Richmond planet. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1883-1938, 1924-07-26

The following editorial on Ine
Barrett Case" appeared in The Rich
mond (Va.) News Leader, Wednes-
day, July %:
In July, 1917, two Negroes, father
and son, were arrested in Charlotte
county for the murder of white man
with whom they had dispute and
fight. When they were brought to trial,
the father was tried, convicted, SEN
fenced and later was electrocuted. Tue
boy. who was then only about 16 years
of age ignorantly and in panic wa1V
ed the presumption OF the law that he
was innocent and, without the advice
of counsel, pleaded guilty The court
thereupon decided that where the boy
had confessed himself a murderer, the
law left the court no discretion in sem
fencing the boy to death. Father ana
son were subsequently brought to Rich
mond and were placed in the death
house at the penitentiary.
To this point the case had attracted
no attention and had been given little
place, if any, in the news. But State
Senator Walter Addison, editor of the
Lynchburg News, was appraised of the
facts, protested against the execution,
came to Richmond to see Governor
Stuart in behalf of the boy and while
here urged that The News Leader take
UP the case. While this paper was &C
quainting the people of eastern Virgin
ia with the circumstances, an appeal IN
behalf of the Negro youth, whose name
was Aubrey, was made to the state SUI
preme court. The court declined to
grant writ of error, because the rec
ord was incomplete, but it took occas-
ion to say that the trial court did have
discretion and was not required By the
statute to impose the death penalty.
It was for comments on the case and
especially for expressing the nope. that
the boy might get "a new. truly Vir'
GINA trial" that The News Leader was
cited in contempt of court. The inter.
esting aspect Of those proceedings was
not the summons for that was not TAX
en- seriously, but the reaction of some
of the people of the county to the pap
er's plea for clemency
Sentiment was strongly for the court
and vehemently against The News
Leader. A minister who went through
the county to ascertain if he could pro
cure signatures to petition for com
mutation Of sentence, came back not
only discouraged but actually alarmed
It would not be safe he said, for REP
resentative of the paper to go among
the people of Charlotte. He would Ger
tainly be insulted and might be attack
ed. because The News Leader maintain
ed that the Negro boy should not be
eIectrocuted. The minister perhaps un
consciously exaggerated the facts, but
he was not in error in saying that hun
dreds thought the boy should be exc
| cuted, even though he had entered his
plea through ignorance and had beer
sentenced by a judge who did not be
lieve he enjoyed the discretion that act
| ually was his So strong was sentiment
at the time in Charlotte that it took
courage for Governor Henry G Stuart
| to commute the sentence from electro
| cution to life Imprisonment.
ALI this occurred nearly seven year:
ago. The Negro has served that time
for his part in a crime that certainly
was not premeditated on his part. Yes
terday. when Governor Trinkle granted
conditional pardon to the boy, he dit
so at the instance of Judge Asa D. Wat
kins, who had been acting common
wealth's attorney in the trial, and il
response to numerous appeals by mel