Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1893-01-20
ONE MORE CHANCE
For Dan Coughlin to Prove His
innocence.
THE GREAT CRONIN CASE RECALLED

lib GhhAI UhUNlN UAS6 hEUALLED
Illinois Supreme Court Reverses the Trial
Judges Ruling and Grants a New Trial
Because of Two Disqualified Jurors
Principal Points of the Decision-Two
Justices Dissent-SixteenP Persons Nearly
Killed by Escaping Gas, Two of Whom
Are in a Critical Condition Chicago
Notes.
CHICAGO, Jan. 20.-The following mes
sage was received yesterday from Ottawa,
Ills, by one of the attorneys in the Cronin
case-W. 5. Forrest: "Coughlin case re-
versed and remanded. Decision covers
sixty pages. Magruder filed dissenting
opinion" This reopens one of the greatest
cases ever tried in Chicago court. Prob
ably it will make no difference how the
new trial goes. Men have made up their
minds, and unless Coughlin can offer some
new and startling proof of his innocence he
will always be Considered guilty By a large
part of this community, and particularly
by that part called Cronin's friends. and en-
bracing many thousands of people.
What the States Attorney Says.
States Attorney Kern was seen last even
ing in regard to the decision as the de-
cision in reality equivalent to pardon in
asmuch as the witnesses are all scattered?"
was asked. Decidedly not" replied the
attorney. Il do not know anything of the
whereabouts of the witnesses, any more
than that / know some of them are dead.
1t is a well-known fact that in cases of
this kind the defense gains strength by
delay, and this case is no exception to the
general rule. The decision of the supreme
court will necesstate an entire new trial
from beginning to end, introducing new
evidence" He knew of no new evidence
nor what charge would be made against
Coughlin in the new trial. He was tried
for conspiracy before, but as the Others
sentenced for life are dead-O'Sullivan
and Burke-it was puzzler what to
charge Coughlin with this time 1t would
probably be murder
Pith of the Decision.
The principal points of the decision
reached here last night. There are 2O,OOO
words in it. 1t does not 90 into the merits
of the evidence, nor into the question of the
guilt or innocence of the prisoners, but
deals directly with the chief point at issue,
namely: Whether or not two of the Jurors
were qualified to act upon the case. The
court decides that they were not These
men-BonUecon and Clark-declared that
they had formed an opinion on the case from
reading the newspapers, and any one who
read the Chicago papers at that time does
not want to be told that the opinion was
adverse to the prisoners.
Settles an Important Point.
The judge decided that. as the venire-
men said that their opinion could be re-
moved by evidence, they were competent
jurors. But the supreme court discusses
this point very fully and comes to an ex-
actly different conclusion. The rule, the
supreme court says, is perfectly well set
tied that if juror has formed decided
opinion as to the merits of case, from in
formation derived from any source, he is
disqualified. No case can be found where
q juror after admitting the existence in
his mind of an opinion of that character
has been permitted to establish his own
competence by testifying that he can or
will render an impartial verdict.
Some Court Opinions Cited.
at would have taken" says the court in
the Sixtieth Illinois 1885, @as much evidence
to remove his unfounded prejudice as to
convince him of the justice of the defense.
The worthlessness of the testimony of the
Juror as to his own fairness is we'll stated
In Fifty-sixth Illinois, 344, where several
jurors were said to be so far lost to the
sense of justice that they regarded what
all right-thinking men knew to be wrong
as just and impartial; nor can it be said
that instructions of the court would cor
rect the bias of jurors who swear that they
incline in favor of one of the litigants I"
The notifications of the rule by statutes
are considered and none Of them found to
cover the cases of Bontecon and Clark,
therefore the case is remanded.
Two Justices Dissent
Justices Shoofield and Magruder dissent
from this opinion, Scofield in merely stat
ing that he dissents and Magruder in
document of 200 words in length.