Western Reserve chronicle and weekly transcript of the times. [volume] (Warren, Ohio) 1854-1855, 1855-04-18
CHARGE oF THE COURT.

goth, 1855.
CHARGE OF THE COURT.
Gentlemen of the Jury-After having
listened to this case thus far, it only re-
mains for the Court to give to you the
principles of law, and rules of evidence
that are applicable to the testimony, be-
fore you shall retire to the final dischar-
ge of your duties.
I may be permitted to say here that in
anything may say, or in any express
sion 1 may use, do not desire to be un-
derstood as intimating any opinion OF
the facts of the case. Sufficient for my
purposeifI shall give youthe la'U correctly
and desire to leave the the entire response
bility of finding as to the facts in the case,
with yourselves to whom that duty prop
erly belongs: indeed, after having listen
ed attentively as you have to all the evi-
dence and the thorough and able argu-
ments of Counsel, could not aid you in
that respect if 1 would.
FIRST, and in general. it will be yonr
duty under the. law as l shall lay it down
o you, 10 ascertain from the evidence
and from that alone, what is the truth in
relation to the charge preferred against the
prisoner in this Indictment; and that is
the end of your responsibility. What may
be the consequences of that finding is of
no moment to you. Your responsibility
is commensurate with your duty, and
that is correct finding npon the facts as
given in the evidence.
Then TO the case; and in the first place
| may say to you that the law, which pre-
sumes that every citizen over whom its
protection is extended is worthy of that
protection, assumes that whoever comes
before you charged with crime is innocent,
and ii is incumbent upon the prosecution
to overcome that presumption so fully
that there shall not be left in your minds
rational doubt as to the guilt of the par
ty charged, before you will be warranted in
bringing in a verdict ofguitty.
Let us see, what is the offence with
which the prisoner is charged foru to
the time when he was brought before you
he was only charged with an offence, and
the presumption was that he was innocent
when he so came before you, and 1t is
from your verdict that we shall learn
whether that presumption has been over
come by the evidence.
"The section oflhe law under which be
is charged provides ''that if any person OF
persons shall administer poison to another,
with intent to destroy or take the life Of
the person or persons to whom the same
shall be administered, or to do him, her ol
, them an injury or if poison shall be pre-
P pared with the intent aforesaid, and the
same shall be taken by any person or per
Il sons, whereby an injury to such person
. or persons may be done; the person o.
u persons so offending, their aidors anC
P abeltors shall be deemed guilty of mis-
d demeanor, and upon conviction thereof
J shall be imprisoned in the penitentiar.
s and kept ar hard labor, not mole than fiji
teen nor less than three years.,
y You will perceive that there are tw
offences embraced in this section, an
the Grand Jury have embraced both claw
ses by saperate counts in the indictment
the three last counts being framed upo
the first clause of the statute, and tn
four first upon the latter clause.
- Then, as you will see by recurrenc
to the indictment which you will hav
- kefore you, (and the counts are number
" ed so that you will have no difficulty
:! referring to lhem) the 9th, 9th, and Tt
counts charge the offence in the first clau
Sc of the statute in this form, that Rolli
A. Leet, maliciously, four grains {
- = strychnine deadly poison, administers
o 10 Homer NJ. Leet intending to do him a
: injury that Homer M. Leet drank it an
was so injured, &c. That is the sub:
lance of the fifth count, and the sixth
like unto it with some slight variation
varying perhaps in this that it charg,
:, that the poison was prepared to injul
but not to kill; and the seventhalso is n,
greatly dissimilar need not read Ihel
"a as you will have the indictment befol
VI you.
ne Then to establish the crime what is
necessary for the prosecution to satisi
Cd you of by evidence. before you can col
&C. vict under the 5ih, 9th, and 7th counts
d. tbs charged that Rolin A. Leet M
n liciOusly administered poison to Hom
on NJ. Leet, on a certain day, with the il
ite tention of destroying his life and Of inj
'P' ring his person. Its charged to have be-
les done on the 18th day of August, but Il
ie- day is immaterisl; any time before th
rK' indictment was found would be sufficer
'an Ii is necessary that the article prov,
te. to be administered should be strychnin
but the quantity is immaterial. 1t