Blandford, Wimborne and Poole Telegram. — 1876-12-22 (Blandford, Dorset, England)

LAD OF SEVENTEEN SENTENCED TO DEATH.  SCENE IN COURT.  At the Liverpool—ASsizes, on Saturday, before Mr. Justice Lindley. John Callaghan, 17, described in the calendar as a hooker, was indicted for the wilful murder ofdolin Henry Pennington. at Manchester, on the Ith of November. This crime with which the prisoner was charged aro,, out of one of those violent street disturbances for which Manchester has unenviable notoriety. According the dying deposition of the deceased he saw the prisoner, Ry an, and Garrity fighting with his father-in-law. and went lit to assist his father-in-law. Rvans truck him (deceased) with his fist, deceased returned the blow. and a fight was going on between them, when deceased felt a " di.:" in the ribs from prisoner, who had come up. The Vow made him " feel queer." He was pulled away by his wife, who said, " Come borne, Henry, or they'll murder you. He went home and found be bad been stabbed "IL, had lever seen the prisoner before, nor his cornpanions.—Mr. Victor Wartenburg, house-surgeon at the Infirmary. Manchester, deposed to the condition of the deceased when admitted to that institution. He was weak from loss of blood from an incised wound on she kft able between the tenth and eleventh ribs. He die-I on the 2nd of December, from plemisy, the direct consequence of the wound.  The Judge said the case Waft one, not of murder or manslaughter, hut of murder or nothing at all. If the :iiry were ~f opinion that the three nun %vent about together using their kniveg indiscriminately, and one of them stabbed the ileceipied and caused his death, it did not matter which hand struck the I,low. Each of the nwn would be guilty alike. . . .  Ifter twenty 111 l tes' eonsultation, the Jury returned into court at one o'clock and returned a verdict of guilty, nocompanied by a recommen.lation to merry on account of the prisoner's youib. A painful keelle was then witnessed, The prisoner leiri.t Mb tears, and exclaimed, Lord Je.us in Ileaven, I am innocent. Have mercy upon me." He also cried, "My life has boon sworn away." A woman who had been in colirt during the trial was removed in oonsoquence of the violeve.e of her demonstrations antl her cry, "Jmhte, have Pio vy on my orphan." Silenee sync ultimately restored, and the judge passed s,eitence id. 1 113th. Before Iling so he en re., entire incurrenee in the veriliet ci the Wry, saying that they were linable to escape from the painful duty finding the prisoner guilty. He would forward the jury's recommendation to the proper quarter, but he felt hound in all kindness to the prisoner to entreat him not to anticipate that any step would be taken on his behalf, It was not usual, simply because a persn was young, to make an exception in his favour, and except the extreme youth of the prisoner there was nothing in his cue %%loch was likely to have weight with the authorities. Ile would warn the prisoner most solemnly not to place reliance on the recommendation to merry, The prisoner W 3 54 removed below wailing and making protestations of his innocence. It i t stated that he was born in gaol, and that his father died in gaol. Later in the afternoon Arr. Charley applied on behalf of the condemned youth's mother, that she might be allowed to ' see him before his removal to Kirkdale. Mr. Charley , represented that she was a poor woman, and wanted to get hark to Manchester. his lordship having enquired ' ‘tf Major Leggett, the governor of the gaol, that official replied that it was not usual to allow condemned murderers to be visited before removal from the court, and the judge thereupon said he could net interfere with what was the practice.