732 Slide – American State Trials 1918 Volume X Leo Frank Document

700 XY. AMERICAN STATE TRIALS.

they were all jailed, and taken subsequently to Boston where
all of them but one, who had committed suicide while in pris-
on, were put on trial before a Federal Court, presided over
by Mr. Justice Story, for piracy.

‘The evidence waa pretty conclusive as to their identity, but
some of them—the cook, Ferrer; the cabin boy, Costa, and the
three sailors: Guzman, Portana and Velazquez, the jury
thought might have acted under the compulsion of the oth-
ers, and so found them not guilty. But seven of the Span-
iards, Gibert, the captain; De Soto, the mate, and Ruiz, Boy-
ga, Castillo, Garcia and Montenegro, were convicted of piracy
and sentenced to death. But the jury in returning their ver-
dict recommended the mate De Soto to the merciful consid-
eration of the Government ‘“‘hecause of his generous, noble
and eelf-sacrificing conduct in saving the lives of more than
seventy human beings, the passengers and crew of the ship
Minerva,’’ an incident which was brought to their attention
during the trial. And the wife of one of the counsel went to
the President and told him the story of heroism, which so
impreased the chief executive that he gave the mate a full
pardon, As for the others, Boyga cut his throat and Ruiz
pretended to be insane. But it was decided that he was
shamming and with Boyga, sitting in a chair, the six pirates
were hanged at the Leverett street jail in Boston.

THE TRIAL*

In tha United States Circuit Court, Boston, Massachusetts,
November, 1834,

How. Josera Story, ?
How. Joun Davis,"

Early in the month of June, 1834, intelligence reached this coun-
try, that the British brig of war Curlew, Capt. Trotter, while eruis-

i Judges.

3 Bibliography. *%A Report of the Trial of Pedro Gibert, Ber-
nardo De Soto, Francisco Ruiz, Nicola Costa, Antonio Ferrer, Man-
nel Boyga, Domingo De Guzman, Juan Antonio Portana, Mannel
Castillo, Angel Garcia, Jose Velazquez, and Juan Montenegro slias
Jose Basilio De Castro, before the United States Cirouit Court, om