The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-12-16
l MURDERER'S SENTENCE.
Phillips, the Wife-Murderer, Condemned
to Suffer the Death Penalty.
The Jury Returns Verdict After Six Hours
Deliberation-The Prisoners Apparent
Indifference to His Fate.

lips for wife murder, yesterday, the prisoners
attorney Frank McCrea. addressed the jury.
He followed the line of defense with minute
ness and strength of argument in which he con-
sdered Phillips apart from the act he committed
He claimed that the killing could have
resulted from nothing but an insane i'm
pulse; that he was man Of exemplary
character. neither drunkard nor debauche
He dwelt upon the effects of a sunstroke from
which Phillips suffered, and which caused
largely his mental unsoundness. The act, he
asserted, was mo tiveless, which proved again
the insanity of the perpetrator. The only
question for the jury to consider was his sanity
If doubt appeared as to that the State must
| remove it before it could ask for conviction.
Prosecutor Harding followed with the closing
speech equally as strong as that of the day be-
fore, with which he opened the argument.
At o'clock in the afternoon Judge Norton
read to the jury written charge, which occu-
pied some twenty five or thirty minutes He
gave the various degrees of homicide thorough
review, establishing his Interpretation of the law
thereto by decisions of the Supreme Court
Purpose, malice and premeditation he said
must enter into conviction of murder in the
first degree, but "there need be ap-
preciable space Of time between the forma.
ton OF the intention to kill and the
killing; this may be as instantaneous as success
sive thoughts. It is only necessary that the act
of killing be preceded by concurrence of will,
deliberation and generalization on the part Of
the slayer When there is no time and oppor-
tunity for deliberate thought, then the unlawful
killing cannot be murder in the first degree
Describing the term malice, the Judge said it
meant personal spite, hatred ill-wil or hostility
to another, but legally it had wider
meaning and characterizes all unlawful acts
done with an evil disposition, wrongful and
unlawful motive such as proceeds from heart
| regardless of social duty, and fatally bent on
mischief From this he passed 60 definition of
a reasonable doubt, and how far it should oper-
ate before degree Of certainty is attained that
would exclude it and authorize conviction. AS
to the character of the prisoner the
jury might believe it was good
for peace and quiet before the
defense or entitle him to an acquittal. Frenzy
arising solely from the passion of anger, jeal-
ousy or hatred, no matter how furious, is not
unsoundness of mind A man with ordinary
will power, which is unimpaired by disease is
| required by the law to govern and control his
passion. If man yields to wicked passions and
purposely, and mallcously, and premeditatedly
Stays another he cannot escape the penalty pre-
scribed by law upon the ground Of mental in
capacity. That state of mind caused by wicked
mental lesion. but solely from evil passion, con-
stitutes that mental condition which the law
abhors and to which the term malice is
applied. In prosecutions for offenses
against the criminal code the accused is entitled
to an acquittal IT the evidence engenders rea
sonable doubt as to the mental capacity at the
time the alleged ofense is committed. Evil
dence rebutting or tending to rebut the pre-
sumption of sanity need not, to entitle the de-
fen adan ast0 to an 'gs prp Pc in favor
raisesl in your mind a reasonable
doubt Power to distinguish between
right and wrong is not the sole test Of mental
capacity; it must be further considered and de-
to control and restrain an impulse to commit
crime. If the defendant did have mental power
sufficient to discriminate between right and
wrong, but a reasonable doubt exists as to
whether his will power was so far impaired as to
render him incapable of restraining or
crime, the jury must acquit Yield
ing to gusts of passion arising from ieal-
ousy, anger and wicked feelings does not alone
constitute mental unsoundness. The evidence
of medical experts must not be taken in exclus-
ion of other testimony on this point
If he did the killing, as charged, then the jury
| must consider whether he was justified or excus-
able to any extent upon any of
the defenses made Unsoundness of mind
in cases of this kind, and is one which should be
very carefully scrutinized by the jury. 1t should
receive careful consideration and be we'll
weighed, for the reason that, if the accused was
| in truth of unsound mind at the time of the al
legged killing Of the deceased, then he ought not
to be punished for the same 1t should
be considered because due regard for
the cause of justice and the peace and welfare of
society demand it, to the end that parties
charged with crime may not make use of the
plea of unsoundness of mind as means to
| defeat ends of justice and to shield them from
| the punishment of the law.
The jury retired about 23O o'clock in the
| afternoon and remained out until in the
| evening. Guilt of murder in the first
degree was early established, but
when it came to baloting on the degree of pun
| ishment, three favored twenty one years pun
| ishment, three life sentence, and six the death
penalty After time. two of the first then
voted with the second. making five for life i'm
prisonment The ballots stood in this way for
| some time, when the last of the first three
| Joined those who favored life sentence
With this division the jurors voted several times,
when one by one they passed over to the side of
those asking for the death penalty. The an
| nouncement was then made that agreement
| had been reached Judge Norton was sum-
moned from his private rooms, and the sheriff
went after the prisoner: About halfpast 9
o'clock the jury filed in. the pris-
oner looking upon them with impurturbabl bic
| indifference. He sat between his lawyers as un-
| concerned apparently, as any Of the spectators.
The forefinger of his right hand was kept on his
lips, tapping them gently now and then. Not a
| CULVER of the facial muscles expression of the
eye, movement of the body, or restless motions
| Of the hands, which denote nervous excitement,
indicated that he had any interest in the pro-
ceedings. Here and there in the spectators seats
were halfdo persons. Within the bar were
the prosecuting attorney. the defendants law
yers officers of the court and reporters.
Clerk Coffman took the verdict of death from
Foreman Pattons hand and read it distinctly,
| the prisoner following its words and looking at
the reader with no change of position man
ner. The judge made the record. discharged
the jury and adjourned court Phillips did not
utter word even to the lawyer of his own
race, who faithfully attended him throughout
| the trial. With remarkable camness he
| obeyed the bailiffs order for him to return to
Jail. On the way he said nothing He either
wants TO die or does not realize that the dread
sentence of death has fallen on him.
Entering his cell he threw himself on his bed,