Nebraska advertiser. [volume] (Brownville, Nemaha County, N.T. [Neb.]) 1856-1882, 1882-02-09

] twenty counts. nc NTf1llBnt1 the
| ney Judge Porter and five Of the Government
! experts, for conspiring TO hang the prisoner,
! The first count charged pcrvcrsion OF the INV
! I'm the case. In illustration OF support or TINS
| count Mr. Scovillc alluded 20 the Introduction
\ of the decision of Judge Davis IN " New y ork
| case. He denounced in severe language THIS
decision as extra-tudiciai, and sala n snao q
| attempt 10 influence the decision IN penulng
! cause, the editor would have been subject 10
arrest for contempt Mr.. scoviIle continues.
1.-THE prosecution states that II the prisoner
/ knew the act was wrong on July 3 then ne
should hang. Now, this Is not by any means
the WHOLE OF IT. or correct s1lt 1ns 0 os f"
! lows: Yet IL in this act he was overpOweredb 10y
/ a consciousness coming through his diseaseu
| mind that what he was doing was necessary
| for the good of the country and was specially
| approved by God, then YOU cannot conNlot nun
1 OF murder" The second count I'm Mr. Scoville's
supposititous Indictment alleged perveirsi,hnn ion
/ allegation by reading from Mr. DaVldges
| speech and compared II with the evidence. lie
contendcd that facts were perverted, and par.
| ticularly the evidence, as to the immortality OF
| the prisoner. After recess, and during tnc
absence of the District-Attorney, Mr. Scoville,
| having intimated that he desired To criticise
! the conduct Of that official, as u chief partner
| In the wicked conspiracy to hang his CLIENT
! but dsliked to do so when he was absent
Colonel Corkhiil was sent for, ana reluctant ~
| the theory of the prosecution that 1t was
| the prisoners own innate or acquired
/ dcpraVtty that naturally lei MIN up 10
] the killing of the President, and discussed
/ at some length the evidence introduced by
| them to show the prisoners mennncSs hnu &c
pruvty. This evidence, nc said, had, i'm al
| most every instance, been perverted. During
| Mr.. Scovies address Guitcau constantly in
! terjected comments and explanations, and, as
! the court was about to adjourn for the day,
! shouted: 81 desire your Honor to read my
! speech tonight, so can discuss IL with you to-
morrow" The court here adjourned
In the Guiteau case on the morning of the
18th, before speaking, Mr.. Scoville requested
! Judge Cox to listen to the reading of paper
! by the prisoner, reiteratng his request that he
! be allowed to address the jury. adding that he
/ (ScOvillc) had looked II over and saw nothing
! Objectionable i'm IL. The Court allowed il to be
! read, and Mr. ScoVille resumed his argument,
/ beginning with a general complaint, alleging
unfnirncss on the part of the prosecution, par
ticularly of the District-Attorney, who had
visit the Jail, and who should not He had i'm
troduccd persons into the prisoners cell under
false guise. to worm out his secrets, and
when the prisoner said anything which might
nurc to his dhe prisOncrs) benefit, the
! Prosecuting Attorney had been very careful
not To let II become known. He com
| planned of Corkhills unfairness in de-
| stroying the notes of Stenographcr Bailey SO
| that the defense could not have the benefit of
! them. The conduct of the prosecution in the
| courtroom, he alleged, was not only unfair to
| the defense, but was often discOurteous and
more bciitting police court than this. Mr.
! ScoVille unwittingly raised smile by declnr-
! ing, rs one count III his Indictment, that the
! Government had acted unfairly in putting
| upon the stand so many witnesses to prove
! the act of killing, Going over and over the
| horrors of the sccnc,' said the counsel, "and
! declare that IL was shame and n disgrace
| the exhibition made here by the prosecution
| for the purpose OF influencing your feelings
! and emotions rather than your Judgment"
! Mr.. ScOvilc then criticised severely the course
| of the prosecution in refusing to permit the
! prisoner to address the jury for brief hour
! or two, SIMPLY because they feared he might
an fI.la
| mental condition. In abiding TO the discus
sion ON the proposition to allow the prisoner to
speak, he quoted the Dstrict-Attorney as hay
ing said that If the prisoner should be allowed
to speak, 1t ought to be from the dock. He then
called attention to the letter written by Quit
eau to the Distrct-Attorney, and from
he claimed, by the prosecution, and in
spirit of unfairness. He then
proceeded to give the jury his views upon
Judge Porter, and to instruct them us to how
much weight they should attach to his utter
anCcs, and as to the best means of counterfeit
ing the influence of his oratory. Porter" he
said, was prostitutng his fine attanments in
| the effort to hang an insane mnn.' lmmed-
! ately after recess and before Mr.. ScOville re-
parent sincerity, announced that h was in
! luck. He had just signed his name to u
check for $4,000 on the FIRST National Bank
! of New York; that ne had received another
! for $1,000 and another for $500, and be-
lieyed they were all genuine. Mr.. Scoville
then reviewed the prisoners life, and said:
| Nv nen ne lCtt inc oneida community he
sought out Bcechcrs church, the Young Mems
| Christian Association, and the society OF Chris
| tian people. His tendencies ut this time were
not immoral, nor had he shown any indication
| of that awful crime of not paying his board
| bills, for which the prosecution IL trying to
| hang him.. Mr.. Scovllle continued up to the
! hour of adjournment his review of the life of
| the prisoner explaining his acts in the light of
| counsers (Scovlle 81 theory upon the case, and
! spoke of the monumental assurance of the
prisoner in naming himself in connection with
| Grant GOnkl linz and Arfhur The Court -
| adjourned for the day.
WHEN the court opened on the morning of
the 18th Guiteau turned to Judge Cox and said
he presumed he would be allowed to address
the jury when Mr. Scovillc had finished. In
reply the Court said the application would be
considered mt the conclusion of Mr.. Scoville's
| remarks. Mr.. Scoyille then resumed his arglI-
| ment and discussed the statistics of insane
| criminals introduced i'm evidence by the prose
| cution. Speaking of DR. Gray, he said he had
been hired to come to Washington to aeiP
hang his client, He was one of the cOnspiratOrS
| in the conspiracy of which the District
! Attorney was chief, but he fortunately left his
| footprints. aud he (SGovillc was able TO con-
| tradict hin ont of his own mouth MIR. SEQ
vile pointed out in the conduct of Guteau
parallels to illustrations given by DIR. Gray,
had been playing part. Discussing the hor-
rors of crime, as often shown in the acts OF IN
sane criminals, Scovillc said there was nothing
! in This act 10 compare with some of these acts
of insane criminals, and said: 'In my opinion,
! If there were not reasons, and powerful ones,
at the back of this prosecution, this prisoner
| never would have been brought to trial. But
/ tell you, gentlemen of the jury, back of this
prosecution is an influence which have felt
and which you may feel, gentlemen, before
this trial Is concluded. There are poll
tcans who seek To hide their own shame
behind the disgrace of this poor prs
oner and make him scapegoat ioi
their crime. did not intend, gentlemen oi
the jury, to take up this feature of the case
but when find the power and influence OF thls
Government usel against me in denying tho
small pttunce that have asked for IA fair anC
impartial trial and the small facilities needed
for proper defense, do not propose 20 kceI
quiet say that such men ~ Grant and Conk
ling and Arthur are morally and intellectually
responsible for this crime. Mr.. Conkllng shal
not escape, shall not shirk the responsibility ol
the state of things that led to this act, and he