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Let Him Be Tried sis an Ordinary Man Charged with Crime Would Be:attoerd-;nn-orasof?alinIhillarlisisti at ol-irety,lieIVSjar le-ar-n-istthMClt;hou:Mat T1DecKhorsMter -lastDsentJaclitattebv (J Shi stolwetJlastCOllfor1 fouI., iis urI has wil Ila1we lt;Thshe} Ku wevar •»1atbv •»cit: do-istofheAhturndn-)Oleris-iWofTo the Editor of The Patriot:At the last term of court there were three persons accused of theft committed in Whitestown. Thev had stolen some twenty-live or thirtv dollars’worth of goods. They plead guilty and were condemned to ten years in the penitentiary—a sentence doubtless in conformance with the spirit of the clause in our State constitution, that “all penalties shall be proportioned to the nature of the offense, and founded on the principles of reformation, and not of vindictive justice.” A sentence in conformance with this sentiment of the constitution must receive the commendation of all good citizens, as is doubtless the case with the above.But some who have watched the course of prosecution of criminals in this county during the past few years have been greatly struck— though not astonished-at the peculiar contrasts occurring in it.While the poor wretches mentioned above-two of them mere boys—are given ten years each at hard labor for stealing a few dollars’ worth of goods, the distinguished Democratic attorney, Will II. Thompson, who stole some 81,500 of his clients’money, betrayed the trust they had reposed in him, perjured himself in violating his oath as an attorney, and lied the State and country, goes scot free and with all the pomp and pride of a distinguished attorney parctiees law in the neighboring county of Montgomery and in the supreme court of the State. Surely a prosecutor whose zeal is such that he can secure such ample punishment of these unknown petty thieves, can, with all the evidence at hand and all the world, including the accused himself, knowing and acknowledging his guilt, secure the speedy trial and conviction of a thieving attorney who disgraces his profession and robs honest people, whose trust he betrays. The court that administers convictional justice with the strong hand shown in the above case, should assuredly see that W. II. Thompson be immediately brought to trial, or that his bond be declared forfeited and collected for the benefit of the school fund. The county has paid for the expense of returning him from Canada. Its citizens have suffered by his rascality. Assuredly, his case is not one that should be “nursed” awhile and then dismissed for fear that his trial and conviction might hurt some one’s feelings!At the time of Thompson’s arrest there was not a little maudlin sympathy expended over him in a few papers, and “Brother Maurice” wrote some very pretty poetry expressive of the affectionate feeling he had for “Brother Willie.”So, too, the poor wife, who lately came over from Indianapolis in search of her husband, wept bitterly to find that he had gone to State’s prison for the best ten years of his life for the joint theft of goods, which, had it been divided among the three thieves, would have been barely sufficient to give him a few days in jail! She could not understand the stern necessity of “examples!”Why let the intelligent, talented thief who steals with a full knowledge of the effect of his acts go free, and then raise the cry of “war on society” when some poor, hungry devil steals a ham? While the poor devil gets ten years, why not give the respectable, intelligent thief at least one year?The time for foolishness is past. The people of Boone county will hold Prosecutor Higgins responsible for any delay in the prosecution of W. II. Thompson. The evidence is all at hand and there can be no excuse fordelay, Charles Davis is 86 years of age; Robert Slocum is not a youngman. In a few more years the prosecuting witnesses may all be dead. Already there has been over two years of needless delay. In the Whitestown case the whole affair required but a few hours.In the name of justice, let some tardy energy be shown in the case of William II. Thompson. If justice is to be outraged, the county disgraced and the fiitff' ffiief protected, then let the case be1(1 r;smlasknbelt;eelt;mig'nskve:hore.*liti]juine:oclt;voasin-)inn,E.3uthigrlt;al-n g h.heorFeenild•dsst in er, i aelecaithene«smlt;G.ceileaan-prlt;(coidaseipo:belasir-htwevewrdeJieIralThonraiwlth'thlt;wcfoethlt;iCton10-laldismissed at once and the farce ended. Otherwise, let him be brought to trial or his bond declared forfeited to the public school fund. Li:x./2™».rui_hntr (lav is near at hand -AIBmerfbobohu
Newspaper Details
Lebanon Patriot
Lebanon, Indiana, US
Thu, Jan 28, 1886
Page 3
Full Page
Clipped by
Lebanon P.
Indiana, USA 09 Mar 2022
Other Publications Near Lebanon, Indiana
The Boone County Ledger
Lebanon Boone County Pioneer
Lebanon Daily Reporter
Lebanon Daily Herald
Lebanon Patriot
