"He hit him first"
"1669. Act I. If a slave resist his master and by the extremity of the correction, chance to die, his death shall not be a felony, since it cannot be presumed that malice (which alone makes murder a felony) would induce a man to destroy his own estate.
" "Did not appear to have a purpose"
"George didn't recognize who he was"
no Negro or slave may...go from his owner’s plantation without a certificate and then only on necessary occasions; the punishment twenty lashes on the bare back, well laid on...And, further, if any Negro lift up his hand against any Christian he shall receive thirty lashes, and if he absent himself or lie out from his master’s service and resist lawful apprehension, he may be killed and this law shall be published every six months. "
A slave shall not go from where he lives without a license of letter showing he has authority from his master.
All meetings of slaves at any meeting house or any other place in the night shall be considered an unlawful assembly, and any justice may issue his warrant to enter the place where the assembly may be for apprehending or dispersing the slaves, and to inflict corporal punishment on the offenders at the discretion of the justice, not exceeding twenty lashes.
1748. Chapter XXXVIII. Section 22. An accidental homicide during correction of a slave still does not make one liable for prosecution or punishment, unless the slave is killed willfully; on a manslaughter verdict, there is no forfeiture or punishment.
I knew that....person's commentary sounded familiar.
