New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1893-06-09
THE BORDEN NIRDER TRIiL

The Borden murder trill is remarkable from
several point. Of view. II Is conspicuous Tor
rapidity OF procedure. the jury having hccn
obtained without difficulty and tho witnesses
having told Their stories in quick Succession
There il busine slIIc d;rectness in the court
proceedings that is highly cIediiabc 10 the
Massachusetts bench and bar Then the case
is unique in it, horror and mystery. Lizzie
Borden is charged with the unnatural and in
eyplcablc crime Of hacking to death l.'r step
mother and her father in broad daylight with
a servant in the house and visitor whose re-
tuin was momentarily expected. Common as
tho crime Ct murder has been since Cans out
burst of anger. it would be difficult on tho
assumption Of the prisoners guilt to parallel
this case in unspeakable barbarty and IN I'M
natural motive and conduct. Finally, tho case
is remarkable from the theory upon which
tho prosecution is conducted. Direct evidence
against the prisoner there il none. OF cfcnm-
santial evidence there is very little, ard what
there is may be Offset, partly if not complete
". by the defence. What the prosecution APP
parcntly depends upon in oder to convince the
Jury of the young wcmans guilt is the process
OF exclusion.
physicians in diagnosing diseases They cx-
clude one cause after another until only one
explanation remains That also is the process
adopted by Henry George in the most widely
circulated of his books, a large number OF
possible causes of poverty beng argued down
ard the land question being finally accepted
as the only theory that 3 tcnablc. 1t is by
this process of exclusion that tho jury will be
asked to believe That Lizzie Borden murdered
her stepmother changed her gown, went
with her ironing, killed her father and put on
third dress before calling the servant and
| sending for the doctor and the neighbors. The
prosecution has begun by boiling and locking
| all the outside doors OF the Borden house in
order to prove that no murderer could have
got in from the street or yard. Then it has
| demonstrated that Lizzie Borden was the last
person seen with her stcpmOther and subse-
quently with her father. Outside assassins
being excluded, and tho servant not falling
under suspicion the prisoner is held to be the
only one who could have been guilty Of the
two crimes. This is practically the case for
the prosecution, with adventitous aid from sus-
piciOus and contradictory remarks made by the
prisoner and the testimony of her closest friend
| IN reRdiu 10 the burning OF ureSs.
Whatever may be the verdict of the jury
in this remarkable case, it is not probable that
the process of exclusion will como into common
use in criminal practice. A physician prac-
tically oonfesses his ignorance when he aban-
dons positive methods of diagnosis and arrives
negatively at conclusion by exclusion of all
probable causes with one exception. Henry
Georges reasoning is condemned by the best
logicans. The genius Of criminal law is against
the theory OF exclusive opportunity for MUIR
der. That theory is one which can seldom if
ever be established beyond shadow of doubt
For that reason the method is not one to which
prosecuting authorities often have recourse.
The theory OF the law is that an accused MUIR
dcrer when tried il to be regarded as innocent
until his guilt Is proved. by the exclusion the
Ory Lizzie Borden is accounted guilty by the
State unless the defence can establish the fact
that an outside assassin passed the barred doors
and hacked the two victims. This practically
makes it the business Of the defence, whose
client is entitled to the presumption Of inno-
cenee during the trial, to prove that the MUIR