The Findlay Jeffersonian. [volume] (Findlay, Hancock County, Ohio) 1870-1881, 1877-02-16
THIRTEENTH DAYS PROCEED
INGS
MONDAY, A. NJ, Feb. 12. 1877

MONDAY, A. NJ, Feb. IL. 1877.
A. Blackford, opened the argument
for the defense. He had abandoned
faith, in later years of life, in public
takers, and regarded them generally
as public nuisances. am before you
to try this case alone, without bringing
into it exparte matters outside this
jurisdiction. In plain way he would
argue the case, appealing to the judg
ment of the jury. If a crime has been
committed in Hardin county, let Har-
din county look to it. And so of Allen
county; if crimes have been committed
there, let her authorities take cogni-
zauce of the matter. ALI the testimony
given before you regarding the death
of Melissa Charles was designed to
show that she died of having swallowed
irritant poison. Now, what relation
has this fact to the prisoners Why,
firstly, that opportunities have not
been wanting to enable him to perpe
trate the crime; and secondly, that
after the fact was established that his
brothers family had been poisoned, he
acted strangely. ~
Admitting the strange conduct oi
the prisoner-every one in the neigh.
borho ID was apaled, and acted strange,
ly. You can find no case in criminal
Jurisprudence, where a man was ever
convicted by his mere looks. The
responsibilities now resting upon you.
gentleman. are the highest known to
American citizenship.
There are cases of vicarious punish
ment-where innocent men have suf
fered for the crimes of others. To
establish guilt in the accused, all doubt
should be removed, the evidence should
be reduced to plane amounting to an
absolute certainty.
Counsel referred to outside clamor
and ignorant prejudice. and compli
mented attorneys for the prosecution,
in that they had held steadfast to law
liz several instances, much tc the cha
grin of the mob on the outside. As
against crime ''clearly proved" the
judicial settlement that "a reasonable
doubt" of guilt was established, the
latter view should prevail and the ac-
cused go acquit. There must be the
highest degree of certainty, removin.
all theory of innocence.
Counsel read from the n. Y. reports
the celebrated case of the alleged mur
der of HELEN Jewett, a courtesan, by
Richard P. Robinson, which resulted
in the acquittal of the prisoner by the
jury, although the cloak of defendant
a hat that had been USED by hilH, anc
other circuIn stances appeared to count
with crushing force against him. He
quoted at considerable length from
various reports of criminal trials to
show that circumstances pointing
much NOR clearly to guilt than has
been established against this defend
ant, have been acquitted. There was
no reasonable motive that had been
established, as prompting the prisoner
to perpetrate the crimes charged
against him. We neither admit nor
deny that this woman, Melissa Charts
died OF poison. She may have died
from such cause, out where is the
proof that Isaac b. Charles was guilty
of tie poisoning2 None, whatever
Having heard all the evidence, couasel
would affirm that there is no well es-
tablished proof that deceased died of
poison. The examination of her body
or analysis of her stomach failed to
show clearly, that she died of assistant
poison. Reviewed the evidence of the
physicians vino moved the stomach
FROM the body of Melissa Charles, and
showed the slovenly manner in which
it had been handled, from the time of
its removal until the supposed stomach
of deceased reached the hands of DR..
Cassel, of Cleveland. Questioned also,
that proof had been clearly established
that arsenic in the bread had been de-
tected And then in the medicine
which defendant administered during
the illness of the Charles families. DR..
Sturgeon himself swore that when Re
took the medicine from the custody of
defendant. he found it as pure as when
it left his ands. The chemists VINO
had testified regarding the length of
time after death that arsenic could be
detected ia bodies of deceased persons
were at issue with one another ia their
opinions-and "when doctors disagree
who sha1 decider Counsel maintain
ed that it was unsafe to convict an &C.
cused party upon the conflicting tes
timony of doctors, aud an, lived their
testimony animadvented upon it elab-
orstely. Counsel was especially dis
satisfied with the testimony given to
the jury by DIR. Sturgeon. In view of
the treatment Melissa received at the
hands of DIR. Sturgeon, as given in bis
own testimony, it would be rational to
conclude that she died OF the wretched