Samuel Lacey avows that he "shot and killed at my own house ... one mullattoe man slave, of own property, which appeared to be the only alternative for the Preservation of myself & family." He further reports that he contacted the coroner, who "held an inquest & the Jury return'd a Verdict in my favor." Lacey recounts that said coroner turned his findings over to "the Solicitor for this [Chester] circuit" and that said Solicitor "thought me very Justifiable in what I had done & shoud dismiss me without any Indictment or hearing on the case." Lacey, "possessed of the Idea that I ought to be entitled to the same compensation as in the case of negroes executed by Law," seeks compensation for the slave that he killed.
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Repository: South Carolina Department of Archives and History, Columbia, South Carolina
