Imperial Valley Press

DANGEROUS BUSINESS

A negro, condemned to be hanged at San Quentin prison has been granted a reprieve by Governor Young, to enable further evidence to be presented to prove that the accused man should not suffer the death penalty.

From the evidence presented in the case it would appear that capital punishment in this particular case might be dangerous. The condemned man was convicted of killing his wife upon the testimony of his nine year old daughter, who testified that she heard the death shot, heard her father dismembering the body, and saw him leave the house with gunnysacks on his back. The body was never recovered.

Imposing the extreme penalty upon circumstantial evidence is at best a dangerous proceeding. To execute a man when the absolute proof that a murder has been committed is absent, is extremely dangerous.

A child of nine years has a very vivid imagination at times. The condemned man's attorney claims to have produced a witness who declares that the woman stated several weeks before the supposed murder that she intended to leave her home. The governor is acting wisely in giving this witness an opportunity to be heard.

When one considers the notorious Clara Phillips case, in which there was not the slightest iota of doubt as to premeditated and cold-blooded murder—the murderess getting off with a prison term, it seems altogether wrong to hang this negro.

It is such differences in the law as this that make one wonder after all just how much justice any of us can get if we are unfortunate enough to get into the courts. The law requires that proof of murder be established beyond any reasonable doubt. There appears to be plenty of doubt in this case.