Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1883-11-24

The Verdict and How it Was Received.
There was perfect throng present at
the closing session of the Brown and
Koran trial yesterday forenoon, at which
John OBrien, for the defence, made very
able final plea to the jury for an alibi in
the case of the prisoners, in which he
treated the prosecution with the highest
respect and fairness, as well as the import
ance of this trial in the interest!of social
safety.
He asked the jury to act in this matter
towards the prisoners, though they were
evidently in lower grade of life than
they, as they would act in case of the
highest Importance to themselves and in
volving their own honor and their own
lives. In the sense of responsibility they
stood no chance with the gentleman
who had been assaulted and robbed, but
they should not be made the victims of
society demanding punishment for great
crime committed against itself, if there
were any doubts in the mind of the Jury
as to their being the guilty parties. He
had no sympathy with and was Mortified
at the crime committed against Dr..
Thomas. He was confident that gentle
man had it firmly Impressed on his mind
that these were the men who attacked and
robbed him, but he might be too confident
In his own judgment and have made
mistake in identity. Men often made
mistakes in this way, and the instances
we're numerous instead of rare.
He criticised the evidence, which he de-
nominated as imaginary in DR.. Thomas
as regards the color of the hair, NOUS
taches, clothes, ETC., of the men who at
| tackled him, as in the night a
white man could not tell the
! palm of his own hand from that of black
man as he held it up before his face. ALI
things appear black in the night. In re-
gard to the peculiarly of Horan's nose,
he thought it was very possible for DR..
Thomas to be deceived, as his profess
sion did not lead him to close and practi-
cal observations of appearances of men
and things, and he had testified he didn't
know whether gas or oil was burned in the
lamps on his own street. He was a re-
Elective, distracted or Woodworking man,
and deep thinker, of strong imagination,
instead of quick of perception in the mat
ter of every day life observation.
The matter of DR.. Thomas identified
ton OF the prisoners at the city hall, sur
rounded as they were by the brass buttons
of the police, he treated as not entitled to
weight, and claimed that because the state
did not produce another previously
claimed lady witness for the identified
ton of the prisoners, that the defense had
the right to infer that the witness could
not corroborate the claim.
Because the accused were drinking at
saloons that the jury would not enter, it
did not make them necessarily thieves and
criminals, as large class in lower scale
of citizenship did this, who were not SO
regarded. Highway robbery was the end
of career of crime, the last desperate
act resorted to by the lowest and most
vicious. Ii required nerve, skill and au-
dacity, and, though it might be possible
with these two men, though they might
be ordinarily vicious, it was not probable
in their case.
he then proceeded to review the evil
dence adduced in regard to having these
prisoners IN another place at the time of
the commitment of the crime and their be-
ing able under the cover of the testimony
given as to their whereabouts to do this
bold deed and run seven blocks to play
with dog. He commented as proof of
their innocence on the fact that the next
morning one commenced digging angle
worms to go fishing and the other went to
his occupation ia the machine shop. and
this, the whole town was ablaze at the
righteousness of the crime which thew
were arranged for committing. Further
more, they went separately to the city hall
when sent for by the police, and did not
put their heads together to invent
plan to put their accusers off
the track. They went there
without arrest and made no attempt at
flight, as is the case with the guilty, arriy
ing at different times.
Inc counsel then proceeded to cite the
testimony of Mr.. Walsh, who saw the men
running away from the scene of the crime
and who said they were both tall men and
taller than Koran. Engineer
Happy testified that Koran
was SO drunk that he held himself up by
the counter, and if so he could not be the
man who planted himself on DR.. Thomas
breast and cody riied his pockets. DR..
Thomas testified that when the shorter
man told him to ''bs still it was in gruff
voice, while Koran has high pitched
Yoice-a piping, childish treble. Out of
the cloud of witnesses TO prove the alibi of
the prisoners he would place
the testimony of Lundine, Happy and
Barrett against that of DR.. Thomas, whose
evidences was the same that they gave in |
this case at the municipal court last sum
mer without single variation, and after |
thorough hunt of three months on the
part of the police the state were not able
to contradict them
The counsel then proceeded to show how |
Capt. Bresset hunted these men out BY |
first visiting the lumber yards and then |
going to the saloons and finding out who
had been drinking in them that night.
Then described how the frequenters of
these saloons we're sifted for objects of
suspicion. In this instance they aliehted
on Brown, who hsd been arrested for some
offense before and been acquitted, and
then on Koran from the description of his
nose by Dr.. Thomas, and because he was
IN Browns company. If he knew these
we're the men from DR.. Thomas descrip
ion he severely criticized the officer for ,
lot arresting them that night, instead of {
ending for them next morning. 1t was a 4
shot into the air. on that officers part. 7
md it did net msterialize until the recog- I
lition of the prisoners b. DR.. Thomaa at j
he city hall. The police, after making I
rrests, strove with the might of tigers to | c