The Asheville citizen. [volume] (Asheville, N.C.) 1885-1889, 1886-03-28
nat must be shown by indepeud.

That must be shnwn by ipdepend
cnt proof.
The State stats out expecting to
show: 1st, That the house was burned
down and the%e Ueople killed BY
viblent Ilie.sIiS III ~
I'd. The eyleisftIlafts had suffi,
tcient motive 10 tto it:sf@
3d. Thaa ,t4Hy had the orportu-
nifty to de- II gT 5l'
4tl That taey3did it.
I have sail but little as to the
corpns deticti; tl'.t Is not a matter of
defense. the burden is on the
State. i have asgned the view that
the crime if any. was the work Of
robbers. | hare assasa to show
there was lI..t ~ aGive enough,-not
enough even ID take the life of a
one, eyed br ken dowa horse.
4 shall rargpe that these defen
dants had no opportunity to kill the
deceassds aAa DID dissi 6ot do ID.
The State Gays that While & was
raining and while everybody else
was in doors, these menswent to the
mountains, ostensibly to work at
boards, staid up there. until dusk,
slipped around mile to JoyceS
killed the family and returned home
by the board pile, through the bot-
t 'm over the crooked path.
Ju,lson Morgan worked all day,
John Thrash Travelled around all
day. So this rainy day, business,
their first link, 10 use their cwn
poetic language, is busted" Judson
allowed to earn bread, bat these
men must not. Frank was at work
at Rhodes place until IL; it rained,
and Frank started home. Wm. and
others proposed to 60 and carry
Franks dinner and help him work,
but they met him, and all returned.
Do you believe there was any pur.
pose before this to 60 to the board
pile that day and commit murder?
They all expected to work at Rhodes
place all day. VIM. and others
started to join Frank, and but for
the rain that brought Frank back
before the others got to that place.
they would not have seen the board
pile that day at all. Bill Jones did
not suggest going to board pile, it
was not his matter, it was Franks
and so Frank asked his father and
Burgin to go with him and help get
out the board timber. Do you be-
lieve there Wis any thought of muir
der before this, or up to this time?
ALI idea ofprevious preparation or
generalization is exploded by these
plain facts. All the family testify
that Burgin was along and went to
the board pile, yet State argues he
was not along. Don't let any one
say these ladies viii not tell the
Truth, Because they are connected.
Counsel>s attempt to prove Burgin
not along that day, utterly disre-
CARDS and sets aside the testimony
of these go ID women. Gentlemen
may try to turn back time and deny
us the benefit of our own honest ev-
idence to establish our innocence,
but in Heavens name, they can not
they shall not succeed. If we fol-
low flights of oratory of counsel, lis
ten to the diction and license of ar
gument, we will get away from the
merits of this case. This is IA bnsi-
ness case. They enoeavor to prove
Burgin was not there, because he
said he went up60 yards, and Frank
said they went up 80 yards above
board pile. Burgin was not there,
and therefore this abb falls to the
ground. Counsel could appeal to
the Apostles to prove truth of dis
crepancies, but they give us no ben
eft of discrepancies. When they
wish to reconcile and sustain per-
juries and inconsistencies of Jail
birds, they marshal the four good
apostles. but a discrepancy Oh our
part, iminaterial though it be, it is
absolute proof of guilt. Burgin
says he was there and was bare-
footed, witnesses say they saw no
barefoot tracks. They were not
looking for bare>foot tracks: they
had seen no bare-footed people at
burning. Burgin says he handled
maui, bolted some Is cuts Frank
says bolted 8 or 10.
And on this discrepancy the truth
fully inconsistent apostles are again
sent to the rear our witnesses
must be mistaken, because was not
reasonable for them to remember Incl
dents ofthat particular evening, But
for fact these views are argued by learn
ed counsel, would have treated this
as all besh. Burgin was there, all re-
membered lit, went barefooted--he
swore he had on no shoes.
Burgin was there. Had he gone
to help Kill the Joyces, his feet
would have blooded from board pile
the ground at every step over the rough
land of those mountains. Had they left
him at board pile while they were gone
to the murder, he would have edied in
that hell of Loneliness and darkness.
Burgin would not have remained
there for a thousand worlds, and
had he gone with his father and Frank,
their guilt would not now be a matter
ofdoubt. You saw gentlemen, that Bur-
gin is only removed step from idiocy.
He showed it in every look, and in
every word and yet, in his simplicity,
you saw the evidence of his truthful
ness. Bill Iones. intelligent. shrewed,