The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1889-04-16
A PROPER VERDICT.

Some of the newspapers are condemning
the Omaha jury, which, last week, acquitted
the woman LIZZIE BEECHLER, or Mrs.
HENRY KING, Jr., who was tried for the
murder of HENRY w. KING, Jr, in an
Omaha hotel a few months ago. We say,
all praise for the twelve men who
were but five minutes from the
time they left the courtroom with
the case until they were back in the
box with verdict of acquittal. Some of
our readers will remember the case which
caused such a sensation at the time. Early
one morning the guests in a fashionable
hotel were startled by pistol shots, and
rushing into the hall to ascertain the cause,
! learned that KING had been shot down by u
woman claiming to be his wife. She was
hustled off to jail, and his body was sent to
the grave.
The story is briefly this: KING and LIZ
zIE BEEcHLER had lived together, in Chi
cago. as husband and wife, the former sup
porting her in fine style, and passing most
of his time with her when in
the city. 1t is not believed
they were married, though he called
her his wife and treated her as wife, and
| to her parents and friends she referred to
him as husband. Last year KING, who was
what was called fast man. tired of the
woman, because in his travels he had found
in Missouri town girl who pleased him
better. The latter, however, insisted
upon marriage, and the ceremony being
performed the twain went to Omaha to re
side, KING being the manager of a large
mercantile concern in that city. The
BEEcHLKR girl, learning of what had oc-
Cured. first wrote to the wife that she
(BEECHLER) was KINGS lawful spouse, and
then took train for Omaha, reaching
KINGS room before he was dressed, his
real wife being out of town. The BEECHLER
girl upbraided him for his villainous con-
duct, and pleaded with him to be taken
back; he spurned her, saying she was not
his wife and telling her not to trouble him
again with her presence. She followed
him along the hall, appealing to his sense
of honor, and as he was about to escape
her, drew pistol and fired. He died in a
few minutes, and now jury has declared
she is not guilty of murder. The jurors are
right and those who censure them are
wrong. The fellow deserved the death
which overlook him, and it was best that
the woman he had wronged should admin
lister the punishment. 1t is said that
inasmuch as LIZZIE BEECHLER was not his
wife and knew she was not, she was
equally guilty with him and had no right to
complain when he cast her off; it is also
n,I ~ lo,, =
release him, thus purchasing whatever
claim she might have held against him
These arguments would be good in a com
mercial case, but woman's love, honor and
virtue are not matters of sale and barter,
nor are they things which can be held to
the strict letter of statutary enactments.
Legislatures cannot make rules for the
government of such cases.
One journal, in criticising the verdict,
says if this rule shall be followed, mo man
viii be safe,'' and that women who have
sold their virtue and received their
price can shoot without fear of further
annoying consequences than a few
weeks soiourn in prison. This style of
criticism is simply outrageous, and an in
suit to decent men. If all the LIZZIE
BEECHLERs in the country turn avengers,
and go cunning for the men who have
wronged them, no good man will tremble
unless it be from fear that the women are
bad marksmen. The innocent man will not
be hit, for he will have no BEECHLERs to
charge their wrongs to him. To say that
mo man will be slfe,' is to say that all
men are like the young man KING, who
had no other opinion OF wonan's love and
woman's virtue than that both were mar
ketable, like the clothing in which he dealt,
and that having hired their use for time,
when he has ceas I'd to desire them he can
cast them off at pleasure. There may be
good many men whose ideas are like those