The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1888-03-05
THE CHARGE.
How the Jury Were Instructed by
Chief Justice Peters,

How the Jury Were Instructed by
Chief Justice Peters.
BANGOR, March 3.-Chief Justice John A.
Peters charged the jury this morning
He opened by instructing the jury that
their yerdicts should be separate and sever
al. One prisoner might be found guilty and
the other innocent, or vice versa. The def
milton Of murder in the first t1degree and muir
der in the second degree was given, and the
difference between the two explained. The
only difference that he could discover in the
penalty was that murderer in the first de-
gree must be confined in prison at hard labor,
separate from his fellows, If the prisoners
at the bar placed Barron in the vault with
the intention of keeping him there alive un-
til they could escape, their offence was muir
der in the second degree.
The government must show two things ;
First, that some one killed Barron, and sec
ond, that the prisoners at the bar are the
men who killed him. The government con-
tends that it was an impossiblity for Bar
ron to kill himself on that day as he did and
that there was no reason for committing
such an act The government further says
that Barron was regarded as murdered until
about year after when the theory of sui
eide was adopted. The defence contends
the reverse.
Now the government says that the irregu-
larities were only apparent ones and not real,
and the only loss to the bank as claimed by
its officials was 500, and that any agitation
apparent in him was caused by general ex-
citement over the banks in the State. Fur
ther they hold that his business was such
that it would have been physical impossi-
bility for him to place himself in the vault
in the limited time which he had at his dis
posal. The government asks why he should
shut himself up in a dark vault. while he
might just as well have laid himself on the
floor outside.
The defence contends that the screw driy-
er and lamp were found in the vault, which
were necessary ii he were to fasten himself
into it. Difficulties are added to the myste-
ry for you to solve by the assertion of the de-
fense that he took narcotics. Give fair
weight to the fact that he must have realized
that if he did not take sufficient poison to
cause death he emust awake to face the sup
posed Irregularities in the books.
If you believe the stories of young Stain
and Harvey and that the confession is true,
you must still consider the question of sui
eide, for if Barron committed suicide the
prisoners could not have killed him. If you
are satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt that
and the prisoners must be discharged, but if
you otherwise decide then the question of
murder must be considered.
THE government does not attempt to
prove" continued the Judge, ''as | under
stand it, that the prisoners intended to kill
Barron. If the defendants admitted to
young Stain, John Harvey and Detective
Bean what they testified to, then it is very
important evidence Notice these witnesses
The contradictions and corroborations must
be considered in deciding the value of their
evidence"
The value of confessional evidence was
then defined.
The State contends that it is much easier
his father than falsely. In speaking of the
motive of the principal witness, Judge Pc
ters said, If Charles Stain and Harvey had
motive OF revenge against David Stain, they
bore no such feeling against Cromwell. The
State contends that If it is likely for young
Stain to relate story for the sake ofnothing
it is much less likely that Harvey and Bean
should tell story with this end in view.
The alleged remarkable chain of corrobo-
ration presented by the government was re-
viewed. III the jury are satisfied that the
prisoners were making trips into Maine in
1877, then they must consider it very impor-
tant evidence in view of their denials.
The Judge pronounced the charge that the
b. G. Sanborn receipt was forged as a very
dreadful one, aud he counselled the jury to
carefully consider the evidence of it.
The testimony of tine landlord OF the Far
mer's hotel at Augusta, must be regarded as
important if 1t could be credited. The claim
of identity between the prisoners and men
seen in and about Dexter at the time of the
tragedy, and the weight given to it by the
| State and defence were respectively exam
| ined carefully by the Justice
The alibi of the defence was next consid-
cred, and the weakness of an alibi on ae-
count of liability to perjury and mistakes
| in dates, and its corresponding strength
when conclusively proven were presented.
Some event, the judge said must be remem-
| bered in conversation with date to fix 1t be-
| yond mistake. The evidence of the prison.
ers and their relatives is to be considered by
| you with due regard to the natural tendency
| which would exist to exaggerate and screen
| from guilt, and even to swear falsely. The
| direct testimony of Mrs. Moody that the
birthday gift from Stain was received by her
| on February 21st 1878 was much weakened
| by her evidence on cross examination when
she said it was within week of the 21st.
| The testimony of the Thomases, Rhodes and
Mrs. Gilmore was referred to and several
| claims of the government and defence were
| enumerated.
The justice concluded: "lf you believe
the prisoners committed the murder then
| they were not in Medfeld, and ON the other
hand il you regard an aibi as proved then
! they were not in Dexter. Ii you are salts
| fed that these men were in Dexter on this
occasion, then comes the force of the circum-
stance of their being there What can they
say in justification of themselves if they were
there, if they deny they were there? You
must judge for yourselves if you must not be
impelled to decide that they are guilty of the
crime charged to them.
1.-The death of John Barron, 10 years ago,
created great sensation. Better for you il
you had never heard of it, Still you will
disregard it before this case. You have
heard all the evidence and it is for you to
decide. If you have reasonable doubt that
the prisoners, one or both of them, are inno-
cent, you will say so, and if guilty, render a
verdict accordingly. Ii they are guilty the
very earth upon which we stand calls for
their conviction"
The Judge then instructed the jury that il
a verdict of guilty is rendered it must be Of
murder in the second degree and not in thu
first degree, as he did not understand tina
the government claimed they were guilty IL
the first degree. -.
At II 80 the jury went out with the cas-
and the Judge announced that the cour
would be in session until verdict was rem