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North Carolina V. MannNorth Carolina v. Mann, 13 N.C. 263 (1829) (or "State v. Mann", as it would have been identified within North Carolina), is a Supreme Court of North Carolina decision that ruled that slaveowners could not be convicted of murder for killing their slaves. A North Carolina Court convicted a slave owner, John Mann, for shooting Lydia, his slave, as she ran away from a beating. The North Carolina Supreme Court overruled the conviction on the grounds that slaves were the absolute property of their owners and they could be punished as slavers liked unless a law explicitly said so. The judgement was written by Judge Thomas Ruffin, who stated that "the power of the master must be absolute, to render the submission of the slave perfect", but noted that slaves did have legal right of protection from persons other than their owners. Ruffin, however, made it clear that his opinion was a legal one, and that his sympathy lay with Lydia. He wrote that "the struggle, too, in the Judge's own breast between the feelings of the man, and the duty of the magistrate is a severe one, presenting strong temptation to put aside such questions, if it be possible. It is useless however, to complain of things inherent in our political state. And it is criminal in a Court to avoid any responsibility which the laws impose."
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