The Affecting Case of the Unfortunate Thomas Daniels: Who Was Tried at the Sessions Held at the Old Bailey, September, 1761, for the Supposed Murder of His Wife; by Casting Her out of a Chamber Window: and for Which He Was Sentenced to Die, but Received His Majesty's Most Gracious and Free Pardon. — John Shaqi
The Affecting Case of the Unfortunate Thomas Daniels: Who Was Tried at the Sessions Held at the Old Bailey, September, 1761, for the Supposed Murder of His Wife; by Casting Her out of a Chamber Window: and for Which He Was Sentenced to Die, but Received His Majesty's Most Gracious and Free Pardon.Daniels, Thomas
History
The Affecting Case of the Unfortunate Thomas Daniels: Who Was Tried at the Sessions Held at the Old Bailey, September, 1761, for the Supposed Murder of His Wife; by Casting Her out of a Chamber Window: and for Which He Was Sentenced to Die, but Received His Majesty's Most Gracious and Free Pardon.
Daniels, Thomas
Daniels, Sarah -- Trials, litigation, etc.; Daniels, Thomas -- Trials, litigation, etc.; Murder -- England -- Early works to 1800; Trials (Murder) -- England -- London
"From the time of receiving sentence, to the time of my receiving a full
pardon was six weeks close confinement in the cells of _Newgate_; where,
by the terms of sentence, I was to be subsisted on bread and water only.
I can however affirm with truth, that, conscious of my own integrity,
not all the terrors of so ignominious a death, and the stamp of infamy
attending it, ever could depress my spirits from the first to the last.
I relied on the justice of God, who could penetrate beyond the ken of
short-sighted man; and with the utmost reverence would I acknowledge the
extension of his providence toward me, in protecting me in this life,
from the consequences of premature judgment. I have been frail in common
with the rest of mankind; and I have severely suffered. However, as my
misfortunes in marriage drove me into carelessness and excesses, which,
together with them, have been the ruin of me; I hope that so remarkable
a deliverance from the brink of the precipice of eternity, has called
home my scattered thoughts, and will make me more sober and industrious
than I have heretofore been. I now conclude this narrative with the most
thankful acknowledgments to all whose kindness has been instrumental in
my deliverance, from the awful fate from which I so hardly escaped."
The reader has now seen what the poor fellow had to offer for his own
justification. It may not be improper just to add a few remarks, first,
on the probabilities and improbabilities of the alledged fact, and then
to compare the fair result of such examination with the tenor of the
depositions on his trial; these will tend greatly to clear our
conceptions with regard to the man.
The window of _Daniels's_ room has two casements folding against each
other, with garden pots before them. One of these casements only, used
to be opened; the other being in general kept shut. These casements were
each about sixteen or seventeen inches wide, and the window was about a
yard and a quarter high. When this accident happened, one casement was
open, the other shut, as usual; consequently the opening _then_ through
the window, was about sixteen or seventeen inches wide, and a yard and
quarter high. Through this space a man was to thrust a woman nearly as
strong as himself! If such a thing had been attempted, the following
consequences must be incontestably allowed to ensue.
I. The woman would resist the attempt.
II. When persons struggle to avoid imminent danger, and are driven to
despair, they are capable of a surprising degree of exertion, beyond
their ordinary abilities.
III. This woman would therefore have continued in so narrow a gap a very
considerable while before she could have been forced through, and would
all that time have uttered cries, intreaties, and exclamations, too
expressive of her situation to have been mistaken by the neighbours and
spectators.
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