The Bennington banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1858-1894, 1893-04-21
ROBERT FITToN AGAIN.

HUBERT t1IION AGAlN.
There was a session of the U. S. circuit
court at the Brooks House Tuesday and
the main case heard was on the applica-
ton for habeas corpus for Robert Fit
ton who has served sentence of two
years in the state prison for breaking
Jail and is now held on mittimus issued
on sentence of 10 years for perjury in
his suit against the insurance compa-,
MES for the fire loss on the Cambridge
port mills, in which it was claimed that
he altered the affidavit of one Wheldon,
and he testified'in a suit against Wheel
don that it was changed before it was
signed and sworn to. When originally
indicted for perjury he twice gave and
forfeited bail for $1,000 making $4,000 in
all. After this he had an alleged watch
stealing scrape at Bennington and was
taken on requisition papers at Troy and
though there was defect in the papers,
he waived that and came back on
written agreement with Officer Nash,
that it was for the sole purpose of trial
on the watch stealing charge. He was
held to bail on that and furnished it and
then was held on charge of intoxica-
ton for short time until the Windsor
county officers arrived and took him on
the perjury matter. Then he got out
writ of habeas corpus before the circuit
court on the ground that they had no
right TO detain him on that charge until
he had had time to return to the state
from which ne was taken-a view of the
law which thelFederal supreme court has
just knocked out. But Judge Wheeler
at that time granted the writ, and gave
him q day to leave the state. Fitton as
well as the state, took exceptions and
appealed to the United States supreme
court and gave bail for appearance. He
remained in the state and was subse-
quently arrested and lodged in Wood
stock Jail for giving mortgages on GER
tain property in violation of Judge
Rowelrs injunction because of his wife's
divorce proceedings.
His appeal was entered in the United
States supreme court and dismissed. In
the meantime the grand jury in Benning-
ton county failed to find an indictment
against him for the offense for which he
was extradited. In the meantime he
had made an attempt to escape from the
Woodstock Jail and at the next term of
court was tried and convicted for that
and then for the perjury matter His
petition for habeas corpus Tuesday was
brought on the ground that he could not
have been lawfully tried by the State
court for the old charge of perjury be-
fore the mandate dismissing the first
habeas corpus petition had been handed
down from the United States Supreme
court to the Circuit court and that until
that was done he was constructively in
the custody of the United States officers
and out of the reach of the state author
ties, who had no right to touch him un-
til he had an opportunity to return to
he state from which he came. 1t also
claimed that the Bennington watch
stealing business was a put up job on
the part of Fitton and his confederates
for the express of getting him extradited
and allowed to remain in Vermont Sc
cure from arrest by the state authorities
for all his previous crimes, and that the
subsequent proceedings were all in
furtheranse of this scheme. This is
probably the fact, for he tried the same
game at Brattleboro when the claim was
raised that he stole diamond pin from a
man at the Bliss house. The man then
tried to get extradition papers but the
authorities saw through it aud wouldn't
move.
The decision was reserved, w. W.
Stickney of Ludlow appeared for the
state and Fitton was his own lawyer.
He was dramatic and gesticulated wide
ly at times during his argument which
he devoted mainly to telling what a
mean man Stickney was, the decision
was reserved and the court adjourned
till next Tuesday. -Br attleboro Reform.