Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1873-03-22
The SeanneH Case.

Three weeks were wasted by the Court
of Oyer and Terminer in the Scannell
murder trial. The jury came into Court
after having been out more than twenty
four hours, with the assertion that they
saw no probability of agreeing upon a
verdict. Judge Brady thereupon dis
charged them, and sent Scannell back
to the Tombs, to take his chance of
another trial after few more months
delay. There was no serious denial of
the killing. The main defense was
placed upon the metaphysical question
of moral insanity, which was most elab-
orately worked out, as though its main
object was to produce insanity in the
jury. For many months the prisoner
sought the life of Donohue, shooting at
him three or four times and wounding
him once before. He accused him of
killing his brother, Florence Scannell,
in a fight two years ago, where
the two Scannells attacked Donohue
and others in a political quarrel.
From that time the prisoner has
frequently displayed great emotion
when his brother was mentioned, or
when he CHANGED to meet Donohue,
whom he had repeatedly threatened to
kill. He showed the Court sample
paroxysm while his counsel was sum-
ming up. 1t is very doubtful if he pro-
duced any favorable impression. Judge
Brady charged the jury on Friday after
noon. He trusted to their good sense
for correct appreciation of the evil
dence, and fully explained the legal
definition of insanity, the occurrence of
which would deprive the homicide of
criminality. He drew this distinction
between unrestrained passion of malice
or revenge and that frenzy in which
reason and moral responsibility are
overthrown and man becomes like q
wild beast, dangerous to friend and
foe. Sunday morning the jury came
into Court. They had not agreed, and
wished further light on the subject Of
insanity. A clear repetition of the law
on that point was given them from the
bench yet, after vain endeavor, they
were still unable to agree. 1t is report
ed that eight of the twelve had no doubt
about their duty to find verdict o.
murder in the first degree. Foul
wondered at the studio obstinacy o.
twice their number, and voted for the
proved insanity of the prisoner.
This result is another confirmation Of
the truth of an assertion which
brought Jack Reynolds to the halter
that changing is played out" NJ
other offence is so little likely to b.
punished in New York as the taking
of human life. 1t may occasion TEN
porary loss oil liberty, but the chances
of it's bringing the slayer to the scaffolC
are very slim. Life becomes utterl,
at the mercy of any drunken rufian il
the car or an embittered antagonist il
any feud. Scotland requires only {
majority of jury for conviction. 1
change of English law is proposed il
the same direction; and in the New
York Assembly last week, Mr.. Voorhi
introduced bill declaring "that afte
{ the passage of this act a verdict rem
dered by two-thirds of regularly EN-
panelled jury shall be considered in al
criminal cases the verdict of such jury.
Such farce as Scannells case ha
proved shows that our own statute
might be improved, in the interests o
public safety, by a modification of tn
rules governing trials for murder.-N
Y. Herald.