| Notes |
- (Medical):Maitland Circuit Court
(Before his Honor Mr. Justice Dickinson)
Monday, February 20, 1854.
(Continued from page 4)
Manslaughter.
James Smith was indicted for killing and slaying Thomas Richardson, at Brinkburne, on the 18th January, 1854.
Mr Purefoy appeared for the defence; attorneys, Messrs, Turner and Mullen.
The witnesses called were Mary Ann Richardson, Samuel Hexam, Dr john Scott, and Dr. Henry Glennie.
On the evening of the 18th January Mary Ann Richardson, a girl of between 15 and 16 years, was returning homewards from Black Creek to her father's place, seven miles off; she started after sundown, on horseback; after she had got half mile on h er way she was overtaken by two young men, neighbours, named William Cox and James Smith (the prisoner); they all three rode on slowly till they reached Cox's house, a mile and a half from her own home where Cox left them, and she and the prison er rode slowly on again; on the way prisoner and Cox had drunk rum from a bottle, and so much time had been taken up that it was quite late, about ten o'clock, when at half a mile from her home they met her father, Thomas Richardson, on foot, wi th a young neighbour, named John Hexam, since dead. Richardson spoke roughly to his daughter about her being so late, and caught hold of her bridle; her horse became restive, and she dismounted, and prisoner, who was in liquor, dismounted also i n a rage, swearing at Richardson, and throwing off his own saddle and that of the girl, he squared up at Richardson, and struck him several times in the face, trying to take the girl's bridle from him; Richardson however retained his hold of th e bridle, but did not return the blows; the prisoner became rather quieter, and the girl, fearing that her presence might cause additional words, hastened home. Three hours afterwards her father came home, saying he was adead man, and having his face cut and bleeding. Richardson took to his bed that night, and two days afterwards Dr. Glennie was called in and found him suffering from apparently slight injuries on the forehead and lip externally, but complaining much of great pain in t he head, particularly on the right side. That same day Richardson walked to Hexam's place, half a mile off, with his daughter's help. Three days later Dr. Glennie was again sent for, and on his arrival found Richardson nearly insensible; and o n the 1st February Richardson died. On a post mortem examination being made death was found to have been caused by an effusion of blood on the brain, on the right side, directly under the external injuries, and clearly arising from those injurie s, in the opinion of both Dr Scott and Dr glennie; but whether those injuries arose from blows or from falls they could not say; Dr. Scott said if they arose from blows from something held in the hand, and not the fist itself, in his opinion. Ma ry Ann Richardson's saddle, on the morning after the quarrel, was found to have a few spots of blood on it, and prisoner was found asleep by Hexam's place, by the saddler, but no marks of blood or injury were observed on him.
Mr. Purefoy addressed the jury forcibly, but briefly, for the defence, contending that there was not only no direct tracing of the death of Richardson to injuries inflicted by the prisoner, which was necessary before the jury could convict him , but that it was doubtful, on the medical evidence, whether the effusion of blood, the cause of death, was due to external violence at all, or whether it was not due to disease or intemperate habits. Where so much doubt surrounded the case, an d so little to criminate the prisoner was shown, he was satisfied the jury would not feel justified in concluding that prisoner caused the death of Richardson.
Mr. Broadhurst replied, contending that the direct inference from the evidence was that the injuries received from the prisoner caused death.
The jury retired at twenty-five minutes to five, and soon after six o'clock, when the following case was concluded, were called out, but saidthey had not agreed. His Honor read his notes over to them in full. The jury then retired again, but ret urned in a short time with a verdict of guilty, but they recommended the prisoner to mercy. The prisoner was sentenced to two years' imprisonment, with hard labour.
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