The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1878-09-20
E. P. BANCROFT.

GENTLEMEN OF THE JURY.-The de
PENDANT, E. p. Bancroft, is charged in
the information filed against him with
the crime of embeZZlement. The infor
nation when filed contained three
counts, but on motion of defendant the
I'd count was stricken out, and therefore
| the defendant is being tried under the
LIST and Sd counts stated in the informa
ton. The LIST count in said information
charges in substance that the said de
| PENDANT was, during all the time from
the month of May, A. d. 1872, up to the
9th day of June, A d. 1877, the duly ap
pointed, qualified and acting agent OF
the State of Kansas for the sale of the
lands set apart for the support and main
tenance of the State Normal school al
Emporia. That by virtue of said agen,
cy, he did, at different times during the
continuance of said agency, sell various
and divers tracts of said lands, and re
ceived as the purchase money thereof,
many and large sums of money, aggre.
eating the amount of $13, 27O14; that as
said agent he did, at Emporia, in the
county of Lyon, in the State of Kansas
on or about the 9th day of June, 1877
unlawfully, fraudulently and felonious
ly embezzle and convert to his own use
the sum of $1,000 of said money, so re.
assent of the State of Kansas, or of any
other person or persons thereto lawfully
authorized, and that said embezzlement
was, by said defendant, concealed up to
the month of February, A D. 1873.
The Sd count in said information con.
tains substantially all the averments and
charges mentioned in the LIST count, and
further charges that on the 9th day OF
June, 1877, the said defendant had in
his possession and under his control. by
virtue of his said agency, the sum Of
$1,000, after deducting all the commits
siOns to which he was entitled as such
agent, and that said defendant failed and
refused, upon demand being duly made
on or about the 9th day of June, 1877, to
pay into the State treasury the said sum
of 50 600, or any part thereof, and that
the said $1,000, nor any part of it, had
not been lost by any means beyond the
control of said defendant before he had
an opportunity to make delivery to his
said employer, and that his said employ
er has at no time permitted said defend
ant TO use said SO, 700, or any pant there
of, and that the said defendant concealed
the fact of his said crime, and of his
having said money, until the month o.
February, 1873.
The information in this case will bt
furnished you when you retire to con
slider of your verdict, and you are refer
ed to the 1st and Sd counts, together will
the exhibits attached thereto for a NOR
complete statement of the charges in thii
case.
I'd. In this, as in all other cases o
prosecutions for alleged crime, the de
PENDANT is presumed to be innocent o
the charges made against him, innocen
of the acts alleged to have been done
and innocent of guilty intent. This pre-
i sumption continues until the contrary il
proven by competent evidence.
Sd. When there is q reasonable doab
whether the guilt of the defendant il
satisfactorily shown by the evidence, b,
must be acquitted. 1t follows, therefore
that every ingredient and element tina
is necessary to constitute the crime ana
guilt of the defendant must be proved
BY the evidence beyond REASONABLE,
doubt, before he can be found guilty.
4th. By reasonable doubt is meant
doubt founded on reason and common
sense, and not possible or imaginar,
doubt, for there is scarcely anything per
tainig to human affairs, and dependiaS
upon evidence to establish Il, but Wha
is susceptible Of some kind of doubt. I
means such q doubt without bein.
sought after as naturally arises in tn
mind of the juror, and leaves him una
BILE to say, after a fair and candid inves
tigation of all the testimony, that he i
satisfied to a moral certainty of the de
fendaat's guilt, So long as moral Ger
tainty is not reached, reasonable doub
Imay be said to exist, and / define a nor
i al certainty to be that degree Of certain
~ which cn1Viacas and directs the IN
Iderstanding and satisfies the reason ana
Judgment Of those who are bound to &C