Simon stated at a sentencing hearing that he was not guilty of arson. Finley then ordered Simon executed by hanging on Friday, August 26, 1853, between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. by the Sheriff of Escambia County at “some convenient place.” Campbell appealed Finley's denial of Campbell's motion to the Supreme Court of Florida. The Court heard oral arguments on July 13 and 14, 1853. On July 25, 1853, with Finley present, the Court reversed Finley's denial of Campbell's motion in a 2 to 1 ruling, and ordered a new trial. The Court based their decision "on the common law doctrine that for a confession to be admissible as evidence, the mind of the accused should at the time of the confession be uninfluenced by fear or hope. With respect to Simon’s confession, Justice [Albert G.] Semmes noted that there were 'few cases to be found in the books where stronger influences were brought to bear on the mind of the prisoner to extort a confession than the one before us. That it was made under the influence of fear or apprehension of personal violence, can scarce be doubted.' Justice Semmes noted that the crowd outside the mayor’s office was clamoring to hang Simon, and Mayor Sierra, who was Simon’s only protection from the crowd, was demanding that Simon confess. Justice Semmes reasoned that if Simon maintained his innocence, he risked alienating Mayor Sierra, which could have resulted in the mayor abandoning him to the crowd. Justice Semmes speculated that in Simon’s mind, a confession was 'the only immediate security for his person and his life.' Justice Semmes also focused on the fact that Simon was a slave, and that Simon made his confession in the presence of, and at the urging of, his master. According to Justice Semmes, 'the ease with which this class of our population can be intimidated, and the almost absolute control which the owner does involuntarily exercise over the will of the slave, should induce the courts at all times to receive their confessions with the utmost caution and distrust.' Further, Justice Semmes opined that the trial testimony proved that Simon had falsely confessed. Specifically, Justice Semmes noted that when Simon admitted to the burning of Dr. Maxwell’s house, he claimed to have set the fire at the east window on the first floor of the home, and that he had stayed there watching the