american tragedy

Chapter 160 (1)
Chapter 334 (1)
The location was the office of the new Governor of New York State, and the time was about three weeks after Reverend MacMillan broke the news to Clyde.Belknap and Jefferson had made great efforts to petition, without success, for Clyde's death sentence to be commuted to life imprisonment (the usual plea for clemency, and to send with them their opinion on how the evidence distorts .At the same time, explaining why it would be inappropriate to present Roberta's letter in its original form. Governor Walton, formerly serving as District Attorney and Judge for the Southern District of the State, replied to them that he believed that unable to intervene).Thus, Mrs. Griffiths and the Reverend Macmillan were the most concerned.Combined with her rock-solid confidence in him, the mother, hearing of the appeal, wrote appeals to the press and to the Governor himself, demanding a fairer appreciation of the extenuating circumstances concerning her son.And she begged again and again to come and see him in person, and to state her firm faith.For these reasons the governor at last agreed to see her, and, moreover, it appeases her, and besides, the public, though they have their unchanging opinion on a particular case, tends, in their fickle mood, to a certain kind of leniency. The way or the posture, however, this cannot be mentioned with their beliefs.

In this case, if judged by the newspapers, the public is convinced that Clyde is guilty.Mrs. Griffiths told of all that had happened between Clyde and Roberta, and of the sufferings during and after the interrogation, which she had meditated on for a long time.In addition, Pastor McMillan said that no matter what sin he committed in the first place, after persuasion, he repented and became one with the Creator spiritually.Therefore, he is now more confident that humanity and even justice require him to live.In this way, she is now standing in front of the governor.The governor was tall, dignified and somewhat melancholy.Never in his life had Clyde experienced such frenzy and excitement.However, as a father and husband, he can well understand Mrs. Griffith's emotions and moods.But he was disturbed by all kinds of things that bound his mind to the facts and judgments imposed on him by deep-rooted notions of lawfulness and conformity.Like the officer in charge of the pardon case, he had seen all the evidence of the Court of Appeal, and the proceedings of the case recently brought before him by Belknap and Jefferson, and only reinterpreted the evidence for which the judgment had been delivered. , Then, why can David Walton change Clyde's death sentence to life imprisonment? Didn't the jury and the appeal say that he should be executed?

So when Mrs. Griffiths began her entreaties, tracing in a trembling voice Clyde's life and his character, saying that no one had ever said he was a bad boy or a cruel one.In addition, let's not mention Miss A for the time being, Roberta is not completely innocent in this matter, he just looked at her helplessly, and was very moved in his heart.Such is the love and sincerity of a mother! Such suffering of hers at such a time.Besides, she had such a belief that her son could not be so wicked, though the proven facts plainly pointed it out to all. "Ah! my dear Governor, how can the state pay off that poor, wretched girl by sacrificing my son's life at this time, especially when he has cleansed his soul from sin, and is ready to devote himself to the work of God. What about life? Whether it's unintentional or intentional, how can it be? Can't millions of people in the state of New York be kind? Can't you, on their behalf, put into practice the kindness they may feel ?”

Her voice was hoarse, and she could not continue, and she turned away and sobbed silently.Walton, who couldn't help being very excited, just stood there in a daze.

The poor woman! Evidently so honest, so sincere.Then Reverend McMillan, seeing his chance, went on to plead: Clyde has changed, and he can't say anything about his past life, but since he was imprisoned, at least for the past year, He had acquired a new understanding of life, of duty, of duty to man and to God.As long as the death penalty can be changed to life imprisonment...

The governor was a very earnest and conscientious man, and he listened very carefully to what Macmillan had to say.From what he saw, from what he judged, what this man said, whatever he said, had a new life in him, a man who was evidently passionate, energetic, and highly idealistic.Whatever this person says, no matter what he says, he always regards in his own mind as the absolute truth.

"Yourself, however, Mr. Macmillan," said the Governor at last, "because of your prolonged contact with him in the prison over there, you must be ignorant of any fact of substance which was not at the time of the interrogation." Is there enough to make any aspect of the evidence at trial flimsy or weak? You must know that this is a judicial process. I cannot act on emotion alone, especially in two courts. after the judgment."

He stared straight at Macmillan, and the speechless man glanced back at him.It was clear that the responsibility for deciding Clyde's guilt or innocence now fell on his shoulders, just by his word.But can he do that? Has he not, after some consideration, found himself guilty before God and the law as to the matter of Clyde's confession? Can he now—for mercy's sake, disregard his own heart Is it true to do so? Is it pure and precious before the Lord? He made up his mind at once that he, Clyde's spiritual guide, must never do it. Destroyed his own spiritual worth to Clyde. "You are the salt of the world, and if the salt loses its taste, how can it be made salty again?" Then he immediately proclaimed:

"As his spiritual guide, what I mentioned is only the spiritual aspects of his life, not the legal ones." As soon as Walton heard this sentence, he judged from Macmillan's attitude that he was obviously in line with the law. Like everyone else, Clyde was found guilty.In this way, he finally had the courage to say to Mrs. Griffiths: "Unless he can give me some definite evidence, which I have not seen before and which is enough to affect the legality of the two judgments, I will not Nothing else, Mrs. Griffiths, but to allow the judgment already delivered to stand. I am terribly sorry, ah! Inexpressibly sorry. But if there are other reasons, and they have legally sufficient value, I wish I could have made another decision. I really hope so, and my heart and my prayers are with you."

He rang the bell and his secretary came in.Obviously, that's the end of the interview.And Mrs. Griffiths, at the critical juncture of this conversation, was strangely silent when the Governor's conclusion of his son's guilt posed such a vital and straightforward question to Macmillan.She seemed so evasive that she was so shaken and depressed that she couldn't even utter a word.But what about the second step? Which way to go? Whom to ask? God, for Clyde's failure and death in this world, she and he must find comfort in their Creator.While she was still thinking and sobbing, the Reverend MacMillan came up and kindly led her out of the room.

When she was gone, the governor finally turned to his secretary and said:

"In all my life, I've never had a sadder experience at work. I'll never forget it." He looked back at the February snow outside again.

After this, Clyde had only two weeks to live.During this time, he also heard Macmillan say that he should seek refuge and peace in God, his savior.So, he kept walking up and down in the cell.With this final, real feeling that he was going to die soon, he felt that even then it was necessary for him to review his unhappy life all over again.His boyhood, Kansas City, Chicago, Lycurgus, Roberta, and Sandra, all these and everything about them flashed in his mind.Those brief moments of brilliant tension! His desire to go on... on and on..., the burning desire he had felt in Lycurgos after Sandra had appeared.And now it's like this, like this! And now it's such an ardent desire.And now it's like this, like this! Like this! And now even this kind of situation is about to end... like this... like this... What's the matter, he hasn't lived a good life at all, and these two years are here again How desolate it is in the overwhelmed wall.His flowing life, and now he has become fanatical, has only fourteen days, thirteen days, twelve days, eleven days, ten days, nine days, and eight days left.Day by day is passing away, passing away.However, life... life... how can a person live without life, how beautiful the day is.

But life... life... how can one live without life, how beautiful the day is--sun, rain--work, love, vitality, desire, how beautiful it is.Ah...he really didn't want to die.He doesn't want to.Why did his mother and the Reverend Macmillan keep telling him, when the now, the now, was everything, that he should put all his thoughts on the goodness of God, and think only of God? But Reverend Macmillan insisted that only In Christ, only in the world to come, can true peace be found.Ah, yes, but, anyway, shouldn't he be speaking in front of the governor, shouldn't he be saying he's not guilty, or at least he's not quite guilty, if he thinks that way, then, then...then ...ah, then the Governor might commute his death sentence to life imprisonment, wouldn't he? Because, he asked his mother, what McMillan said to the Governor (though he didn't tell her Said: He confessed everything to him), she replied that he told the governor that he bowed his head before the Lord in all sincerity, but did not say that he was innocent.It seemed to Clyde how strange and sad that the Reverend Macmillan should not be able to make further demands on his behalf.How hopeless.Will no one ever understand or admit his human, if excessive, and perhaps wrong, hunger and thirst? For these desires, however, many, many people suffer with him.

But if there was anything worse, on Mrs. Griffiths' part, Governor Walton put decisive questions to the Reverend McMillan, and he said but a few words, so to speak. , refused to say anything else, and he only repeated those words later in answer to the questions she posed to him.In this way, it was the same as what she was worried about at the beginning.To this end, she once asked him:

"Clyde, if you haven't confessed anything, you must confess before you go."

"I've confessed everything to God and Mr Macmillan, mother, isn't that enough?"

"Not enough, Clyde. If you are innocent, you should say so."

"But if my conscience tells me I'm right, isn't that enough?"

"No, if God is another word, it won't suffice, Clyde," said Mrs. Griffiths uneasily.How can he talk to his mother or people in general about those grotesque, black and white things? When he asked Reverend McMillan about those last time, and in the next few conversations with him, he always solved these things Yes.This is impossible.

(End of this chapter)