The Wichita city eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1872-1883, 1874-06-11

ing i'm concert, is ore which tin. JURY
are Ia determine from AL the cirruh-
stances in The case, and the conduct II
the defendant with reference Ia III in.
in the light of the general Knowledge
which the jury may have of humsn ma
ture and the motives and intentions
which generally actuare men IN the
transactions incident to ordiuar, life.
"If TIE jury find from the evidence
that tic defendant and McNutt CON
spired together for the purpose OF de-
frauding the Metropolitan life insur-
ance company. any act or declaration
of McNutt done or said in furtherance
of their common design. would toe evil
dcncc against Winner, and should re-
cciec as much consideration in deter
mining his guilt or innocence rs if done
or said by him. or in his presence. Or
ifthcy had mutually formed any other
design. the same rule woa'd apply
with reference to such design. 1T Is
for Ike jury TO determine from al the
evidence in the case. whether an, such
design was in fact formed, and whether
the act or declaration was in further
ancc of such design.
The defendant is presumed 10 be
innocent until proved guilty, and if
there is reasonable doubt whether
his guilt is satisfactorily shown, he
must be acquitted: and if there is a
reasonable doubt as TO which of two
or more degrees Of the ofiensc charged
lac is guilty, he can be convicted of the
lowest degree only. 1t is not neccssa-
ry for the prosecution to prove each
circumstance beyond reasonable
doubt. Neither would the jury be jus
titled in acquitting, in the face Of clear
and convincing evidence of guilt, be-
cause of a capricious doubt or n mere
possibility Of innocence. If the evil
dcncc is of such character as TO salts
fy your minds-if upon the wole case,
after n careful and candid considera.
ton of all the circumstances, there is
left an abiding conviction in your
minds of guilt, TO a moral, though not
to mathematical certainty, YOU are
justified in saving his guilt is estab-
lishcd beyond reasonable doubt. The
doubt upon which you must acquit
must be suggested by your reason, and
must be reasonable. aud such as would
control the action OF 4 reasonable man
ia matters of grave Importance.
You are the exclusive judges of the
facts proved, of the weight of the
testimony, and the credibllitv of the
witnesses. 1t il your duty to reconcile
the testimony if possible, but if that is
impossible you must judge of what is
worthy and what is unworthy of be-
lief. You may give more weight to
the testimony of one witness than of
another : and YOU can give more weight
20 certain parts of the testimony of
one witness Than TO other parts. and
YOU may disregard the whole or any
part of the testimony of any witness,
if you consider him unworty Of belief.
lfany witness has wilfully and corrupt
IL sworn falsely as TO any material fact,
YOU should disregard the whole of his
testimony.
Ia weighing the testimony of any
witness YOU may take into considera-
ton his interest. bias or prejudice
his general integrity and strength OF
memory: his opportunities for oh. err
walton and means of knowledge of the
facts about which he tcstifies: his APP
pcarancc and department before the
jury; the consistency of his story with
itself. and with other declarations
made by the witness in and out OF
court: the reasonabieness of his story
in the light Of facts proved to your sat
isfaction, or generally known and es-
tablishcd. and any other fact or cir
cumstauce which, in your judgment,
affects his credibility or the weight OF
his testimony.
In the following we give "A few of the
poiuts of what was said in the five
speeches that followed, not attempting
TO give the language. The county at
torney commenced his opening on
Wednesday. about half past 100 clock
and was followed by Tucker, Harris.
and Adams. who consumed about two
DAYS. and, of course, we can only give
a gist or texts of the speeches, leaving
amplification and the flights of oratory
to the imagination of the readers.
Mr.. Sluss said il happened but to
few men in this world TO be called
upon TO set in case of this character,
where the life of citizen had been
taken. The duty was one from which
persons naturally shrink. The jury
should be cautious and candid in their
deliberations, but they should, regard
less of the consequences to any one,
determine their verdict and return il
accordingly. Arthur Winner stands
before YOU charged with numbering
of Sewer. by burning him to death.
He was acquainted with but two on
the jury, consequently knew nothing OF
a L. 90 al In ht
find some difficulty in approaching
their minds as to his theory of the
case. lie believed them all 10 be men
of general know ledge. Evidence i
mere history of any time or transac-
ton. The fact to be determined is the
guilt or innocence of the accused from
the history as detailed to them by the
witnesses. The history of the trans
action or great mystery must be relied
upon to get at the facts. lie noticed
that each and everyone had paid re-
markablc attention 10 the testimony.
Last November two Young men. paint
ers by trade. came to this city from
Kansas City. They rented building
on Main street. On the morning OF
the 25th of December the building wa
discovered TO be wrapt in flames. What
TRANSFERRED in that building previou,
to that moment no one can tell. We
only have the history of the affair since
that moment What was the origin OF
the fire and the surroundings rs shown
bv the evidence? The only conclusion
is that the building was set aiirc about
four O'Clock in the morning by an in
ccndiary We find Mr.. Winner at the
bottom of the stairs, bleeding and in q