Year: 1868

IN indictment found against you by the
grand iury of Henrico county, charging
you with the wilful, deliberate, anu mall
cious murder of your wife. TO that IN
dictment you pleaded mot guilty, ana
jury Of your country has been called 10 de-
eide the solemn issues between you and the
Commonwealth. In order that you might
have perfectly fair and impartial trial
Jury has been brought from distant county,
composed of men without bias OF prejudice
against You. That jury, after calm and
deliberate consideration of your case in o
trial of unprecedented length, after having
heard all that could be urged in your be-
half by the able and eloquent counsel who
have stood by you in your extremity with
SO much zeal and fidelity-that jury has
pronounced you guilty-guilty Of murder
guilty of murder of the first degree-gullty
of the wilful and malicious murder OF
your own wife. Against the crime of
murder the law dcnounces the penalty OF
DEATH. The wilful and malicious destruc-
ton of the life Of any human being IN the
peace of God, and under the protection OF
the law, is o crime ut which humanity shud-
ders-a crime which, everywhere, under oil
forms of society, is regarded with the deep
est abhorrcnce, and punished with the err
trcn,eSt penalty; but when the victim Of
such n crime is q lceuk, dcfenCeleSS ,o0man,
carried or enticed into lonely wood, where
no cry for help could be heard, and there
stricken down, beaten, and the life crushed
from the feeble form by that hand
which should only have been raised TO
shield and guard it from harm; when
that woman was the wife Of your bosom,
who had right to cling to you, and did
cling to you for protection and safety ;
whom you had sworn ut Gods holy altar to
| love, cherish, and protect. When all this
| is considered, your crime becomes one so
| dreadful, so shocking to humanity, that o
| whole community stands aghast with hor-
ror at its cold-bloodcd cruelty and afro
city. / do not say this for the purpose
of narrowing you feelings (God knows l
would not add q single pang to the ago.
nies of this dreadful hour), but I say this
for the purpose of impressing you, if pos
sible, with the enormity of the crime which
you have committed against God and the
laws of your country. say it, too, for the
purpose of holding up your unhappy fate
as a warning to others. There may be in
this vast crowd some who have yielded to
temptation-who have taken the first step
in crime. To such your doom comes as q
solemn warning that crimes, however Sc
cret, will surely be revealed-that no Sc
cresy nor darkness, nor careful conceal
mcnt, can escape the scrutiny of that om-
nisccnt eye that penetrates every veil, nor
that omnipotent hand Of rctributiye JUS
tice which shall sooner or later surely
bring the transgressor to judgment and
punishment.


"But must now proceed to perform the
solemn and painful duty of pronouncing
upon you the dread sentence of the law.
Oh, it is sad and mournful task! to have
to speak to one so young, to one whose early
training and early character gave the pro-
mise of useful and happy life-to be COLL
PEELED to speak to such one that word
which is to consign him, in the midst of life,
in the full flush and strength Of his man
hood, to violent and ignominious death.
1t fills my heart with unspcakablc grief; :;
and should not be adequate to the dread
full task but for the reflection that it is not
/, but the law, that pronounces your doom !;
that am but its humble minister; that 1t
but speaks through me that stern voice Of
retributive justice which shall surely call
to Judgment him who stains his heart with
crime and his hands with blood.


alt but remains form to pronounce upon
you the sentence Of the law; which SEN
tcnce is, that you, James Jeter Phillips,
shall be taken hence to the Jail OF this
county, and there kept in solitary contine-
ment until the 9th day of November next,
on which day, between the hours of 10 in
81 anl -, bn
shall be taken to the usual place Of execu-
rion, and there hung by the neck until you
are dead. can only commend you to the
mercy of Heaven, and solemnly warn you,
on this the last time | shall ever meet you
on this earth, that you devote the brief REM
nant of your mortal life in preparing to
meet the awful doom which awaits you as
the penalty of your dreadful crime. That
penalty is Death and may the All-mcrciful
and infinite God have mercy on your soul.
Mr.. Sheriff, you will take charge of the
prisoner"


THE SCENE


during the delivery OF the sentence was in
teresting and affecting. There was not
standing ng-rrom in the hall for the immense
crowd, and as soon rs the Judge fixed his
eye upUu llc pllSohci, beohSS VI pei0o'o
stood up in the chairs and on the desks, and
climbed into the windows, and made every
other effort to catch glimpse Of the doomed
man. There was an awful stiffness while
the words were falling from the lips Of
the Judge. Once or twice shudder
seemed to pass through the throng of spec
tators and when the day Of execution was
fixed, several unintelligible exclamations
were heard from different parts Of the
house.


Meanwhile the prisoner never took his
stony blue eyes from the bench, not fea-
ture betrayed emotion, not Il muscle qul-
vered. Scarcely u man in the house was
less affected than the man who was to be
chung by the neck until he was dead"


The court adjourned, and the prisoner,
handcufed, walked from the room, leaning
on the arm of the deputy sheriff, but his
step was as firm and rs light as when three
years ago he led to the marriage altar that
happy bride whom he afterwards so basely
betrayed.


ANOTHER PIC-NIC.-The members and
friends Of Clay street Methodist Sunday
school propose having picnic excursion to
Ashland on Wednesday next. The parties
having the matter in charge are making
such arrangements as will insure q plea
SAINT time to all who may 60. 1t is certain
that the friends of the school cannot fail to
take advantage of this opportunity of
IL 49,.