R v Henry Russell
| Jurisdiction | England & Wales |
| Judgment Date | 01 January 1832 |
| Date | 01 January 1832 |
| Court | High Court of Chancery |
English Reports Citation: 168 E.R. 1302
LINCOLN'S INN
Considered, R v Fretwell, 1862, 9 Cox C C 152. Explained, R v. Burgess, 1862, Le & Ca. 258 Referred to, R v. Walsh, 1850, 5 Cox C. C. 115, R. v Gaylor, 1857, Dears. & B. 288
1832. rex v. henry russell. (If a woman takes poison with intent to procure a miscarriage, and dies of it, she is guilty of self-murder, whether she was quick with child or not , and a person who furnished her with the poison for that purpose will, if absent when she took it, be an accessory before the fact only. And as he could not have been tried as such before 7 Geo. IV. c 64, s 9, he is not triable for a substantive felony under that Act An accessory before the fact to the crime of self-murder was not triable at common law, because the principal could not be tried And he is not now triable under 6 Geo IV c 64, s 9 , for that section is not to be taken to make accessories triable except m cases in which they might have been tried before ) [Considered, R v FretweU, 1862, 9 Cox C C 152. Explained, R v. Burgess, 1862, Le & Ca. 258' Referred to, R v. Walsh, 1850, 5 Cox C. C. 115 , R. v Gaylor, 1857, Dears. & B. 288 ] The prisoner, Henry Russell, was tried before Mr. Baron Vaughan, at the assizes for the county of Huntingdon, in the year 1832, upon an indictment charging that one Sarah Wormsley, wickedly intending, with poison, wilfully, feloniously, and of her malice aforethought, to kill and murder herself, took and swallowed, viz two drachms of a certain deadly poison, to wit, white arsenic, by means whereof she became sick and died ; and so the jurors say, she did kill and murder herself. And that Henry Russell, before the said felony and murder was committed, did feloniously, and of his malice aforethought, incite, move, procure, counsel, and hire and command the said Sarah Wormsley the said felony and murder to do and commit, against, &c Second count same as the first, but charging that she, the said Sarah Wormsley, then, and there well knowing the said white arsenic to be a deadly poison, did take and swallow down the same. Third and fourth counts, varying the statement of the poison. Sixth count charged that Sarah Wormsley mixed [357] two drachms of a certain deadly poison, to wit, white arsenic, and mingled the same with tea infused in water, and took and swallowed down the same into her body, with intent to procure the miscarriage of her the said Sarah Wormsley ; she, the said Sarah Wornisley, being with, child, but not quick with child ; by means whereof she died And the said Henry Russell, before the said felony and murder was committed, feloniously, wilfully, and of his malice aforethought, did incite, procure, hire, and command said Sarah Wormsley, &c The deceased Sarah Wormsley, a single woman, went into the service of the prisoner Henry Russell, a married man, and keeper of the gaol of the county of Huntingdon, about three weeks before Michaelmas 1830, and continued in his service until Old Michaelmas-day 1831 From thence she went to live with a lady at Brampton for about five weeks ; and at the expiration of that time went home to her lather and mother, at a cottage a short distance from the gaol, and continued there until her decease. On Wednesday, the 2d of February, about two o'clock in the afternoon of the day preceding her death, the prisoner called at the cottage ; and she walked and conversed with him upon the road near to it for about ten minutes On the next morning she breakfasted with the family at about six o'clock, and appeared in her usual health , but, about eight o'clock, was observed by her mother to be very sick and ill, going out into the lane adjoining to vomit frequently ; and her sickness and suffering increasing, her mother called in an apothecary about twelve o'clock, who, from her symptoms and general appearance, was soon satisfied she was under the influence of poison Apprehensive, that she would die, he sent for a magistrate, thinking it proper that her examination should be taken , and l MOOD. 358. REX V. HENRY RUSSELL 1303 [358] about four o'clock Sir John Arundell, a magistrate of the county, attended by his clerk, Mr. Sweeting, came to the cottage for that purpose Finding her sensible and collected, they proceeded to take her examination upon oath, first cautioning her (to use the expression of the witness Sweeting), against saymg any thing that might tend to criminate any person Being sworn, she made the following statement, which was taken down in writing, and which, after being read over to heT, and acknowledged by her to be true...
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