Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1884-01-22
IN THE JURY'S HANDS.
SENATOR VOORHEES, CLOSES
THE CASE FOR MUTT.

THE CASE FOR MUTT.
The Last Argument of the Prosecution
spiritless, and the Judges Charge and
Everything Else Favorable to the
Prfsoner-No Verdict yet Reached-A
Dangerous Crush bv the Crowd.
PTTTsBURG, PA, Jan. 21.-The attend
ance to-day at the Mutt trial was the
largest of any since the trial began. The
court room was packed to suffocation by
a crowd anxious to hear the arguments.
There was an unusually large number of
ladies present.
Mr.. johnson, for the Commonwealth.
opened the argument, but it was evident
that his labor was one of official dutv and
not inspiration. Major Brown followed
Tor the defense, directing his remarks
mainly to review Of the testimony. He
occupied the time until recess. During
the recess but few of the auditors left the
court room, and when the doors were re-
opened the crowd that tried to get into
the room was phenomenal 1t was so
dense that the Judges and others were un-
aole 10 enter. Two thousand persons
were Jammed about and turned away.
THREE INJURED IN THE CRUSH.
In the crush three men were injured.
but not seriously. Even Senator Noor-
hees experienced difficulty in getting in.
1t was 1:30 O'Clock before he arose to
make his plea for the prisoner. He began
by saying that in standing before the jury
he had singular feeling. He felt that
not word was necessary. II have"
said he. san impression that YOU are
waiting to end this tragedy by a CLEAN of
sunshine. The rational thought with
me is that | am defending some one
charged with a crime. There is no
criminal here. There was a criminal.
The real one was cleared. He lies among
the hills CT Fayette county, with which
his name Will ALWAYS he as
sociated. Nor would l drag him out of
his grave. He has gone to a higher
court. He has mother and she with
mothers love has shed tears over his
grave, but it has been done in secret. You
need not think | am here to steal away
your Judgment even if had the power.
l am going to leave you on solid ground.
NUTS ACT ONE OF HONOR.
''Not in 200 years has father, husband or
son been convicted for doing what that
boy has done. Never since the reign of
Charles /. has man who took the honor
OF his family in his own hands and avenged
it had the hands of the law laid upon him,
Honor is the same to everybody every
where, and the destruction of a home is
like calamity to its people and our
selves. l stand, therefore, upon common
law when l say that there Is no criminal
here. l stand, too, upon Scriptural law
The written law of Jurors in every part Of
the globe is that man who enters a home
to rifle that home of its virtue takes his
life i'll his hand, as Capt. Mutt said to
Dukes in that home"
d. f. Patterson made the concluding
argument for the prosecution, after which
the court took another recess to 7 O'Clock
When it reconvened the Judge delivered
his charge to the jury. He instructed
them TO give verdict i'll accordance with
the law and the evidence. The prisoner,
he said, is charged with the killing of n
l.. Dukes. If guilty, he is guilty of mur-
der in the first degree, or he is not guilty
because of mental alteration
THE JUDGES CHARGE.
The Judge said: 'Murder is where one
of sound mind takes the life of a fellow
being with malice afOrethOught. He who
takes the life of another without sufficient
reason is guilty of murder in the first de-
gree. You have the right to return a YER
dict of murder in the first or second de-
gree or of manslaughter." Judge
Stowe here defined manslaughter
and voluntary mansiaughter, conveying
the impression that Mutt should be con-
victed of one of these two grades. Con-
tinuing he said: ''The conclusion / ar
rive at is this: In order to acquit the
prisoner the jury must find from the evil
dence that ne was subject to a power
greater than his will. For my part, |
have little faith in that insanity which
shows itself moment and then flies
away, leaving no trace. You have no
| right to infer insanity from the
act, but may consider in connection
with the killing any popularity
of action on the part of the prisoner. You
| have the evidence of expert witnesses,
which must be valued as the jury may see
mt, Tor they are usually selected with a
| view to their ability to give favorable tes-
timony, and very often for hire. The ac-
| tual line between sanity and insanity is
| not easily drawn. This is a serious query
for us to face, but we must meet it. You
must be careful to distinguish between
the act OF sane mind and per-
sons and the act of an unsOund
mind. Ii you acquit him you must state
that you do so on the ground of insanity.
Ii Mutt has been shown, by fair weight
/ OF the testimony, to have been irresponsi-
! bic he should be acquitted. If, BY a fair
| weight of the testimony he has been
| shown to have been sane, he should be
convicted in some degree of crime. The
| Commonwealth does not demand an ac-
| qulttal any more than conviction; but she
d
The jury retired at I: 80 O'Clock. and at
$3.50 O'Clock had failed to agree upon a
verdict. Judge Stowe then decided to ad-
| journ the court until morning, and the
prisoner was remanded to Jail.
THE PRISONER TROUBLED.
AS the jurors filed out Mutt peered into
| their faces with a troubled look. His
mother came over to him, and, with her
arms around his neck, talked with him
little while. Then she sat down, after
kissing MIN, and covered her face with
her handkerchief. Lizzie Mutt then came
over to her brothers. side, and
soon had James smiling cheerfully.
Nutt's friends are fearful that the slow
ness OF the jury in arriving at a verdict
BODIES no good to the prisoner. The cOun-
sci for the defense regard the charge as
able and impartial, and are quite satisfied
with the conduct of the trial from first to
last. During the argument the speakers
were frequently interrupted with ap-
plauses or hisses and the Judge had to
stop the proceedings several times to
restore order.
A Fatal Leap While Insane from Grief.
ST. LOUIS, Jan. PA dispatch from
Los Vegas, n. NJ, SAYS: "JacOb Shaffner.
of New York. while on his way here to
visit his brother George, learned that the
latter was dead. The news drove him in
sane and he jumped from the train at
Springer station, where his body was
found frozen yesterday"
Killed by a Cask of Beer.
WILKEsBARRE, Pa, Jan. 21.-Max
Shields, the driver Of beer wagon, while
carrying cask of beer into the basement
OF saloon at NanticOke this morning
slipped and fell to the bottom of the stairs.
the cask striking him on the head, crush
ing his skull and instantly killing him.