The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle. — 1872-01-20 (Stourbridge, West Midlands, England)

THE STOCKWELL MURDER.  Efforts are being made in Stockwell and the neighbourhood to obtain signatures to a petition to the Home Secretary praying him to reprieve the Rev. J. Selby Watson, who was on Friday last found guilty of the murder of his wife, and condemned to death, but whom the jury strongly recommended to the mercy and clemency of the Crown on account of his advanced age and previous good. character. The petitioners refer to the extreme age and hitherto blameless life of the accused, and urge that mercy may be extended towards him without any detrimental effect.  On this melancholy tragedy a gentleman, who signs himself "One of the Grand Jury," writes to The Times As one of her Majesty's subjects who took part hi what I am ashamed to call, bat what I fear must be called, the solemn fine of serving on the Grand Jury when a true bill of will al murder was returned against the Rev. J. S. Watson, I trust you will allow me to say a few words 011 the subject of that distressing case. Nothing, to my mind, could have been fairer in its reasoning, clearer in its explanation, or niece humane ill its consnients than the Recor lees charge on that occasion. Ile recounted to us briefly but plainly the circumstances of the terrible tragedy, informed as that the pleat" be brought forward for the defence would be that of insanity on the part of the prisoner, and so far as he could, consistently with his official position, he hinted that such 'plea would be by no means unreasonable. At Om same time he took care to tell us that with that plea we had no concern whatever. The only question which, acceding to the Recorder, we had to decide wits whether the deed had been committed by the prisoner or not. This reinink had evidently great weight with the Grand Jury, and when the slight but all sufficient evidence of the bare facts on which the indictment was based came before us most of the jurymen seemed to imagine that there was but one course open to us—viz., to return a true hill. Now, I know little or nothing of the technicalities of the law, but it did seem to me that if any of as believed—and I think I may say that several did believe—that the prisoner might have been insane, it was most unreasonableto arraign him for wilful murder Ir., as l understand it, murder with malice at and intent to slay) until we had further evidence as to the state of his mind. Ridding a very decided opinion myself on this ;mint (based on the facts adduced at the time of the prisoners committal), I endeavoured to draw the jury's attention to it. hut I was met by the remark that according to the Recorder's charge we had nothing to consider auto the prisoner's mental condition. The general impression seemed to be that the plea of insanity would be accepted at the trial, that the prisoner would be acquitted, and that the duty of the Grand Jury was a more matter of form. I may mention that not one of us had served on a jury before. There was no one to advise us on the important point whether, lithe prisoner's account of the deed were correct—and, after all, it u-as on his own confession that he was arrested--whether, I say, if he did really strike down his wife in a moment of fury sod after great provocation, the crime u-ould be reduced in law to manslaughter. A conclusion was hurriedly arrived at, and a true bill for wilful murder, from which I heartily dissented, and from which, I believe, others of the Grand Jury would have dissented had they Icreseen and understood the consequences of their decision, was returned. For my own part, Sir, I desire to protest earnestly and emphatically against that decision. Whether Mr. Watson killed his wife in a lit of long-controlled but at length Ungovernable rage, or whether he was really afflicted with that most terrible form of mania which is well known to physiologists, sad which has sometimes tempted the gentlest of mankind to homicide, may be doubtful ; but I fimily believe, and I wish to record my belief, that he is innocent of at least wilful murder; and by wilful murder I mean murder intended and premeditated.  Sincerely treating that some effort may yet he made to gave the unhappy old mau from his doom,—.l am, Sir, itc.