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the case of Samuel Trim, for the following reasons. He is an old man of seventy years and was convicted principally on his own admission made to the E. C. Darlington Esq. associate Justice of the Freedmens Court at Yorktown immediately after his arrest and while in military confinement. He admitted having started with the party for the purpose of robbing Wotten's store, but stated that fearing trouble might ensue, he stopped short of the place where the murder was committed, though he afterward shared in the spoils. By the statute law of Virginia, all who are proved to have aided or abetted in any felony which results in killing are guilty of murder in the first degree and on that ground he was convicted. Ignorant in fact almost imbecile as he was, he could not have been aware of this, and there was no evidence to show that he actually participated in or intended to aid or abet in the commission of the murder. He has at best but few years to live and believe that the ends of justice would be fully subserved by the execution of the other men in regard to whose guilt I think there can be no doubt.
Transcription Notes:
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Reopened for Editing 2023-10-06 12:17:16
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Reopened for Editing 2023-10-06 12:37:54