The morning call., 1893-08-26
DEATH FOR DEATH
Sparf and Hansen Found
Guilty of Murder.
SOME SYMPATHETIC JURORS.
No fiddle Ground Would the Court
Take-Jur0r BIake's Aversion
to Hanging.

PENDANTS, are they guilty or not guilty.?
was the formal question put to the jury of
the United States Circuit Court at 6
o'clock last night. By Clerk Costigan.
Guilty" replied Foreman John j.
Haley.
Read the verdict" Judge McKenna d.
rected.
Foreman-We, the undersigned. find the
defendants guilty as charged.
The cOurt-Read it again, Mr.. Foreman.
That was done.
The court-Read it again. Mr. Foreman,
think you have make mistake.
Foreman-We. the jury, find the defend
ants guilty of murder.
Thus ends the trial of Herman Sparf
and Hans Hansen for the murder of Nor
ris Fitzgerald, the Inflated second mate of
the Hesper. a tragedy in which, from all
statements made, Thomas ST. Clair, VINO
has been sentenced to be hanged on Octo-
Der g, but in whose case an appeal to the
United States Supreme Court is being pre-
pared. was the principal actor.
Whatever were the feelings Of the two
prisoners their faces did not manifest
them. They preserved the same stolidity
which had characterized them all through
the long trial. Attorney Smith, for the de-
Tense, prevailed upon the court to grant
a continuance of two weeks from Monday
for the pronouncing of their sentence, and
il is probable that an appeal will De taken
in their cases also.
Il was with reluctance that the Jury had
arrived at the verdict of guilty For the
crime of murder upon the high seas there
Is only one penalty-that of hanging-and
it has been rather difficult to get men to
serve as jurors on the case for that one
reason in particular. On the first ballot
four jurors stood out for acQuittal or man
saughter-anything but murder and its
awful consequences under the law-and
after the jury had deliberated for almost
two and half hours it came into court
and asked for additional instructions.
The four men who stood out at first
were Sherman T. Blake, William 81.
Thomas. Alexander Mclaughlin and
Abraham Linden baum, and when the Jury
came into court to ask for an explanation
as TO the definitions of murder and man
slaughter, and for information upon the
matter OF capital punishment, Sherman L.
Blake arose and said he was Spokesman for
two Of the jurors. He did not tell then
who the other juror was, but 1t was learned
after the verdict had been rendered and
the jury discharged that it was Mr..
Thomas.
Mr.. Blake showed an eagerness for some
way out of the difficulty other than that of
verdict of guilty, but the court had in
stTucted positively upon that very point,
and he was firm.
In his charge to the jury Judge McKenna
had stated what section $3.50 of the Revised
Statutes was and its effect; and how that
there were no definitions of murder or
manslaughter on the statutes of the
United States, and. therefore, the common
law definitions would be taken. He had
explained circumstantial evidence and its
effect, and told the jury to consider with
caution the testimony of Thomas Green
and Edward Larsen. Counsel for the de-
tense had offered to the court seventeen
instructions and the court had followed
them all. Consequently he was very care
ful upon the question of the evidence of
presumed accom- plices. and upon the point
Of reasonable doubt he said:
'lf there is any one single fact proved
to your satisfaction by a prepOnderance of
evidence which is inconsistent with his
guilt either one presumably. this is sufi-
clent 10 raise reasonable doubt and you
should acquit him."
But the chief instruction in the entire
charge was contained in the following:
Therefore if you believe from the evil
dence, under the Instructions | have given
you. that Morris Fitzgerald was killed as
charged in the indictment, and that neither
OF the defendants did the act alone, but
was present willingly aiding or abetting
Its preparation, he is as guilty as though
he did the act alone. But, on the other
II NhC fluCuCO ldllo " ouOW D6VOnQ
reasonable doubt that either of the de-
tendants was present, and did not know
that Fitzgerald was to be assaulted or
killed, or did not willingly aid or abet his
killing. you should acquit such defendant"
The court took no middle ground; there
fore, when Mr.. Blake displayed a desire
TO compromise on verdict of manslaugh-
ter, the court held his position. The jury,
said he, had physical power to bring in
such verdict, but it should be governed
by the facts Of the case, and if from the
facts verdict of guilty was to be found,
there were none to reduce the crime below
the grade OF murder.
The case went to the Jury about 3 p. NJ.
1t was very able argument which Al
torney Smith made for the defense. and
took up about three hours. He made a
strong point Of Thomas Green's connec-
ton with the crime. Green had been the
instigatOr of it all, he contended: had in
splred the whole plot to seize the ship and
make himself captain; had drawn St.
Clair into the scheme, and between them
they had induced Sparf and Hansen to
enter into 1t, the prisoners supposing tina;
the ill-fated second mate was simply going
TO receive thraShing. Not an act Of
tragedy. was overlooked. How he
tried 10 crawl up on the captain
on the second night after Morris
Fitzgerald's absence from the ship was
observed, and, two nights afterward, made
still another like attempt, Notwithstanding
the captain had admonished his men not to
come aft OF the miZZen rigging without
first speaking. All the crew had agreed
TO obey the captain in this respect, except
Green and Edward Larsen; they were the
only two who showed signs of contrarity :
and then, when the captain, alarmed at
the actions of Green, had decided to change
his course from Honolulu to Tahiti, Green
became more than usually fractions
Again, Green had made three contradictory
statements about his being awakened on
the night of the crime To the Consul at
Tahiti he said it was st. Clair who awoke
him; on the ST. Clair trial he stated that it
was Sparf, and now he had testified that
il was Hansen.
Green's motive, revenge for his fancied
wrong Of being compelled to sweat down.
The sails too often, Mr.. Smith made great
deal of, and he dilated considerably upon
Hansen's becoming sick at the sight of
blood, and going down below to arouse
the port watch, while Sparf, instead OF
going down and cutting the throat of First
Mate Lucas, as directed, awoke that officer
instead. and reported the tragedy to him.
The jury was evidently very much i'm
pressed by this effective transferring OF
the onus OF the crime from the prisoners
to Green's shoulders, for in its delibera-