Fairhaven herald. [volume] (Fairhaven, Wash.) 1890-????, 1892-03-12

ltil-lLluuUc IcCcSS was taken DN lne
court, during which the jury was eX-
cused.
At II o'clock Attorney Kerr began
his argument for the prosecution, and
spoke with force for an hour on the un-
reliability o the testimony offered for
the defense, and dwelt forcibly upon
the absurdity Of the possibility of the
various witnesses having been at the
places alleged at the moment they were
most nee led to see what would be of
future use in proving an alibi, and
throwing the responsibility of the crime
from George to Henry.
AT l:5S Mr.. Kerr closed his argu-
ment, and the court adjourned to ,
p. III.
AT the afternoon session the court
room, seats, ajsles, dOorways and even
the halls were crowded by vast audi
ence, including larger number of
ladies than at any previous day dur
ing the trial. The summing up of the
evidence for the defense had promised
to be the most interesting feature Of
the trial and such it proved to be.
At exactly , o'clock the court was
called and Attorney Piles began upon
his defense of the Indian charged with
murder He was the center Of attrac-
ton as in his strong clear voice he be-
gan to read extracts from the various
codes, starting with section ,236 of
the code Of California, from which the
law of this state is compiled, to show
the inability Of any jury to convict
unless the alleged accOmplice was 50
charged in the information. Before
the state can convict it must be proved,
beyond the possibility of doubt, who
struck the fatal blow The evidence
given by an accomplice cannot be ac-
cepted unsupported, and he argued
that no such support had as yet been
offered before the court. He read
many extracts from noted murder
trials, and dwelt upon what he called
the absurd idea of charging every little
act, like the upsetting of cup Of tea,
as evidence against "a man because he
is on trial for some crime. ave all do
just such things frequently and no
note IS made of 1t. Why should man
under "a charge Of crime be more
harshly judged than we would Judge
OurselVesn'
He quoted freely from the celebrated
trial Of Miller for the shooting Of J NJ.
Coleman and Patton in 1886, and
showed the unreliability Of such testi-
mOny as is drawn from mere neigh
borhoOd suspicious and the evidence Of
Jealous and over Jealous officials
a charge to jury, cautioning them
against the unreliable evidence offered
by an accOmplice, as given by Justice
Morton, Of Massachusetts, was quoted
with a tribute to the justice and
Of the laws Of the Bay state.
At $780, after having devoted two
hours and "a half to the reading Of au-
thOritles Of various states on murder
trials and extracts from the best laws
IL such cases, with many extracts from
trials where innocent men were con-
vlcted by the perured evidence of
accOmpllces and those who hoped to
save their own lives by throwing the
guilt upon innocent parties, Mr.. Pies
laid down his authorities and refresh
ing his parched lips with IA piece Of
lemon stepped forward before the Jury
and began the most eloquent plea for
the life Of his client that has vet been
heard in our court house. He dwelt
heavily on the previous good character
of the Indian and his comparative
wealth to snow the absence of any
motive for the killing of Moses Youn-
kin.
"The evidence offered here is not
sufficient TO convict any man. You
may think that the accused is guilty,
but in all honesty there is not one
among you who can return a verdict Of
guilty on the evidence here offered.
The chain of circumstantial evidence
offered here in favor Of the accused is
scOrned by the prosecution. 1t would
be perfectly satisfactory if offered for
the prosecution. They ridicule it. |
admire it as showing clearly the i'm
possibility of his having been
on the ground at the time
the murder was committed.
Does Georges anxiety to go with the
sheriff and see the footprints on the
path, and his regret that they had been
50 nearly obliteTated point to him as a
guilty man? This is not what guilty
man would do. He would object to re-
visiting the scene Of the murder if he
was guilty"
The argument was interrupted by
the court at 545. Mr.. Piles said that
three or four hours more would be re-
quired to conclude the defense, and the
court thereupon ordered an adjourn
ment until 7:30.
During the whole Of the summing up
Of the testimony for the defense the
entire crowd Of spectators remained
without an interruption, so great was
the interest taken in the argument of
Attorney Piles, who had the closest at
tentiOu from the moment he began to
speak.
During the whole Of the afternoon
George sat with his eyes partially
closed, paying strict attention to the
proceedings, with hardly an outward
sign Of his appreciation Of the fact that
his life depended upon the impression
made upon the jury by the argument
being submitted.
Henry, on the contrary, sat with
head upright, gazing from one to
another, and only dropping his eyes at
intervals as some scathing denuncia-
ton as the attorney drew the eyes Of
thesaudience toward him.