The Sedalia weekly bazoo. [volume] (Sedalia, Mo.) 187?-1904, 1879-02-25
EMOTIONAL INSANITY.
The Jury in the BroWn-Parrish
Murder Case Agree to Disagree.
Six for Conviction and Six for 40.
Quittal On the Ground Of
Insanity.


legged murder Of his her-in-lsw. Mn.
Parr,sh. which had been going on At Mo-
berry. Randolph county, for ten days. re.
suited 10 . disagreement Of the jury on
Wednesday. six Of the jurors being is favor
Of verdict Of murder in the FIRST degree,
and six in favor Of scquittins the prisoner,
on the ground Of insanity at the time the
killing vas done. A new trial will there
fore be necessary.
The killing derives much local and some
general inier,st from the causes that led
to il, iu peculiarly tragic nature. and the
subsequent flight and capture Of the pris-
oner. II was committed on the 23rd Of
July. l.77. There had been difficulty he
tween Brown and his siie. growing, it 10
ssid, out Of his irregular habits and nal.
treatment, and one day during Browns
absence, his vie and child we're taken to
the home of her father. DR.. Parrish, re-
spectabIe citizen Of Randolph county. This
enraged Brown and be threatened to kill
Dr.. Parrish and Mrs. Parrish. Aiming
himself siih . double-barreled shotgun.
he met DR.. Parrish in his buggy on the
high road and fred at him. bringing his
victim to the ground. Thinking he had
killed him, he rode on. and . short time
aftervard. met Mrs. PArrish riding in .
wagon with her two daughters and
others near the house Of james Bennett.
He began to sbu.e Mrs. Parrish IN co.rse
and brutal language. and che, seeing that
be vss bent on mischief. got ous Of the
wagon to make her escape. Brown then
6rsd and shot her in the back. Sne did No,
fall, however. bat started to run towards
Bennett's house, when Brown fred again
shooting her in the beck Of the head and
killing her. There we're several witnesses
u the transaction standing BY, bat they
svore they were 40 intimidated by Browns
desperate character and violent threat.
that they made no attempts to arrest him.
and he rode oH. and, with the as-i-t.nce Of
relatives, made his escape to Minnesota.
where he was arrested in June 1878, and
brought home for trial. The fact of the
killing vas too open and plain to be dis
puted, - we're also the prisoners repeated
threats to kill both his father-in-law and
mother-in-law. The defense relied mainly
on the plea Of insanity. Several witnesses
tes,i6ed that the prisoner was frolhing At
the mouth. violently excited. alternately
weeping and cursing. just before the muir
der and Immediately Afterwards, and that
he acted like IN insane man. Others de-
clared she vas % zane - he ever was, be
only acted like = Wild fool ;"othes declared
him entirely rational. though excited. Ses.
eral experts. physcious. introduced BY the
defense, emphstically declared their belief
that he was laboring under temporary
insanity At the time of The killing-pro-
fessional declarations which the prosecu-
ton sought TO impair by alleging that the
sxpsrss' opinions we're Influenced BY the
lee they received for testIfying.
The court house v.s crowded every day
during the trial, many Of the spectators
being ladies, whose svupathies. strangely
enough, we're With the prisoner. One in
feature Of the trial. which TO
doubt, had its effect on the jury. Vas the
presence Of the prisoners wife By
his side throughout the pro,racsed pro-
seeding. It wss hard and bitter choice.
no doubt, ihst she had to make between
her husband and her mother. slain BY th.t
husbands hand: hot she made il. and to
her decision. probably more than to any.
thing elae, the prisoner owes his present
eacspe from the scsffold.