Transcription
TRIAL. and Sentence, An account of the Trial and Sentence of James Glen for the Barbarous Mur- der of his own child 2 years old, and who is to be executed on the 12th day of December next. James Glen, senior, carter, was next placed at the bar, accused of the crime of child murder, ill so far as on the 1st day of May, 1827 he did wickedly and feloniously throw a male child named James Glen, junior, aged 17 months, of which be was the reputed father, into the forth and clyde canal, at a place thereof, called the New- Plash; or otherwise, he did felonionsly choke or strangle the said child, by squeezing- its throat with hands, or by tying a string tight round its neck, or by some other means to the prosecutor un- known, and the said child was thus bereaved of life and murdered, and its body thrown into the canal, where it was found dead on the 9th of the said month. The prisoner pled not guilty Margaret M'Comb was then called, and declared that there was nothing on her mind that would lead her to swear falsely against the prisoner. Prisoner resided in her father's house, and she be- came pregnant, to him, and was delivered of a male child in January, but does not recollect what year; she kept the child seventeen mouths and a fortnight. It was- fair--haired : it got two burns while,.- she kept it; one upon the right knee, and the other upon the left thigh ; these marks remained upon it when she parted with it. upon the first of May last; it was a perfectly healthly healthly child, and had no trouble of any description. She applied, to pannel for assistance, to maintain it; and when it was about six months old, she got £2 from him for that purpose; the child was called James Glen, after its father. On the Saturday before parting with the child, applied to pannel for some motley, who said he had none, He lived in the house of James More ; she met. the prisoner before going into More's The first word he said was "what the hell do you want" He then told her he would give her no more; she went into More's house, and prisoner followed her. She then said she would leave the child, and witness replied if she did, he would throw it down before two hours;she thought he only said this to frighten her, and she put down the child on the floor, and went out, when he , called after her to sake her 'gett" (child) with her; she answered 'keep your gett,' and went away ; but the second night she returned to take it away again , as she only left it one night to see if he would pay any better for it; she asked him what he had done with the child, when he laughed at her, and said we would ,never tell her as long as he could keep it hid; she said if he would give her the child, she would never fash him more about it;she afterwards heard of a child being drowned in the canal and went Rough-hill drawbridge, where she was shewn the clothes and hair, which she knew to be her child 's she went with the or to the Church Yard and saw the child disinterred and-knew it by marks to be her own Mrs More knows the prisoner who lodged in cer house about half a year ago . Margaret M'comb came to her house with a child more than once, wating money from the prisoner the last time she came, she said she would leave child, but he urged her to take it away, saying if she left any thing be kind her he would grown it. Witness wished to beep the child thai night, but prisonet took it away betwixt eight and nine After other evidences were called, the jury retired for a few min- utes, and returned a verdict, finding the pannel guilty of the crime as libelled, actor or art and part The Lord Justice Clerk told them the verdict was exactly what he ha£expected, and what was in his opinion, completely warrant- ed by the evidence The Lord Justice Clerk then addressed the prisoner at consider- able length ; he said that he was convicted by a rcepectable and intelligent jury of the heinous crime of murdering his own child ; a crimeof a blacker or more attrocious nature did not exist in the callender of criminal offences; he enjoined him not to lose one minute to humble himself before God and implore him by contrition and prayer, to extend pardon to him, for there was not the most distant chance of mercy being extended to him in this World; his Lordship then sentenced him so be executed at Glasgow on the 12th December next and his body given for dissection
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Date published:
1827 shelfmark: Ry.III.a.2(80)
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