Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1893-10-11
WAKEFIELD TRIAL


TCoaii1u.d from Is. page
"a, with increased force As The bss,ing O
the heart vas stronger
Court came ia al l.So after the moan re
cess. The crowd was larger thsn that il
the morning and the Large proportion o
women vas sgsia 4 nctscssole feature
Al the time Of adjournment Mr.. Carleton
vas beard to say that his reeartsl woul'
take up the whole Of The afternoon hu
! hen the afternoon session had advance,
! only half an hour and Mr.. Csfieson had pa
ON only two Witnesses, hs suddenly an
rouneed that be had completed his case.
This charge took Mr.. Spear by surpris'
| Ard be asked for and obtained half hou
recess in which to prepare himself.
At the opening of the afternoon session
the government called for the pocketbool
and its contents and Mr.. Spear producet
them. They were then put in part of thu
governments ease.
DIR. II. J. Frederick WAS recalled WoulS
not expect, after eight days, IS in . simila
case to Blern's, TO find the temporal muscle
resembling blood eliot. Recently made I
post-mortem examination on body which
had been in the water nesrly days il
June. Wouldn't expect physician cf or
binary experience to mistaEe the temr a
muscle for blood eliot under such cifcun.
stance. as already described.
Ernest A, Wakefield Was ec.lled snt
was further cross examined upon the sub
Jet OF the trousers and the stains upor
them.
Remember | merely said tina, the pants
were stained when held them up to Nor
ton. Brought in several quits from The
c mp this morning. One of them is nov
doxn stairs.
The recess already mentioned was the I
taken, during " hich time the people in the
crowded court room went out TO get 9
breath of fresh air, before settling them
selve. for the rest of the afternoon.
Follow ing the recess Mr.. Spear addressed
the jury. He began with a statement of the
crime alleged, defended his own attitude in
the case, treated the subject of circumstan,
tial evidence and then took up the subject
of the testimony, item by item. aud was al
this point when court adjourned over night
Mr.. Spear has received much praise fol-
the mastery manner in which he has han
died Waketeld's defence, and he never de-
served the praise more than when he COM
pleted the first part Of one of the finest
closing arguments ever heard in kennebec
1t was strong. eloquent argument; logi-
cal withou. being dry terse yet clean
earnest but not overdone; thorough in its
analysis but not dealing too much with the
minute of the case. No oratorical efIor, OF
Mr.. Spears since hi, speech on the Aus
tralan ballot bill in 1891 has come any
where near equaling the magnificent de-
fence of Wakefield on Tuesday.
Mr.. Spear, as has been s,ate', opened
with statement of the crime alleged and
in a telling Introduction he thanked the jurs
for its attention, complimentei "Bfothe r
Carleton and Brother Became, Nho has SO
ably assisted him
Mr.. Spear then took up the subject
brought out by some of the witnesses tlst
he had interviewed them with stenogra-
pher AMI totally disproved any false con-
struction that might have been placed upon
his action.
Gentlemen, the defendant is charged with
unlawfuliy killing Charles Blenn. regret
that young msu should have died in the
prime of bis young mapbooi. can say
tina when he was picking those beautiful
lilies lie could not have stayed longer AMI
80 have failed to have gone to the camp,
where he obtained the liquor which sent him
to his doom.
DO not approve of wha. is going on up
on and up and down our streams. agree
with Bro Carleton in denounciqg the dee
ecratlon of the Sabbath by drinking AM
carousing. Unfortunately this is ofter
done and will be done and that my client
dil it ia not in evidence here or to be con
sidered.
The government charges that my client
lid unlawfully kill or slsy Charles Blenn
The defendant denies this. The govern
ment must prove beyond q REASONABLE
doubt that he is guilty. The law presumes
him innocent. He may rest upon the In
sufliciepcy of the governments case and put
in no witnesses, or may put in witnesses Of
his own and create reasonable.
Mr.. Spear continued on this line and eau
toned the jury to consider the testimony in
the light of what he might be expected 70
do, and said that if the evidence pat on by
the government is in their judgment INSULT
Gent 10 disprove it, they must acquit him.
Mr.. Spear then took up the subject of the
governments testimony, which he said was
admitted to be purely circumstaniial. He
repeated his views of the slight value Of
circumstantisl as strongly stated in hi
opening, and read extracts showing the two
fold difficulty of proving anything by cir
eyi ]ence; for first, each link
of the chain of fsc.s must be taken up and
pIUNcb pty uba itdsoH'toiS HOhDk, anu
then in the second place you must abso
lutely connect these facts with the &C
cused.
Mr.. Spear then took up the familiar illus
.ration of footsteps in the snow and used it
as powerful argument against the value
Of circumstantisl evidence. He said that
evidence depends first upon
the proof of the link. He also used the
Crusoe footprint episode as the
basis for another strong argument against
evidence.
To find my client guilty it is necessary
that every fact must be proved anil then
proved TO have a connection with the ma '
fact. The governments case mIst b.
proved. 1t must be chain OF proved, con
.istent facts. II will not do to prove come
facts which are consistent and Others thu
are not.
Each piece of evidence should be weighed
and considered in connection with each an \
every other piece Of testimony. You vii!
merely conceive of the testimony as given
for what it is worth under the broad iigl |
Jf truth.
The government say that Eigsr G. Wske |
81 II killed Charles Blenn and pat his bod |
n the .trean. IL is not deried that Bleno |
vas at the Wakefield camp that Sunday |
Tor that bis body was found in Cobbossee
,ontee stream the following "Wednesday |
The government claims he came to HI |
!eath by foul play as a result. of bruises or
be head. II you can conceive Of any other |
ny client.
r juries must be proven beyond ressona
lie doubt or the governments case goes to |