The Trial of Captain John Kimber for the Murder of Two Female Negro Slaves on Board the Recovery African Slave Ship
Student of the Temple
9781465633897
108 pages
Library of Alexandria
Overview
THIS trial came on at the Admiralty Sessions held at the Old Baily, on Thursday the 7th of June 1792; before Sir James Marriot, Judge Advocate of the Admiralty, Mr. Justice Ashurst, and Mr. Baron Hotham. The prisoner was indicted for having feloniously, wickedly, and with malice aforethought, beaten and tortured a female slave, so as to cause her death: and he was again indicted for having caused the death of another female slave. Mr. Broderic on the side of the prosecution, first opened the cause. Sir William Scott next stated, that the prisoner, Captain Kimber, had commanded the ship Recovery, which traded in slaves from the Coast of Africa, to the West Indies: that in 1791, he arrived in the river of Calabar, whence he had, in some time after, departed with a cargo of slaves, among whom was that negro girl, for whose murder the prisoner now stood indicted. She had been for a considerable time afflicted with a loathsome distemper, and a lethargic complaint, which prevented her from eating, or mixing in any of those exercises which the other slaves on board were accustomed to practice. The prisoner had her punished for this supposed obstinacy; flogged her, and had her raised up by pullies from the deck, so that the tortures she endured, caused her to languish for a few days, until she died. I shall not, said the learned Council, enter into a detail of circumstances, for that must appear by the evidence which is to be laid before you Gentlemen of the Jury. Nor is it necessary that I should make any observations on the heinousness of this offence, as that is the province of the Court. And no doubt, your verdict will be given with that discretion and impartiality, which has always been shewn on similar occasions. Mr. Thomas Dowling was first called, and examined by Mr. Attorney General; he had been a surgeon on board theRecovery, the ship which the prisoner commanded: in the beginning of June, he had arrived in the river of Calabar, on the coast of Africa, where in the end of August they had compleated their cargo of slaves. About the time of sailing, he had under his care, a female slave, aged about fourteen or fifteen years, who had been afflicted with a virulent gonorrhea, and lethargy, or drowsy complaint, of which latter ailment he could never learn the real cause. She was not then in a convalescent state: but her diseases were stationary, and bore every probable appearance of recovery. In this situation she could not eat, as the other slaves did, nor join in any of their amusements, at which the Captain was so irritated, that he used to flog her himself, with a whip, the handle of which, was one foot long, and the lash two. About three weeks after they had sailed, he beat her in this manner with uncommon severity; and on the 22d of December, perceiving her not to dance with the other negro women, he ordered a boy to bring a teakle, one end of which was fattened to the mizen stay and the other to one of her hands, and by this she was lifted up from the deck, and remained suspended for about five minutes: and during that time, she was bounsed up and down, or in other words, lifted up, and let fall again, by the way, who had a hold of the teakle. She was then taken down and suspended in the same manner by the other arm. She was next lifted up by one leg; and afterwards by the other: until at last she was taken up for the fifth time by both hands, and underwent the fifth excruciating suspension. The whole time from the first to the last suspension, this witness said might have been half an hour. While she continued hung up by both hands, the prisoner lashed her inhumanly with his whip: and when she was let down, he forced her to walk without any assistance down the hatchway: this she was unable to do, having got but two or three steps, when she slipt all the rest of the way.
