Cambridge Chronicle 15 Mar 1833: William Nightingale guilty of killing William Stallion

Before Baron VAUGHAN

William Nightingale (18), was charged with killing and slaying William Stallion with a reaping-hook in August last. It appeared that the prisoner, deceased, and some other men were drinking at a beer shop, in Trumpington, on the night in question, and were going home, when Nightingale charged the deceased with stealing fowls, to which he replied “If you say that again I’ll hit you,” and struck him; on this the prisoner said to a third person “If you’ll go away I’ll fight him a hook for hook — life for life,” and immediately struck him a blow on the arm, which occasioned erysipelas inflammation, and that inflammation mortification. For the defence, it was attempted to be shown that no blow was given, but that the wound was occasioned by the withdrawal of the arm from the prisoner, who had the hook in his hand at the time the deceased struck him. Two witnesses were called to prove that the witness who said he saw the blow given had said on the next day he had not. The jury returned a verdict of guilty. — The learned JUDGE thought the unfeeling manner in which the prisoner behaved after he had struck the blow, called upon him to punish him severely, and he therefore ordered him to be imprisoned for one year and kept to hard labor.