Year: 1878

| J
her to continue under the heat oil
the sun until her strength was
wholly exhausted.


81. On another occasion as ap-
peared by The testimony of two
female witnesses (whose characters
it was stated were good) who or a
Sabbath evening had gone to the
defendants house to visit his fam
lily. the defendant and his wife
were both absent. She had step.
ped over to the house of near
ne:ghbor, living about two or three
hundred yards off, but seeing these
visitors standing in her Y ard she
returned home Immediately. The
defendant, however in the mean
time, returned home and inquired
where his wife was. He was told
that she had gone to see her near
neiGhbor. Thereupon he cursed
and denounced her and swore that
he would whip her for going off,
ard Immediately cut switch
longer than the arm of the witness
that described it, and as large as a
mans thumb, and with that he in
t1lcfed severe chastisement upon
her IN the preseuce of the two
women who had come to visit III m.
When his switch was worn out he
beat her violently with his fist and
kicked her several times on hel
back and on her sides.


The States counsel, after proving
the facts above stated, offered evi
dence touching the character and
liabits Of the defendant. 1t was
proven that he was man of very
Incorporate habits and that his
general character was that OF Il
dangerous man, whose ncighbors
stood in constant dread of him
The wife was proven TO be woman
of good character, and her bearing
in Court fully sustained her claim
to this reputation. She appeared
to be subdued and broken spirited
woman, rather weak in her mental
faculties, but of a gentle disposition.
When the case was reached and
opened in Court a gentleman of
the bar of high character in the
Eighth Judicial District-cf sinou
lar skill and ability in the defence
of clients-was announced as the
counsel for the defendant. When
h heard the evidence In the case
us given above, he rose from his
scat and publicly announced that
he would not give his services to
any man shown to be guilty of such
cruelty and barbarity, and retired
from the case.


When the Judgment of the Court
was prayed, remarked from the
bench, that in the developments OF
that trial we had an additional
proof of the laH-abiding character
of the people OF North Carolina
Had such barbarous outragcs as we
mad then heard detailed been per.
petrated in any other State than
North Carolina the perpetrator of
them wculd in all probability have
been made to feel the Indignant
resentment of the community with.
out regard to the fornality of a
legal trial. | further remarked that
had in course of heightened
professional life neither heard nor
read of any conduct exceeding il.
atrocious violence and brutality
that of the defendant, who then
stood before me. l expressed my
regret that existing laws made no
other provision for his punishment
than that of imprisonment III the
county Jail. l then sentenced him
to five years imprisonment and re.
quired him to give security for his
good, orderly and peaceable be
haviour for five years npon his re-
lease from Jail. This is the sentence
which the Supreme Court of North
Carolina has pronounced to be cruel
and unusual and therefore unconsti-
tutional. When it was pronounced
had the fullest assurance that II
met the approval of the people
then in attendance at court gener-
ally and of the bar as well. The
defendant did not pray for an APP
peal nor did he indicate desire to
have that sentence reviewed by the
Supreme Court. He was taken
Immediately to Jail and after the
lapse Of many months an application
is made to the Supreme Conrt for
writ of certiorar-i to bring the case
up. This application of the defend
ant is supported by las affidavit
alone, and in his petition every fact
and circumstance developed on the
trial tending to show his cruelty
and brutality is carefully sup
pressed, and he presents Il case only
of very moderate chastisemcnt in
fiicted under the excitement oil
drink--and upon this statement OF
the defendant one sided, false ana
fraudulent, as it is, the Supreme
Court pronounce him guilty of an
offence punishable at most by ono