced yesterday ar
ternoon Mr.. Hastings called atten-
ton Of the court to the fact that
Naylor had been In Jail ten months,
Chief Justico pennewll IN impos-
/ ing sentence eald
''rhe jury have found You guilty OF
manslaughter. and we must take the
verdict to mean Just what tho law de-
fines the oifenae To he, viz. That YOU
are guilty Of an act that was COM
mittcd in the heat OF blood hut With
out malice. In view OF your friend
iy relations with the deceased and his
family before the shooting, Il Is din
cult TO conceive that you could have
any malice IN your heart towards the
hoy that was slains Tho Jury have
said you were not actuated by malice
towards any one but fired the fatal
shot IN a transport of passion. and
before the blood had time to cool.
Because Of your age your family and
the good reputation you were able
to prove, we are glad the jury could
reach such a conclusion.
"But your unfortunate act was. ac-
.cording to the verdict, unlawful and
inexcusable- And while We have
some feeling Of sympathy for you now
in your present situation. there can
be no excuse offered or found for the
recklessness OF the act which de-
stroyed the life OF a young man who.
YOU say, was your neighbor and
friend. Il may seem inconceibavle
10 you that the shot you fired from
a small rife at such great distance
could have struck and killed the de-
iceased. But it did. nevertheless, and
you pointed and discharged the gun
towards the place where the boys
were at the time. You may not have
known who they we're; you may not
have seen them at the very instant
YOU shot, but you had seen two per-
sons on the marsh. and in their di-
rection you fired. The jury has SAID
b ahnntfp|n .Df y Iu
I regard of human life in the .leRa
: sense, but the result of sudden mad
: ness or rage. While that viii be ac
J cepted as true, we think. and feel !
our duty TO say, that the shooting
itself was a reckless and careless net
which can be neither palliated or ex-
. cused.
I'VE deeply regret the untimely
death OF Earvil Francis. as we be-
lieye you also do, and our sympathy
goes out to his stricken and bereaved
, family. But our personal feelings,
( one way or the other, should not in
. fiuence the court I'm determining the
/ sentence that should be imposed. II
must be based primarily on the yer
. dict rendered in the case.
You are now sixty years of age,
I 'AA We nave .n0 tAAukAN NAtAA f0A
I Will ever commit a similar oflense
again. You have been taught a
severe lesson no doubt. and have al
ready suffered much and been severe
ly punished for your crime. But for
the benefit of others we think II
proper to repeat and emphasize here
one point briefly mentioned in the
charge, viz: That no one has q
right to XIII, shoot or strike another
whom he finds trespaSsing up0n his
lands, no matter how annoying the
trespass may be. For such Offense
the law provides a different remedy
and to such remedv tho law abiding
citizen win resort for the redress OF
wrongs. The feeling and thought i
|, foo general that man may do what
Z he nleases on his own premises. even
to the extent Of taking human life OF
doing bodily harm.
Z "And the reckless use of firearms
IS entirely too common with very
many people The law recognizes
this fact and hence the statute whicl
makes It unlawful for any person L
Z point pistol or gun at another II
Test or otherwise al any time o.
place For such an offense the pen
atty is msnslaughter II death result
and the killing does not amount 4
murder. This statute Is, IN our opin
Z ion, a most excellent and necessary
Z one. and we are strongly inclined Il
Z believe It had much 10 do with tn
Z verdict rendered in your case.
z in view of the fact that the fur,
z found the killing to be the result o
Y sudden passion and not OF malice
= and OF the fact that you have alreadl
z been IN the workhouse for almost
= year, and OF other facts and clrcum
q stances to which We have referred
y the sentence OF the court is that YOU
z Charles B. Naylor. pay fine Of s40C
= that you be imprisoned for term o
z three years, commencing this day an
y ending on the seventeenth day o
z November 1916. pay the costs O
z prosecution. and you are now com
= mitted 10 the Trustees OF the Ne1
= Castle county workhouse until thi
n aarfauQa fo oorvfod r,ff -