The inadequacy of the law protecting banks and their patrons was declared by Solicitor Norris in Wake Superior Court Thursday as ground for nol prossing the cases against a former president of a defunct bank in Raleigh. The solicitor expressed regret that he could not proceed with the prosecution with a hope of conviction. He doubted the possibility of conviction because the defendant had already made good most of his shortage, and the solicitor held to the view that it would be difficult to get the jury in view of those circumstances to conclude that the defendant had maliciously and feloniously abstracted funds. The action of the solicitor was taken with the full knowledge and approval of Judge W.A. Devin, who was presiding.
It's a sad commentary on the State laws when one of its prosecuting officers has to make such an admission in court, and when a banker admittedly has isused$150,000 or more entrusted to him for safe keeping. Solicitor Norris’ recommendation that the next General Assembly take cognizance of the situation and strengthen the laws, ought to meet with general approval. This is not the first instance where the law has been found inadequate. The Thomasville miscarriage of justice indicated that something was wrong!
Solicitor Norris’s statement in which he excoriated the defendant, and the declaration of Judge Devin that the nol pross procedure had been taken with his full knowledge and consent, are reassuring, so far as the action of the court is concerned. It’s not a whitewash, as it first appeared, and as was charged in these columns in a previous issue. Even though Allen has made restitution and the criminal cases against him have been dismissed, his record has not been cleared. He is still under the cloud and will remain so. He can never restore himself in the confidence of the public. That in itself is a severe penalty.
From the editorial page of The Kinston Free Press, H. Galt Braxton, editor and manager, July 12, 1922
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