The Iola register., 1891-05-15
idE GRAND JURY'S REPORT.
AN Exhaustive AND yOLUMINOUs RE-
Z PORT ON THE LATE NEW ORLEANS
MAssACREs AND ALLEGED JURY
BRIBERY, BY THE GRAND JURY.
The Iynching Party Not Indicted.

for six weeks at New Orleans finally
completed its labors in the Hennessy
case and the killingof the Italians a
the parish prison, bv presenting
special report to the criminal court.
The report is addressed to "The Hon
orable Robert Mari. Judge OF Crimina
Court"
The jury says that when it entered
upon its term of service there was pend
ing the trial of nine men for the assas
sination of the late Superintendent Of
Police Hennessy. The report dwells
upon the enormity of the crime and
notes the universal attention which il
attracted. 1t recounts the various step:
taken in the prosecution of the indicted
men and relates the progress OF the
case in the court. The verdict,
says the report, was startling, amaz'
ing, bitter disappointment, shocking
to public opinion and provoking the re-
peated accusation that some OF the jury
had been unfaithful to their office The
jury, the report continues. therefore IN
vestigated the subject of the crime In
all its attendant conditions. Each juror
was summoned to make a statement.
All seemed to welcome the opportunl'
ty. 1t was notable feature OF their
statements, says the report, that each
sought to Justify their verdict by at
tacking the states evidence and attach.
ing much weight to the arguments OF
the defense. The Hennessy jurors ad-
mitted that early in the case remarks
had been made in the jury room on the
first day OF the trial that ''the state " as
making a poor case" and were positive
ly repeated at the close of the states
evidence. One juror is known TO have
said TO another: "You talk like you
were fixed before you came here"
The report continuing says that 1T
was clearly indicated that the necessity
for secrecy was urged at various times
and just before the verdict was rem
dered it was brought forward again
with the Injunction to destroy every
vestige of evidence they had and leave
every thought and act behind them.
Surely the urgency of this was most
cunningly devised to conceal the pecu-
liar events that transpired in the jury
room. The jury paid marked inatten-
tion to the testimony of witnesses and,
says the report, the grand jury was
left to conclude that the jury undertook
to try the case when it was submitted,
by their own estimate of the value of
statements made by parties not called
as witnesses. With strange uuan-
unity they dwelt upon what they
knew by rea ling and hearsay
of certain incidents of the assassination
prior to the trial and made those the
basis of powerful persuasion for giving
the accused the benefit of the doubt and
concluded their deliberations in their
favor. The report says further, that
the grand jury did not hope to obtain
evidence of undue influence from the
members OF the jury, yet in their nu-
merous statements much was obtained
having a direct connection with the
testimony elected during the course of
the inquiry. 1t was determined bv the
grand jury that the Hennessy jurors
considered the cases of Polietz. Scaffidi
and Monesterio for four hours, taking
numerous ballots, each of which re-
suited six for and six against convic-
tion. This, the report says, i'm
pressed the grand jury deeply and
forced the conclusion that the evidence
was sufficient to justify six jurors in
standing out for conviction, and making
it well nigh impossible to reach any 9TH
The three accused named above, says
the report, were probably those selected
by the leaders of the conspiracy to exc
cute the murder of Chief Hennessy.
Following this investigation, continues
the report, it was quickly learned that
talesmen had been approached, when
alone or invited away to some secluded
place, were visited at their homes, were
intercepted on their way to the court
house, were stopped in the corridors of
the court house, and the vile work was
deliberately carried forward in the court
room during the trial. One expression
was that big money might be made
by going on the jury and doing right"
There is no possible doubt that such at
tempts were made by various parties in
the service OF the defense. The tales
men who rejected the bribery gave
their evidence to the grand jury will
ingly.
Another class of the talesmen denied
all knowledge of the vile work or
showed remarkable deficiency of memo
ry, causing the jury to conclude that
they were silent from fear, or had been
cautioned about discriminating any one.
till their tongues were silenced as with
the hand OF death. A number of Wit
nesSes most emphatically denied having
been approached Or spoken to about
service on the jury, even after
telling it TO their friends who
had informed the grand jury
Concerning the attempted bribery
of talesmen, the report says the list of
500 talesmen in the Hennessy case was
in the Office of OMalley and Adams at
ii o'clock Sunday morning, February
%, 1891, though the trial Judge issued
orders Saturday evening that the list
was not to be made public or given TO
counsel of either side until Monday
O'Malley was put in posses !
sion of the list almost Immediately after |
the names were drawn and before they !
reached the district attorneys Office in !
due course. The list was secured by |
one of the jury commissioners lately !
removed. 1t is further shown that in !
the Office of this detective agency is |
kept book of names and addresses of |
jurymen. Out of the 800 names drawn |
for the February panel, thirty-two were !,
on the list in O'Malley's and Adams
Office. and later, as the talesmen |
were drawn, many more names appeared !
that were on that private list. Truly !
the business Of the enterprising detec- |
tive agency was facilitated, when thir- I!
ty-two names of their selection could be 7!
drawn on a panel of 500 jurors from
wheel containing 1000 names.
The report criticises the deputy sher-
ifs employed in the court and in the !!
parish prison, the principal feature of
whose conduct was unreliability which |
seriously impeded the work of the au-
thorities. Suspects were informed /
when indictments were found against /
them. and when the arrest of Cooney /
and McCrystoll was made in O'Malley's t,
Office, the deputy was persuaded TO re-
port that the arrest was made on the !
street. Thomas c. Collins, says the re-
port, was employed by the city authori-
ties to work mn The case of the bribery