Connecticut western news., 1882-01-25
THE TRIAL OF GUITEAU.
Incidents of the Case and Testimony
 Given.

Incidents or the Case and Testimony
 Given.
 On Saturday, before Mir. Reed con- his argument, MT. Scoville arose and addressed the court, stating that he desired to know whether the prisoner would be allowed to speak in his own defense. If the court would accord him that privilege, both he (Mr. ScoviIle) and his associate Mir. Reed) would pre- fer that he should speak first.
 want to be heard on that ques- tion, your Honor," shouted Guiteau. "I want to close the arguments for the defense. I wouldn't trust my case in the hands of the best lawyer in America"
 ''I should be 10th in capital case to deny any man a proper opportunity to be heard, even if he is represented by counsel" said Judge Cox, ''but in this case it is safe to assume that the pris- oner will abuse the privilege, as he has done all through the trial, and that what he would say would be highly i'm proper to go before the jury. I shall, therefore deny him the privilege. As I said Friday, however, if his counsel desire to read from his manuscript any thing which they deem proper to be laid before the jury, they could do so."
 Guiteau protested that he appeared as his own counsel, and claimed the right as an American citizen to be heard in his own defense. Finding that Judge Cox could not be moved, he shouted: "Let the record show that appear here as my own counsel, and that I take exception to your ruling, Judge Cox. I shall appeal to the American people, and they will overrule you, and you will go down to future ages with black stain upon your name."
 Judge Cox made no reply to this tirade, but simply nodded to MT. Reed to begin his argument.
 The speech that Guiteau wrote in his cell, and which Judge Cox decided he should not be permitted to deliver to the jury, was published. Guiteau says it contains his true defense, and he re- pudiates the line of defense adopted for him by his lawyers.
 The speech starts out with the dec- laration that he stands before the jury as patriot, suffering in bonds for an act that was done for the good of the American people. Much of it has been heard before in his estimony and in his various ad- dresses to the public from jail. Some rhetorical passages that it contains have appeared again and again in his utterances in and out of court. He reasserts that the Deity inspired him, pictures the political situation at the time, declares that there have been several interferences by Provi- dence in his behalf, and threatens dire things to the American people if he, as the representative of the Deity, is injured, He tells the jury that it is their business to acquit him and so vindicate his inspiration. He claims he was insane when he shot the Presi- dent, and that as soon as it was done the pressure on his mind was relieved. So rash an act, he argues, could only have been the work of madman.
 He quotes many letters to him, to show, as he says, that public opinion has changed in his favor. He de- nounces the testimony of the experts as worthless, and stigmatizes that of cer- tain other witnesses as false.
 His closing appeal to the jury ends with the statement that when the Pres ident was shot the Cabinet officers tele- graphed to Europe that it was the act of 8 madman, and he thinks it will be far better every way if it is now official ly@decided that it was the act of mad man.
 MT. Scoville began the closing appeal to the jury in behalf of Guiteau on Monday. Although the prisoner has denounced the line of de- fense followed by Mir. Scoville, and has declared that his own conception of the defense was the only true one, and he would not trust the best man in America to close his case for him, yet he listened to the speech without interruption, except to approve or emphasize some of the points made by the speaker. He did not forget his own speech, however, and requested Judge Cox to read it in the newspapers because he wanted to talk to him about it.
 MT. Scoville devoted his attention prin- cipally to correcting what he said were mis- settlements of law and of fact in MT. Davidge's opening address for the prose- cution. He said he had framed in his own mind an indictment for conspir- acy to hang the prisoner. The con- spirators he had in mind were the Dis trict Attorney, Lawyers Porter and Davidge and five of the expert wit nesses for the Government. There were twenty counts in this mental lndict- ment, the first of which was that they had perverted the law in this case. On this point he spoke of Lawyer Porter's introduction of what Judge Davis said about insanity in his decision in the Coleman case in New York City. This quotation from Judge Davis, he claimed, had no place there, and he averred that Judge Davis had gone outside of the case before him and attempted to in- huence this case.
 MT. Scoville also pointed out what he claimed were deviations from or misrepresentation of the testimony by the prosecution. He did not specify the remaining counts in his supposititious indictment He ar- gued that if Guiteau's mind was over- powered by the consciousness that the Deity commanded his act, and if it was the result of mental disease, then the act from Guiteau's own point of view was right, and he was not responsible.
 On Tuesday before commencing his remarks, MT. Scoville said :: "The pris- oner desires, Your Honor, to prefer 8 request that he be allowed to address the jury. I have looked over the paper which he desires to read and see noth- ing in it of an objectionable nature"
 Judge Cox nodded an assent, and Guiteau said: "I have written down what wish to say, and will read it. 'Tis in regard to my speech" He then read with considerable emphasis: "I intend no disrespect to this honorable Court. I intend no controversy with this honorable Court. In general am sotiafiod with fha low os 1oro,,oood Ix-