Such was the heading of the article that riveted the attention of Lilith and that read as follows:
“A deplorable instance of the conviction of an innocent man, under false circumstantial evidence, of a crime that first consigned him to the scaffold, and afterward, by the commutation of his sentence, sent him to penal servitude for life, has lately come to light. Many of our readers will remember the case of John Weston, the young man who was convicted, eighteen years ago, of the robbery of the mail coach running between Orton and Stockbridge, Yorkshire, and the murder of a passenger. The young prisoner declared his innocence to the last, but through the overwhelming circumstantial evidence he was convicted and condemned to death. Great efforts were made in his behalf, and finally, upon account of his youth and previous good character, his sentence was commuted to transportation, with penal servitude for life. He was sent to Tasmania, where it is believed he died soon after his arrival at Port Arthur.
“But that John Weston was entirely guiltless of the crime for which he suffered is made quite clear by the ante-mortem confession of a convict named Thomas Estel, who died yesterday in the infirmary of Portland prison.
“This man, convicted of forgery one year ago, was almost immediately after his commitment to Portland discovered to be in a consumption, and assigned to the infirmary, where, after languishing for nearly twelve months, he died yesterday.
“His ante-mortem confession, made in the presence of the prison chaplain, the governor of the jail, and a justice of the peace, is as follows:
“I, Thomas Estel, of the city of Carlisle, being sound of mind, though very infirm of body, and believing myself to be about to appear before the tribunal of my Eternal Judge to give an account of the deeds done in the flesh, do now make this my last statement and confession, concerning a crime committed on the Orton and Stockbridge road, on the night of November the 13th, 18—, the robbery of the mail coach and the murder of a passenger at that time and place.
“And these were the circumstances under which the deed was done:
“There was a young gentleman of the West Riding, a little wildish in his ways—young Mr. James Hawkhurst, nephew and heir to Squire Hawkhurst, of Hawkhurst.
“This uncle had made a will, disinheriting him, leaving all his property to hospitals, which he had no right to do, seeing that, although the estates were not entailed, yet they were the Hawkhurst family estates, and should have gone to the heir-at-law, young James Hawkhurst.
“This wicked will was understood to be in the hands of the family solicitor, one John Keitch, of Carlisle.