The Portland daily press., 1890-12-26
WHILE THE WORLD WAS MAKING MERRY
Sawteils Was Sentenced To Be
Hanged In January, 1892.
He Stands Convicted of the Murder
OF His Brother,
His Counsel VIII Make Last Effort
in HIS Eehaif.

DovER. N H., December 25.-Court came
in at 903, and Lawyer Edgerly began the ar
gument for Isaac Sawtelle. The law, he
said, never admits of an inference from an
Inference. Suspicious are not proof. II
there Is reasonable explanation Of any cir
cumstance consistent with innocence, that
circumstance cannot be considered. The in
dictment, he said. contains two counts, one
charging the wilful murder of his brother in
Rochester; the other that he hired, procured
or induced some party in New Hampshire to
go into Maine and commit the crime. The
counsel claim the evidence failed to show
coucusvely that Hiram Sawtelle was 10
r chester at the time the murder was com
mltted, and that his identity has not been
fully established. He called attention to the
testimony offered as to the time the pistol
shots were heard on the Rochester road and
the time at which Isaac team was seen In
that vicinity. Without the testimony of the
Wlleys the state failed to show even q sus-
piclon of a crime in New Hampshire and
that testimony was contradicted by a num-
Der of reliable witnesses. The state does
not show that Issac Sawtelle was on the
road at any time when they allege those
shots were fired. The counsel claim that no
evidence has been introduced to show that
Hiram Sawtelle was killed behind the Nor
rill barn, or shot by / saac while in the bug
gy. Mr.. Edgerly's theory is that the man
Was killed in Maine, near the grave where
the body was found buried. The blood
STAINS found upon Isaac's coats and
n mn frnn q uvrict Tho col
denied that the fact had been established
that Isaac had any accomplice in the crime.
At the conclusion of Mr.. Edgerly's argu-
m-nt the court took recess until o'clock,
wntn Attorney General Barnard began his
argument for the state. The defence, he
said, deny that Hiram ever left Boston, ever
arrived IN Rochester and was killed. The
only fact admitted by them is that the body
OF some man was found headless in Maine,
and with the arms taken off, and of which
they knew nothing. Whoever buried this
man and cut off the head and arms, car
ried away the clothing to render Identification
impos sible but the speaker asserted that the
Identification was accomplished without the
shadow of doubt. The attorney general
outlined the history of the trouble between
Isaac ana his DfOlUtT ON6I bHtlI
property, claiming that Isaac must get HI
ram out of the way or abandon all hope of
getting complete possession of the property
He fually decided upon this diabUllcal plot.
fhe attorney general sketched the move
ments of Isaac while In Rochester and
claimed that the stat s testimony completed
perfect chain of evidence against the pris
oner. The spade Isaac bought had never
been found. He bought iJ condit0ually. Ii
he did not use II, he was TO return it and get
n - haak lsa rAfn md h..
>p"ts upon the trousers pocket and unde.-
clothes of Isaac were sputs of human blo"d.
Ii there was mere than this, l>aac was sharp
enough TO take off everything that could be
taken off Ii It mad not been for the eye "f
science, it might never have been discovered
to be blood. II is not question of how lit
tie, but question of why any. As to where
Hiram was killed, no pistol shots werr
heard near the 2, ave. Do you believe Hiram
would have driven five miles on that Lonely
road with tn 1t man and then get out and had
fight 10 which he was killed? There is the
appt arance of body having been dragged
thirty feet from the carria - and put into the
grave. A sleeve button like Isaac's shows
Isaac was at the grave. The telitale story of
his shoes and rubbers shows the very color
of the mud in the grave. You must be satis-
fed of the prisoners guilt from thefacts be-
fore yu. On most of these facts there
can he no controversy.
The argument was fi,ished at 5.15 sharp
and after a recess of ten minutes, Judge Doe
charged the jury. He said: "ln criminal
cases the law requires the jury to be satisfied
of the defendants guilt beyond reasonable
doubt but not beyond ali possible doubt, be-
cause everything dependent upon human
to- timony may be said to be opened to posi-
BILE doubt In this case, if you are not salts
fed beyond a reasonable doubt you will fiDd
the prisoner not guilty. You must be satis-
fled not to an absolute certainty but beyond
reasonable moral certainty" He
then instructed them as to their
duty in deciding upon the verdict on the two
counts in the indictment. The indictments
as READ contained three counts, but the
jury was charged upon two only. This was
0wing to a private conference between the
judge and counsel last evening, in which it
was agreed to drop the count charging Isaac
with beiug accessory before the fact to a
murder in New Hampshire. The case was
given 10 the jury at 40 The jury returned
at TAO with verdict nf guilty Of murder in
the first degree, the first count. Sawtrlle
was then sentenced to he hanged on the first
Tuesday of January, 1892. The prisoner
was pale, but did not make motion. He
respectfully turned his head toward the
clerk when the sentence was read, but moth
ing else in his manner indicated that he had
just been sentenced to DEATH
The defendants counsel have taken three
exceptions: First, to the testimony of Mar
ion >awtelle; second, to the admission of the
copy of Jeaunstte's telegram; third, to the
testimony of a witness In regard to the
amount of travel on the Marsh road. These
will be raised on briefs and argued before
the court, whose decision will be rendered
before the day appointed for the execution