Sacramento daily record-union., 1882-01-26

4
To a Deputy Marshal who attempted to
restrain him. he said g Sit down, and mind
your own business. II you lay finger upon
me pistol will fix you. will talk as much
as please. Porter knows he is lying, every
word be says. He's trying to make out that L
am not patriot. I'm willing to die tomor-
row, if necessary, and God Almighty will re-
venge my death. This nation will roll in
blood if hair of my head is harmed, and
/ that man Porter will be ahead of the crowd
down below"
Judge Porter continued, and at o'clock
announced that his Argument was finished.
THE JUDGES CHARGE TO THE JURY.
At 3:15 Judge Cox began to deliver his
charge to the jury. He commenced by say
ing: The Constitution provides that in all
criminal prosecutions the accused shall enjoy
the right of speedy and public trial by an
impartial jury in the State or District where
| the trial shall have beon committed; that he
shall be informed OF the cause and nature OF
the accusation against him; that he shai! be
confronted with the witnesses against
him; that he shall have COM
pulsory process to obtain witnesses
in his favor, and that he shall have the as
sistanee of counsel in his defense. These pro-
visions are intended for protection CT the
| innocent from injustice and oppression, and
it was onIv by their faithful devotion that
| onilt or innocence could be fairly ascertained.
! Every accused person was presumed to be In
nocent until the accusation was proved.
With what difficulty and trouble the law
had been administered in the present case the
Jurors had been daily witnesses. 1t was,
| however, o consolation to think that one Of
those sacred guarantees of the Constitution
had been violated in whole or in part.
If the jury entertained a reasonable doubt
on any ground, or as to any of the essential
elements of the crime, the defendant was en-
titled to the benefit Of that 1oubt, and to
acauittal. The doubt, however, must bs
sincere. and fortified by proofs and testimony.
The jury should be reasonably and
morally certain of the facts which
they declared to be their verdict.
There was no question about the firing
of the shot, its producing death, and pro.
vided the defendant were capable of criminal
intent or malice) of its malice aforethought.
The prisoners own hand had written that he
contemplated the removal of the President
six weeks before the shooting; had deliber-
ately planned it and prepared for it. These
things established malice. Nevertheless, if
animosity were established to a necessary
degree, it must be allowed full weight. He
had already said the man who is insane
in the sense that makes him ire
sponsible cannot commit crime. The
defense of insanity has been so abused
as to be brought into great discredit. 1t was
the last resort in cases of unquestioned guilt
| 1t had been the excuse for juries bringing in
verdict of acquittal when there was public
sympathy for the accused, and especially
where there was provocation for the homi-
eide. According to law, it was sufficient to
prove that the act was done by deliberate in
| tent.
Before proceeding further, he wished to
notice an incident which had taken place
pending the recent argument. The prisoner
| had frequently taken occasion TO proclaim
that public opinion, as evident by the press
and correspondence, was in his favsr. Thesa
declarations could rot be prevented, ex-
cept by the process Of gagRing the pris-
Oner. Any suggestion that the jury could
be Influenced by such lawless chatterirg of
the prisoner would have seemed to him
absurd, and he should have felt that he was
insulting the intelligence of the jary, if be
had warned them not to regard it. Counsel
for the prosecution had felt it necessary, how
ever, in the final argument to interpose a
contradiction to such statements, and excep-
tions had been taken on the part of the &C.
cused to the form in which that effort was
made. For the purpose of purging the record
Of any Objectionable matter, he should simply
say that anything which had been said on either
side in reference to public excitement or TO
newspaper opinion was not to be regarded by
the Jury. To establish murder it had to be
proved, first, that death was caused by the
act OF the accused, and further, it was caused
with malice aforethought. That did not
mean, however, that the Government had to
prove any i'll will or hatred on the part of
the accused toward the deceased. Wherever
a homicide was shown to have been commit
ted without lawful authority aud with de-
liherate intent, it was sufficiently proven to
| have been done with malice afoTethought, and
malice was5 not disproved by showing that
the accused had no personal ill-will toward
the deceased, and that he killed him from
other motives. The jury would have to say
the defendant was guilty of murder or inno-
cent. In order to constitute the crime Of
murder the assassin must have reasonably
sane mind. In technical terms he must be
"of sound mind and discretion. Any ire
sponsibly insane man could not commit q
murder. If he was laboriug under disease
of the mental faculties to such an extent that
be did not know what he was doing, or know
that it was wrong, then be was wanting in
that sound mind. memory and discretion that
was part of his definition Of murder. Every
defendant was presumed innocent until the
accusation against him was established by
proof. Notwithstanding this presumption Of
|
| fendant was presumed TO be sane, and
to have been SO at the time the
crime was committed. The burden of proof
as TO insanity was on the defense. The
| Jury was not to infer that the prisoner was
| insane because he committed an enormous
crime. The only safe rule was for the jury to
direct its attention to one test of criminal re-
sponsibihty, namely, whether the prisoner
possessed enough mental capacity st the time
the crime was committed to know that it was
wrong, or whether he was deprived of that
important distinction which the jury must
not lose sight of. and they must de-
eide how far it was applicable to
this case That was the distinction be-
tween mental and moral obliquity, between
mental incapacity to distinguish between
right and wrong and moral insensibiIity to
that distinction. And now, gentlemen, to
sum up all have said to you, il You find
from the whele evidence that at the time Of
| the homicide the prisoner was laboring under
such defects cf his reason that he was iucap-
able Of understanding what he was doing or
seeing it was wrong thing to do, as, for ex.
ample, if he were under an insane delusion
that the Almighty had commanded him to
do the act, then he was not in a responsible
condition Of mind, but was an object
of compassion, and should be now ac-
| Quilted. If, on the other hand, you
find that he was under no insane delusion,
but had possession of his faculties, and had
power to know his act was wrong, and if, of
his own free will, he deliberately concurred
in the idea and executed the homicide, then,
whether his motives were personal vindict-
iveness, political animosity, desire to avenge
supposed political wrongs, or morbid desire
for notoriety, or if you are unable to discover
any motive ct all, the act is simply murder
and it is your duty to find verdict of guilty
as indicted. Or latter suggestion
from Scoville to that effect) if you
f q that the prisoner is not guilty by reason
of insanity, it is your duty to say so. You
will Bow retire to your room and consider
your verdict
During the delivery of the Judges speech,
which was completed at 4:30 P NJ, there was
perfect stiffness in the crowded Court.room
and even the prisoner kept absolutely quiet,
with the exception of one or two simple in
terruptions.
The jury Immediately retired and many
spectators left the Courtroom.
WAITING FOR THE VERDICT.
! After the jury had been cut about twenty
minutes, recess was taken until half-past 5
o'clock. Many Of the audience, who had vir-
tually been imprisoned since balf-past in
| the morning, availed themselves of the oppor-
tunity to obtain fresh air end lunch,
The prisoner, at his request, had been al
lowed, soon after the jury left the Court
room, to retire to the little room he has occu.
he ~ al hor,or,