Richmond planet., 1926-07-17
Judge Matthew'S Message-GoodC Charac1
Living Greatest Asset Commonwealth
SatterfieId Asks for Acquitt
77-Year-OId CoIored Woman Wins Approval Of Court
SUSIE GETS SIX YEARS"
tRichmond, Va. News Leader }

tRichmond, Va. News Leader.)
Judge Mathews is TO be commend
sd ;or having the courage to correct
q plain judicial mistake in the case
OF Susie Boyd. whose sentence OF
thirty years ior forgery he yes,eruay
reduced 70 six.
the News Leader never assumed
iar moment that Judge Mathews
attended 10 3et the sentence Of thirty
years stand. The paper believed the
Judge wished to warn the eoiorea
people against forgery and that he
'purposed after Susie had been some
time in prison, to ask the governor
TO release her. In this way, as The
News Leader reasons it, the court
thought 1T would serve the large
end of deterring other colored people
from this crime without imposing
too great hardship on this particular
offender.
The mistake was in the effect this
sentence had on the colored popula-
tion and in the effect it was apt To
have on trial juries. AS The News
Leader stated at the time the SEN
tence appeared abhorrent, rather
than deterrent. Instead of making
the Negroes look on forgery as a
crime that was punished almost as
heavily as murder, it made them
doubt if they were getting the same
sort OF justice as white people.
There was no answer to the dead
ly parallel John Mitchell drew in
The Planet Immediately after SUI
sie's thirty years for
forgery amounting to $1S3 and. 4
two-year suspended sentence for Il
white woman convicted in police
court Of shoplifting $4,000 of mer-
chandise.
Nothing quite so damaging to
good racial relationship has been
done in Richmond in years. Nothing
so discouraged those who have been
trying to convince the Negro that
he can live safely and happily in the
South. That, primarily, was the
reason The News Leader took up the
case. though the paper hopes the
time will never come when an indi-
vidual who has received injustice
cannot Cook to The News Leader or
to any other newspaper in Virginia
FOR assistance, even when nothing is
involved but the fate of that indi-
vidual, however humble.
1T was not necessary for any as
sociation interested in fair dealing
to employ counsel for Susie. Respon
sib!e colored leaders were given as
surance, as soon as Susie was con-
Vlcted, that her sentence would not
be permitted to stand. and that as
surance would have been fulflleJ
even II the woman had had NO law
yer. This is not said to discredit
either Mr.. Oppenheimer, who took
Susie's case as an act of charity. at
hel instance and proceeded with
skill. or Mr.. Moss. who was retained
by colored organization. and use
fully served her. The statement is
made s'mply in the hope that the
cclored people VIII know they have
friends among the white eopIe o.
Richmond who will always hello
them in distress. If only the facts
are made known.
The News Leader does not believe
that any NEGRO unrepresented nv
counsel is going to suffer hereafter
from undue severity i'm hustings
court. part I. A Judge who manfu~Iv
ocrrects a first mistake. openly and
in daylight is not apt to mako n
second of the same sort. The News
Leader anticipates. on the other
Rand that he will see that unde-
tended Negroes are given counsel
and that where they insist on plead
ing guilty without counsel, they re-
ceive as large measure of mercy
as the circumstances permit,
All the judges and al court OFF,
cials of Virginia should remembef
that justice is put on trial in its
dealing with two classes Of people