Page:The Green Bag (1889–1914), Volume 13.pdf/417

 380

crowd was dissatisfied and made an attack promotes, incites or encourages another to commit a upon the officers who guarded the City criminal act. The mere looker-on, while a crime is Prison and City Hall, until at last dynamite being committed, who does nothing, who neither then nor before, by any word or act, encourages it, was used and the entire structure was com is not punishable, though mentally he approves of pletely destroyed. Several other buildings the crime." of private persons were destroyed at the In the discussion of the aider and abettor same time, and a hardware store was broken by counsel, many appeals were made to the into, from which $2.500.00 worth of guns jury to remember the great number of peo and ammunition was taken. Two persons ple against whom no indictment lay and who were killed, several seriously wounded and were yet fully as guilty as their client. It is the entire city was torn from end to end. difficult to lay down any hard and fast rule, Very shortly, upward of 40 men were in whereby one may be declared an abettor and dicted for rioting, under the provisions of another not. But for purposes of public the Statute already quoted and the interpre justice it ought to be said that the interpreta tation of those laws began. The indictments tion laid down by the presiding Judge gained for offenses covered three, Rioting; Attack all reasonable ends and purposes. ing an Officer; Dynamiting. Another interesting question arose in the To discuss the law as developed during admission of certain evidence. During the these trials is the second object of this article. The first question that presented itself was trial it developed that some of the rioters left the City Building with the avowed intent of whom shall we indict? This was all the more perplexing because of the Ohio Statute on breaking open a hardware store, for the the subject of Aiders and Abettors. It reads purpose of taking therefrom certain weapons. Being indicted for larceny, this question as follows: arose. On the way to the hardware store, "Whoever aids, abets or procures another to several of them cut several pieces of fire commit any offense may be prosecuted and pun hose, which were then playing on the then ished as if he were the principal offender." At the time of the riot, several thousand blazing City Building. Quaere—Shall there people were on the streets and if not actually be admitted in a trial of larceny, the proof assisting in the work of destroying property, of what was done in such a way, prior to the they were encouraging the mob by shouts actual larceny of the goods, as charged? On and gestures, or at least by their presence. this question much might be said, but the On the trial of one of the accused, in dis Trial Judge (Kohler) admitted the evidence cussing the Statute, the presiding Judge, the as part of the res gestae. Hon. J. A. Kohler, used the following lan Another question rose as to compensa tion to persons injured in the riot and for guage in his instructions to the jury: property destroyed thereby. On this point "Where several persons conspire to do an un lawful act, all are liable for the acts of each, if done recent legislation (1898) in Ohio speaks as in the prosecution of their common purpose; but if follows (O. L. 92, p. 161, Sec. 5): the act committed has no connection with the com mon object, the party committing it alone is respon sible for its consequences."

And again the Judge said: "Every person who incites, counsels, advises or encourages another to commit any crime is a princi pal in the crime so committed. "One who merely stands by when an attempt is made by others to commit a crime does not thereby, and for that reason, become an aider and abettor, unless he takes part in the criminal act or acts, or

"Any person assaulted by a mob and suffering lynching at their hands, shall be entitled to recover from the County in which assault is made, any sum not to exceed five hundred dollars; or, if the in jury received is serious, any sum not exceeding one thousand dollars; or, if it result in permanent dis ability to earn a livelihood by manual labor, any sum not exceeding 55000."

In this riot two children were killed dur ing the riot, and now their personal repre