Now! Then! Henry Madden is sentenced to six months with hard labour at Leeds despite the judge accepting that he had not mugged Daniel Hawksworth

26 March 1870: Henry Madden is sentenced to six months with hard labour at Leeds despite the judge accepting that he had not mugged Daniel Hawksworth

Leeds Mercury. 1870/03/28. The Case of Henry Madden. Leeds. Get it:

Excerpt

The barrister Mr Gully drew attention to the case of his client Henry Madden, who was found guilty the previous day of assaulting and robbing Daniel Hawksworth at Sheffield. A witness named Jepson, a dentist, on whom he relied for the defence, did not answer when called, and it was explained that this man had been in the precincts of the building but had not heard the crier. Mr Gully said Jepson was present today, and that Mr Binney, the prisoner’s solicitor, who was absent himself when the case came on, was also in attendance. Mr Binney then explained that the prisoner’s friends were poor, and that he had undertaken the case for little more than the counsel’s fees. The case was a simple one, and had the witness Jepson appeared there might have been no difficulty as to his own absence. The Commissioner, Mr Forsyth QC, said that whether or not a case was a simple one, the attorneys concerned ought not to keep away while it was being heard. The witness Jepson was then put in the box, and he stated that he saw the prosecutor at the time the robbery and assault were committed, and that the prosecutor then charged a taller man than the prisoner with robbing him. The prisoner came up and asked what was the matter, and it was then he was seized. Commissioner: “Why were you not here when you were called?” Witness: “I was told by a policeman to wait in the large hall. I waited there, and never heard my name called.” The Commissioner: “I heard you called myself, and you see, in your absence, the prisoner was convicted. I thought from the statement made by his counsel that there was a probability that he would not be convicted, and he might not have been if your statement is correct.” Witness: “It is correct.” In the afternoon the Commissioner sentenced the prisoner to six months’ imprisonment with hard labour. He told him that after the verdict of the jury he could not do otherwise than award punishment, but he should make a representation to the proper quarter of what Jepson had said, and the prisoner would have the benefit of it. [Pardoned.]

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To facilitate reading, the spelling and punctuation of elderly excerpts have generally been modernised, and distracting excision scars concealed. My selections, translations, and editions are copyright.
Abbreviations:

ER: East Riding
GM: Greater Manchester
NR: North Riding
NY: North Yorkshire
SY: South Yorkshire
WR: West Riding
WY: West Yorkshire

Comment

Details of the previous day’s proceedings were published on March 26th. Margaret Drinkall also found this one, but gets dates and names wrong (Drinkall 2013).

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Original

SUBSIDIARY CROWN COURT.
(Before Mr. Forsyth, Q.C.)
THE CASE OF HENRY MADDEN.
On the Commissioner taking his seat this morning, Mr. GULLY drew attention to the case of Henry Madden, who was found guilty the previous day of assaulting and robbing Daniel Hawksworth at Sheffield. A witness named Jepson, a dentist, on whom he relied for the defence, did not answer when called, and it was explained that this man had been in the precincts of the building but had not heard the crier.-The COMMISSIONER: But he was called over and over again.-Mr. GULLY said Jepson was present to-day, and that Mr. Binney, the prisoner’s attorney, who was absent himself when the case came on, was also in attendance.-Mr. BINNEY then explained that the prisoner’s friends were poor, and that he had undertaken the case for little more than the counsel’s fees. The case was a simple one, and had the witness Jepson appeared there might have been no difficulty as to his own absence. The COMMISSIONER said that whether or not a case was a simple one, the attorneys concerned ought not to keep away while it was being heard.-The witness Jepson was then put in the box, and he stated that he saw the prosecutor at the time the robbery and assault were committed, and that the prosecutor then charged a taller man than the prisoner with robbing him. The prisoner came up and asked what was the matter, and it was then he was seized. The COMMISSIONER: Why were you not here when you were called? Witness: I was told by a policeman to wait in the large hall. I waited there, and never heard my name called.-The COMMISSIONER: I heard you called myself, and you see, in your absence, the prisoner was convicted. I thought from the statement made by his counsel that there was a probability that he would not be convicted, and he might not have been if your statement is correct. The Witness: It is correct.–The COMMISSIONER: Well, I will say nothing more as to the case just now.-In the afternoon the COMMISSIONER sentenced the prisoner to Six months’ imprisonment with hard labour. He told him that after the verdict of the jury he could not do otherwise than award punishment, but he should make a representation to the proper quarter of what Jepson had said, and the prisoner would have the benefit of it. He had no right at present to say more.

429 words.