The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1889-09-25
LATE NEWS FROM BUTTE
Prank Lewis Held On q Charge Of AuF-
dor In tho Second Degree.
Public syaapathy Begtnning tn Change
In Favor 0f the CnfDrtunase Young
Maa-Other Note~ asd
00ss1P.


BUTTE. Sept. 2A.-The general interest
i'm the case Of young Lewis, who shot his
roommate Johnson on Friday night, was
shown by the large crowd present at
morning before Judge Newkirk. Attorney
Dewitt represented the territory and At
torney Booth appeared for the defense.
Lewis's presence i'm the court room ex-
cited a deRrsse of sympathy. His boyish
features betokcn impulsiveness rather
than villainy, and his evident honesty
and trnthfulness IN telling the story won
for him many friends. In appearance
Lewi. seems scarceiy OF age his
Mrs. Marion McMasters, landiady
of the house where the boys
roomed, and b: s. Clifford. one of the
Lever" himself s@.a ife took ssor the star s;an .ne i He soii
the story i'm u truthful, straightforward
manner, although he was evidently wor-
"Johnson didn't say a word to me-" tes-
titled Lewis, ''hut started for me- the mo
'n p. he sI1terf Rn the e. Rom Hsn ! asne tas wha'
I pushed him hack, but he started for me
again. I told him to stay away, hut he
voiver. He didn:t stop for that. fired
one shot, which didn't hit him. Still he
came at me. As l fred the second shot
he turned, started for the door, and fell"
Lewis said that the same afternoon they
had had q quarrel, arising from a dispute
shed defendant fii,Ry names, and said, siii
fix you tonight" Al Z o'clock in the
evening he again threatened the defend
ant.
A diagram of the room was shown by
which il appeared that there WINS no
Jumping out Of lie window. Lewis wheSS
-cross-examined said that johnson was
about his size, height and weight. He
couldn't .ay whether he had a pistol or
other weapon or not. Lewis admitted that
s ssd s"f 5eea i IN p ss9.. .iRh He s .aI% he "i rssrie es
Il because n man In liable to have use for
izen to he carrying u deadly weapon about
his person ?"% inquired Attorney Dewitt.
"If you had not drawn your pistol there
would have been nothing worse than a
black eye, would there ?" pursued the at
~ don't know,' said Lewis. ~ couldn't
see whether he had u weapon or not. He
, a;I; hi" ar" back once a" If t" draw a
Attorney Dewitt said: "This seems to
he one of the cases where there would
pernicious and villainous habit of carry
mates AND equally n,atched in physical
weapon there would have been nothing
worse than "a case of assault and battery.
Ihr rr Is no .a rGnson Why a p person n;o 5h"arI
business i'm Butte. Under the circunl-
stances the case does not rise to murder
III thS LIE uSREtNs AhSE IA III
reconciliation, it seems, no lying i'm wait
according to- the evidence; although If
the court could look into the heart of the
defendant or il the deceased could testify.
such might appear to he the case. II 1t
appeared i'm any way that the defendant
was Overmatched, or that the deceased
had any weapon i'm his hand, then il
would have been a case of defense. But
the law does not allow repelling an attack
with the fist with u deadly weapon There
was no danger to this mans life. 1 ex-
press the opinion that the court should
hold the prisoner either for murder i'm the
second degree or manslaughter."
what the law OF self defense is. If
the defendant believes his as
sailant will carry out the threats
he has made, he has "a legal right to de-
charge of the prisoner. l know the court
would not do that. But there is no higher
crime here than m~anslaughter. The bail
should he fixed at such am amount as not
Judge Newkirk said that the defendant
testified himself to carrying "a deadly
weapon for years, and regarded that as
wished to show the prisoner all the lcni-
ency possible. The judge saw the de-
ceased in the coffin and did not think him
a larger man than the defendant. If the
defendant had not been i'm the habit of
carrying deadly the judge said
he would have called the case manslaugh-
ter. As il was he would bind the prisoner
over on a charge of murder i'm the second
degree and fix his bonds at 5000.
The extreme penalty for conviction i'm a
case of murder in the second degree is i'm
~prisonmcnt for fifteen years, running
from that limit down to three years.
TOWN TOPICS IN BUTTE.