The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1890-10-08
GONE TO THE JURY.
Cuniff Nervous1y Awaiting
the Verdict Of the
Twelve.
WINFIELD'S SCORING SPEECH.
He Pictures the Patient Wife Faith
fully Shielding the Brutal
Husbands Violence.


finally closed yesterday the counsel for
the defense held short consultation and
then Counsellor DAILY began an appeal
for Cuniff. He said:-"This defendant
is charged with murder in the first de-
gree. On that indictment, of course, you
may convict him of murder in the first or
second degrees or inanslaughter,o or acquit
him. / assume from the evidence in this
case, as matter of law, and from the
facts adduced, that you can't go beyond a
verdict of murder in the second degree.
The specific and premeditated attempt
has not been proved in this case, which
would warrant the ury to convict him.
1t is the specific intent that would make
the crime that of murder. Specific intent
being wanting, as a matter of law, would
make it murder of the second degree,
though suggest now, at this time, it
does not come up to that Standard"
II shall ask for verdict of murder in
the first degree" interrupted Mr.. Win
field.
Now, gentlemen continued Mr..
DAILY. .'the crime of murder in the first
degree as defined by the statue requires
that there shall be wiIlful, premeditated
killing. In other words there must have
been a specific intent to take life. If you
believe that at the time he threw the
lamp he intended to kill his wife that
would be murder in the first degree
Every element of fact is wanting that
would prove murder. and to make case
the State has resurrected all the difficult
ties that have existed for years between
these people. There is no proof of this
intention; if he intended to take her life,
why should he do it with lamp. Is that
the instrument with which people kill?
do not intend to excuse Cunitf's brutal
1ty, but at the same time that brutility
was no proof of murder. Gentlemen,
eradicate from the case the testimony of
Sinot, the father of the deceased woman,
and there is nothing remaining for the
State, and the credit to be given TO Sinot's
testimony will not warrant the belief
that he was telling the TRUTH
Mr.. Daily then dissected Sinot's evil
dence and endeavored to convince the
jury that it was too improbable to be
true, and endeavored to convince the jury
that it was the outcome OF a desire for
revenge. Counsel also minutely exam
ined che evidence of Captain Farrier
which he characterized as being untrue.
because of the captains bad memory
he explained. Then he showed to the
jury the indenture in the door frame, al
legged to have been made by the bottom OF
the lamp when Cuniff threwit at his wife.
Mr.. DAILY claimed that this indenture had
UCGAA 1ictAAE DJ u > ttuu
taking one from the table the Counsellor
showed the jury how neatly the nose of
the hammer fitted in the indenture. Here
again he went for Captain Farrier,
and after declaring that the Cap
tain had probably made the in
he removed the piece of door frame for
evidence, he criticised sharply the evil
dence or that witness in regard to the al
legged finding of glass pieces in the in
denture. This glass, it was claimed by
the State, were pieces that remained
there when the lamp was broken. 10
prove that this was not true, Mr.. DAILY
called the attention of the jury to the
fact that every bit of the board except
where the dent was had been charred.
The dent was not even scorched, the coun-
sellor declared, and that was conclusive
proof that it had been made after the
board had been on fire, and the only prob
happened was when Captain Farrier
used hammer TO loosen the board
Counsellor Daiy dwelt at length on
the statement of the deceased to Francis
Whelan, that his wife had upset the
lamp herself, and her dying statement to
Miss Brown, the hospital nurse, that she
had set fire to herself, and that her hus-
band had not done it. Counsel endeav-
ored to impress these statements stron e
ly on The minds of the jury, and asked
with great force why she had made these
declarations if they were not true. She
knew she was dying, and no person de-
sires to die with lie on their lips. For
more than an hour Mr.. DAILY argued for
Cuniff's life, and when he had finished it
was with the satisfaction of knowing he
had done his duty.
MR. WINFIELD CLOSES.
When District Attorney Winfield began
his address TO the jury, Cunitf, who had
listened passiyely to Mr.. DAILY, evinced
more interest. AS Mr. Winfield warmed
mp, and in his forcible manner denounced
the accused, Cuniff became manifestly
nervous and his bandaged sore hands con-
stantly moved, and his mouth worked
and twitched continually.
"If you go back through the married
life of this defendant and that woman,''
said the Prosecutor, and look at his
treatment of her, you understand more
fully the evidence on which the State will
ask you to convict him OF murder in the
first degree. AS detailed by the witnesses
it was O shocking life. She, the
patient, enduring sufferer, and he,
the brutal husband treating her
worse than he would his dog
on his horse, beating her and bruising
her, cutting her flesh upon all possible
occasions. Let ME read TO you, gentle-
men some of the evidence upon that point,
and do 1t Tor the purpose of laying
basis for the argument that l shall make
in this case"
After reviewing in detail some of the
evidence, Mr.. Winfield continued:-'It
was the fault of the old man Sinot that
he saw what he did, but this man Cuniff,
with shamelessness that would be igno-
minlous in boy, right before her father
acts of violence on her."
After reading some of Sinot's evidence
the Prosecutor said:-"That is The testi-
mony of the father relating to the conduct
of this man towards his wife, whom in
the presence of the church and in the
presence OF the priest he promised before
God in high heaven to love and TO cherish
and to protect and support. Great Godt
is that man to be believed when it comes
to question between him and his wite's
father as to his conduet?"
AN UNCoMPLAINING WIFE.
She was peaceful, uncomplaining
rest She endured in silence mis- brutal
supplies the place of intent and malice
His long and violent abuse of her is not
denied by him. His want of denial is an
admission of these charges, 50 that he
stands before you as admitting he beat
her with clubs, with shells. stabbed Der
with a fork and struck her with an iron
tea pot After ali these years of her
him could you expect her at
the last to forgot her love and denounce
him for punishmentY'
The Prosecutor then exhibited the oil
cloth on which the lamp was said by the
defence to have fallen and broken. He
called attention to the fact that there was