Mann:
The state fined Mr. John Mann $5 dollars because of his actions toward a rented slave named Lydia. When Lydia offended Mr. Mann she was whipped. As she was being whipped Lydia tried to run away and Mr. Mann shot her, wounding her badly. North Carolina authorities charged him with assault and battery. In criminal trial the jury deemed him guilty. Mr. Mann appealed saying that assault on Lydia or any slave by his or her master could not be chargeable since a slave was property of their master. Mr. Mann thought that the court was biased towards him and that what he did was right since Lydia was technically his property. His case went to the North Carolina Supreme Court where Justice Thomas Ruffin stated "the power of the master must be absolute, to render the submission of the slave perfect."
State:
The state and authorities think that what Mann did to Lydia was cruel and inhuman. No man should ever be allowed to do this to a women and get away with it. Being able to claim someone as property and have the right to be able to punish that person when ever you want is unacceptable.
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