Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1881-10-08
A LAWYER'S STORY.


cumstautial evidence if l were juror
NEVER"
The speaker was distinguished crimi-
nal lawyer of nearly forty years active
practice and whose fame extended far be-
yond the limits of his own State.
We had been discussing a recent cause
cele5re, in which, upon purely circumstan-
tial evidence, a man had been convicted of
an atroclous murder, although many of
those most familiar with the circumstances
OF the case entertained the gravest doubts
about the Justice OF his conviction, and
had been swung off into eternity, protest
ing his absolute innocence with his latest
breath and calling upon God to send his
soul highway to hell If he was not tell.
ing the truth.
As most of our party were lawy ers the
conversation, naturally enough, drifted
into a discussion of the dangers arising
from convicting accused persons, whose
own mouths were closed, upon purely cir
cumssantial evidence, IN the absence of any
direct and positive proof of guilt and case
alter case was cited in which, after convic-
tion and execution, the entire innocence of
the supposed culprits had been clearly
demonstrated Most of the laymen agreed
with the distinguished lawyer whose
very positive expression of opinion has
been quoted, while the majority of the
LAWYERS contended, with that earnestness
for which lawyers are noted when adVocaE-
ing their own side of any question, that
Justice could never miscarry when careful
Judges guard against the possibility OF un.
safe verdicts by refusing to permit con-
viction except when every link IN the chain
1 l. L. 90, =
lished beyond doubt and the whole chain
been made so perfect and complete as to
leave 10 room for any consistent hypothesis
of innocence.
'The first murder case ever tried,
said one Of them, "was stranger than
fiction, as you will admit, and is quite as
remarkable as any of the cases you have
referred TO where innocent men have been
wroagfully convicted upon circumstantial
evidence. It ought to have been reported
as an example of the unreliability of the
direct end positive testimony of eye wit
nesses who tell what they believe to be the
truth.
He then related the main points of what
was certainly . most remarkable and dra-
matte trial, and which constitutes fair
offset to some of the memorable cases
TO be found IN every work on circumstan.
tial evidence. The narrative produced so
strong Al impression upon my own mind
that subsequently,, with his consent, l put
it into the following shape, having first
carefully compared it with his notes OF tes-
timony taken upon the trial of the case.
It can be relied upon as absolutely correct,
with the exception that | have used tictl-
tious names, for reasons which will readily
be appreciated when it is known that most
of the actors in the drama are still living
One winter evening about O'Clock, IN
the early days OF the war, IN the quiet lit
tie town of , while patroling the
streets TO pick up stragglers from the camp
on the outskirts of the town, Corporal Ju
Hus Fry was shot and killed by one of
three men of bad character, who were IN
company and upon terms of open enmity
with the soldiers. The men were arrested,
committed to prison and brought to trial at
the next term of the Court. Two of them
were gamblers and desperadoes, and sup
posed TO have more than once had their
hands stained with human blood. The
third, whom I shall call Short, though
bearing an unviable reputation, was re-
parded as one unlikely to slay fellow man
except under compulsion of circumstances.
On account OF the character of the men,
and the trouble they had already brought
upon quiet, law-abiding citizens, the senti-
ment Of the whole community was strongly
against them.
In order to clearly understand the force
of the testimony given upon the trial and
the subsequent result, it is important to
bear in mind the physical peculiarities,
dress and general appearance OF each OF the
three prisoners.
Short was n small man of not more than
five feet SIX inches in hight, slender,
weighing scarcely 1870 pounds, vita bright,
fierv-red hair aud -whiskers, and, at
the time of the murder, wore a white felt
hat and an old light.blue army overcost.
RYAN was fully six feet in hight, Of
robust frame, with black hair and mus
tache, dressed in dark clothes and wore a
black Derby hat
Grey was "a heavy, broad-shouldered
man Of medium hight, weighing fully 200
pounds. with full black beard reaching
nearly to his waist. But as the evidence
subsequently showed that he had not fired
the first shot it is unnecessary to describe
his appearance more infinitely.
Certainly it Is difficult to imagine two
men more unlike than Short and Ryan or
less liable to be mistaken for each other,
even by strangers, much less by their &C
uuaiutancss. There was no possibility
here for = case Of mistaken identity.
Short and Ryan were tried together with
their conssnt-Grey having asked for and
obtained separate trial-and each was
defended by separate counsel.
Alter the preliminary proof relating to
the postmoTtem examination, the cause
of death and the identification of the body
of the deceased as the person named in the
indictment, the commonwealth called as
its first witness a woman, Mary Brown.
she bore q bad reputation for chastity, but
nobodyPquestioued her integrity of purpose
to tell, reluctantly, it is true. the whole
truth. The prisoners were all her friends,
and were constant visitors to the drinking
saloon of which she was the proprietress.
She was 4 woman of powerful physique
almost masculine frame, great force of
character. and more than ordinary intelli-
gence.
From her testimony it appeared that a
colored woman with whom she had some
dispute had bit her on the head with a
stone and ran, and the three prisoners,
coming up at the moment, started with her
mn the street in pursuit of the fugitive.
Although the night was dark there was
snow on the ground, and a gas lamp near
by gave sufficient light to enable one TO
recognize a person with ease some feet
away. After running about hundred
yards the pursuers came to the corner OF
an alley and stopped under the gas lamp,
being challenged by the deceased, who was
in uniform, in company with one OF his
squad. She swore that when the Corporal
called halt, Short, whom she had known
intimately for years, replied. $50 toh-h,
and, while standing at her side, sothat their
elbows were touching, both being imme-