The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1888-04-20
OIROUMSTANTIAL PROOF.
CURIOUS GASES IN THE HISTORY OF CRIME.

| thpiN cVOhely buOWh thNh III thO OhO'7
celebrated case of the Boorn brothers,
convicted in Vermont in 1919, of the
murder of their brother-in. law, in 1912.
1t appeared in the testimony that the
latter, half witted fellow, and bur-
den to the family, was last seen in
field with the two men, and they
had quarrel, in which he had been
struck on the head With a stake, and
somehow had finally disappeared from
the locality. Seven years after, some
bones supposed to belong to the miss
ing man, one of his buttons and a
knife, were found near, in an old eel
lar in the field, and the men were ar
rested.
Upon their trial they both confessed
to the murder and gave the details,
and then Immediately appealed to Uhe
| Legislature to commute their sentence
to Imprisonment for life. The mercy
was only granted to one of them, bu
the interest of certain gentlemen being
aroused by the case, careful search was
made and the man found l. New Jer-
sey, brought back and recognized by
his old companions, and the men were
set free. The explanation of the
singular conduct of the accused it.
found in the bad advice of thei
friends. who, knowing that public
opinion ran strongly against, aud
thinking 1t would hang them, advised
TO make the confession in order that
they might get the lighter sentence Of
perpetual punishment.
1t is said that the French naturalist,
Cuvier. from single fossil bone, could
describe the structure and habits of
evtiDct races of animals. But bones
never lie or mistake when witnesses do
both, and no Court is infallible. The
cases are numerous on record to show
that eyen the senses cannot be i'm
plicitly relied on, even when the ver-
acity of the witnesses is unquestion.
able. In cases of highway robbery a
mans face has been repeatedly sworn
to from the glimpse got from the ligh
of gun or pistol flash, whereas actual
experiment always shows the thing to
be impossible. In case of theft a
woman swore certain gown was hers
Being asked by a juryman TO try it on,
it was found not to fit at all, and sh,
confessed her mistake. The fact was
that the prisoner had stolen the gov,
from neighbor, though this was only
found out after acquittal. Another
woman, being robbed, swore a certain
black pocketbook, found on man ar
rested for her crime, was hers, which
would have sent him to the gallows
had not countryman found anoth +
black pocket book while reaping and
Fastening to the trial, the same wit
ness finding all, and her very money
safe, confessed she was mistaken, and
the prisoner went free. A signature
to certain deed was sworn to by re
spectacle and honest parties as Lord
Eldon's, but Lord Eldon came in
to Court and swore that he never al
tested deed in his life. In a cele-
brated Scotch trial for forgery, intri
cate and far reaching, and which in
volved the title of one of the best es.
tates in the realm, half a dozen en-
gravers sworc that certain numerous
letters were written by different per.
sons, though the prisoner afterward
confessed them all. His conviction
was partly insured by sharp lawyer
noticing that in all the documents
certain words were curious y mispelled
and on the prisoner being required il
open court to write these words, be
mispelled themas they were writer
down in documents purporting to have
been penned by many individuals living
e> EN- in half dozen different genera
tons.
| In murder trial, a piece of ropt
\ found near the victim was sworn to a.
the same kind of rope as piece founr
in possession of the accused, bit O.
Testimony which would have hung hin
had not a ropemaker examined anC
testified that one piece was twisted to
the right while the other was twisted
to the left.
A half dozen witnesses swore tina
they saw certain person at a certain
hour of the clock. Being asked to say
what time it was by clock in th'
Court room not one of them could tell
| This was case of downright lying t,
prove an alibi. An eminent Englisl
lawyer swore positively to two mel
who, he said, had robbed him in broaC
daylight, 1t was proven that at tin
time of the robbery they were so fa
off as to make the thing impossible
Shortly after the true robbers wer,
taken with the stolen goods on them
The prosecutor then confessed his mis-
take, and is said 10 have given money
value to the men whom he came very
near sending to the gallows. Besides
accused persons behave very strangely
even when innocent Some run away
which, in old times, was held 80 sure /,
proof of guilty that in England, il
cases of felony and treason, fight car
ried forfeiture OF goods, whether limo
cent or guilty. 1t is now in proof tha
innocent persons, whether timid or ig
norant, or ill-advised, when accused o
crime, often ruu. away aud do a goo,
many other foolish things. DAME
Webster, in the famous murder trial a
Salem, spoke the famous epigram
Suicide is confession" very fine sen
tence, but very poor law, since even in
nocent persons, falsely. accused, hav
often died by their own hands, to es
cape further misery.
Sir Edward Cook tells of an unol
bringing up his orphan niece, and VIII
! had her lands for fee until she came Il
sixteen years. When eight or nine, he
uncle correcting her, she was heard t.
say "Oh good uncle, kill me not !
At this time the child disappeared
and could not be found. The uncle
arrested on suspicion, was balled an,
told to find the child. Fearing wha
might happen to him, he brought an
other child, very like the true one, in
to Court. The cheat was discovered
and the man hanged. But the chilt
had only run away into another county
aud been taken in by hospitable strang
ers, and at sixteen years of age, cam,
back and claimed her property.
II