Mexico weekly ledger., 1880-02-19
HARTLEYS HOUSED!
A Brief History of the Case.
Leslie Sentenced for Ten and
William for Sixty Years
to the "Peu.-

to tlae PEN"
No case, civil or criminal, has
ever been tried III Mexico that has
attracted the attention that the Hart
ley case has. At the last term of
court Leslie Hartly was sentenced to
the penitentiary for ten years. VIM.
Hartly expressed his willingness to
plead guilty to the same charge if he
could have the same sentence. The
States attorney, Trimble, would lis
ten to nothing Of the kind. The law
must take its course, the criminal
must have a trial.
The VIM. Hartley case went TO
trial last Thursday and the case was
given to the jury at 4 O'Clock last
Monday evening, and at 6 O'Clock
and 10 minutes the jury brought in
their verdict.S Right here let us lay
that in our estimation the following
jury, which tried this case, was n
of the best juries that ever sat in our
jury box:
John Ess, R. b. Day, A. Ander-
son, Luther Hicks, Squire Roberts,
Adolphus Bates, John Dye, w. A.
Barnes, r. F. Smith, John Martin.
e. Weaver, r. r. Bird.
During the trial the court house
was crowded, especially while Forrist
and Trimble were speaking. There
was not standing room in the house.
The seats were filed with ladies all
day, and the case was we'll tried.
Forrist & Fry are two of the hest
criminal lawyers in the state. For
rist has had better success in this
branch of the law practice than most
any MAI in the state. Fry made a
most excellent plea, and florists
oiiNS hobI SlStSh "Jo Il lilaStCl I'll
fort.
Trimble and Buckner, prosecutors,
handled their cast with rigor. They
prosecuted and yet did not ~persecu.e.
Buckner made n of his character
istlc pointed speeches. Trimble did
better than we ever heard him do,
which is saying much, for Mac. is
one of the best lawyers in the state
and Judge Forrist said nothing bat
what was true when he said ''Trim-
bic never forgot anything which could
Iegitimately be brought to prove his
theory of a case"
The cast was long and tedious and
many witnesses were examined. The
following is the history of the ease rs
cleaned from the States Witnesses:
Mr.. Mastin Wiley gave cid man
Hartley, father OF Leslie and William,
a cllattel mortgage on n wagon for
S35. About noon on the I'd OF Janu-
ary, 1879, Leslie and Vim. Hartley
rode to the residence of Mastln
Wiley, near Benton City, to get the
wagon for the debt, hut found the
double tree gone from the wagon,
and when they rode up to the wagon
to hitch it up, Mrs. Wiley came to
the door and told them no to take
that wagon unless they had the mort
gage recorded if So they could have
it. VIM. Hartley ttlen picked up the
side-h,ar<!s aud put them on the wag-
picked up The top part of the end
gate, being about 6 inches wide, one
inch thick and about tour feet long
and started toward the house with it..
Leslie Hartley jumped yer the fence
after her, overlook her, and with
some violence took the board from
her. Mrs. W. then ran toward the
smoke house, l.. Hartley following
her with the board in his hand. When
they got To the smoke house. Mrs.
W. turned around with her back to
the door, when l., lialt.y slapped her
once or twice and probably ctioked
her during the struggle About this
time, Vim. Harley had come into
the yard and had come up near the
kitchen door, wien lie met Mr..
Wiley, the deceased. coming out oil
The kitchen door. Wiley then saw
Leslie Hartley choking his wife al
his son Jimmie and said: Are YOU
gong to stand there aud see your
old mother abused in that way
And then, turning to VIM. Hartley
said, "Get out of my yald!' WIN.
Hartley then drew II k!ilic IN "a threat
ening manner, when Wiley picked
up an axe that was leaning against
the house near him. AT this WIN.
Hartley moved away and got over in
the garden, Wiley following and
stopping at the garden fence with his
back to the smoke house.
At this point l.. Hartley left Mrs.
Wiley and RAJ toward MIR. Wiley with
the end-gate in his hand, and as he
came up behind Wiley knocked him
partially over the fence, which was
about 3 l-2 feet high. Mrs. Wiley
ran and assisted her husband up and
back into the yard. During this
time, Mn. Hartley was standing in
the garden II or Is steps from where
Wiley fell. AS soon as Wiley re-
gained his feet and turned upon l..
Hartley, he moved away across the
yard to the horse lot, getting through
the fence into the lot, where he stop
ped, three or four steps from the
fence, turned facing Wiley, who,
coming up to the fence, stopped anu
leaned against it, with his face toward
l.. Hartley, and his back toward VIM.
Hartley, who, in the meantime, had
gotten out of the garden into the
yard, and pausing, looked for an in
slant at Wiley, when he rushed upon
him from behind and caught him
around the neck with his left arm, and
raised his right arm above him hold
inc "a knife, with which he stabbed
him. infiicting a wound Just below