Henry, Patrick (1736-1799) [Document appointing justices of the peace for slave trials in Augusta County, Virginia]
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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC00464 Author/Creator: Henry, Patrick (1736-1799) Place Written: Richmond, Virginia Type: Document signed Date: 28 April 1785 Pagination: 1 p. : docket ; 34 x 21 cm. Order a Copy
Partially printed document signed by Henry as Governor of Virginia. Appoints fourteen men as justice of the peace in Augusta County, Virginia. They are given the duty of "Oyer and Terminer for the trial of Slaves in the said County ... for the purpose of trying, condemning and executing, or otherwise punishing or acquitting, any slave committing a capital crime within the said County." Wax seal at bottom or recto, next to Henry's signature.
Oyer and terminer was the name of a court authorized to hear and determine all treasons, felonies and misdemeanors; and, generally, invested with other power in relation to the punishment of offenders (translated as "to hear and determine") (American Heritage Dictionary).
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