The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1893-06-21


to unravel the mystery, but simply to say.sis
the woman guilty? That is all, though the
real criminal shall never be found, better that
than you should find q wrong verdict The
quesuSn is not who did il, nor how could il
have been done. but did she do il. You must
dot think for a moment that this defendant is
trying TO find out who did il. She is not de-
tective aud she has been in Jail nine months,
under constant restraint from the very day al
most OF the murder. Don't ask her to do i'm
possible things; TO do what she can't do.
The commonwealth does not want any vict-
lms, either. In old days sacrifices were offered,
but in these days We don't even burn the witches
In Massachusetts. | ask only that you be true
to yourselves. There always goes with any per.
son the presumption of innocence of crime;
that is your bulwark, and il started with her,
from the day she was taken in charge, and it
never leaves her until that presumption is
overcome and she IS declared guilty. Bear in
mind that the presumption is always in the
scale AMI that the scale Is always tipped in tbs
prisoners favor until tipped the other way.
The court will explain the difference between
direct and circumstantial evidence and there
Is no need for me to go into il fully because
deem u unnecessary. IL you are asked TO convict
upon any evidence you will look to see u IL
fits in aud whether it is al in, whether the
chain is complete before ron make up your
minds The court will tell you the proof must
come up in your minds to a moral certainty;
not a mathematical certainty. but beyond a
reasOnAbls doubt
The magnitude of n mistake Is not to be
lightly considered. but suoh men as you, with
your home Influences. your church aEsOola-
tiOns, will have doubt about what you
ought 20 do. on are TO say as 10 this wOman's
guilt or innocence. but it will be duty such
as you have never done before. Under the
laws OF this state the defendant is permitted
to testify on the stand if she desires. but ii she
does not the statutes say inference will be
drawn as to her action, and the district attor-
ney will insult this court by referring 10
this in the slightest degree. The law
holds that il is too great a strain to put on a
defendant to put him the stand in such
cases, and you will not as you 90 10 your
room, depart from this understanding. 1ou
must leave out rumoTs. reports, statements
which you heard bsfOre the trial commenced,
and leave out every single thing which Alr.
Moody has said he was going to prove, unless
he did it. He he's spoken for the common
wealth, and the commonwealth expects him 10
do Just what he said he was going 10 do. He
said that be would claim aud prove that this
defendant was preparing dangerous weapon.
lie has not proved =. hes he? aud many things
offered in good faith BY him have been stricken
out by the court because they were not
proven.
Tie commonwealth came here intending 70
do these things but were not allowed to do
them. They were going 70 Drove that this
yOung lady went out TO buy poison, but lt was
not proven; il was not allowed, and l shall
expect the district attorney 10 get up and say
so, or | shall be disappointed IN him. They
were going to show that the defendant had
cOntradicted herself, but the court said this
was not proper, Now, you are not going 20
say, i rather think Messrs. kuowlton and
Moody would not have offered this II they had
not proof This won't do. Decide this case
from the evidence oil the witness stand, and
nothing else, and you Will leave those things
out. Nv intention is not to distort facts. but
to find out Just how we stand. Things thstare
not in dispute | will not touch, and l trust /
will not, by a single letter, step the line of
proof or deal uniustlY with III G commonwealth
so dear 20 US all.
Governor Robinson then began a chro-
biological description of the events con-
nected with the crime as they appeared
from the evidence.
1t is for to see. said he. il the defendant
did IL see no reason 20 connect q cOnleder-
ate with it. There sits the deiend0nt, accused
of the foulest and darkest OF crimes. Let Us
see where the chain Is TO be found which binds
her 10 those terrible accounts. Why must the
district attorney show a motive in this case!
Simply 10 explain the evidence. There is no
direct evidence against Miss Borden. no wea-
pom whatever, and no knowledge of the use
of one has been shown. IL is not shown
she ever used implement OF such
q character. The evidence shows she did not
know where they were kept. Not spot on
anywhere. Think OF IL. Yes, there was one
spot on her skirt as big as the point Of pin.
That was not where you expected 1t to be II
she had done II, in an out OF the way place.
don't know that even Fall River policeman
from the top down who believes that that fly
speck OF blood had anything to do with the
case. Then there was q bundle OF burnt paper
which Mr.. Philip Harrington found. Then
there were mean assertions made that DIR.
Bowen was doing something. We thought they
Rad fha IL mad nm IN eha
newspaper. and that the handle had been
burnt up entirely, and that the newspaper,
which lives forever, only, remained. What
funny FIRE. That handle is still flying through
the air somewhere. a poor orphan handle
without its hatchet For heavens sake, get
the 135 policemen of Fall River and chase it.
Let them catch il aud Teunite il TO its hatohet.
Lizzie Borden was At home that day. There
was nothing strange in that Ii was better Tor
her to be at home IN her room than out in the
streets. The speaker said that il Miss
Borden had gone upstairs that morning and
looked under the bed she might have seen the
body of her step-mother. There is no
evidence to show that the door OF that
room was wide open. The prosecution as
sumes that the door was wide open. The door
may have been only ajar. II may have been
closed. Miss Lizzie bad no occasion TO 60 into
that room. She would not be likely to do so
judging from the evidence introduced as TO the
family relations. 1t Is true that she went up
stairs duQ saw 0er BlepmOtnef making TIE Deu
In the spare room. 1t makes no difference
how many times she went up and down stairs
that day. Grant that she did 90 up stairs az
about 0 o'clock. Mrs. Borden was alive then.
They say she stayed up there without offering
any evidence on that point
There is the note. Bridget says she saw the
steDmOthsr get . note from some one who was
sick, and that she had gone out. Bridget says
"she did not tell me where she was going; she
generally does. She hurried off," Lizzie did
not say anything about her hurrying OF. Now,
both Lizzie and Bridget tell about the note
and both were told Of 1t by Mrs. Borden.
Bridget said Mrs. Borden was busting the sit
ting-room just before she went away. The dis
tTist attorney says Lizzie lied about the note.
Now. Bridget tells the most complete story
about the note. The speaker drew the infer
ence that il Bridget who told Lizzie about
the note. lie cOntended that the burning of
the note was the suggestion of Miss Russell
and not statement made By Lizzie. person
may say where is the nots" we cannot find il.
The note may be part of the scheme of Mrs.
Borden. There are people around here now
who have not heard Of this case.
The inference OF the lawyerwss that it
might have been written by some one
who did not know the trial was going on,
and If they knew il would come forward
and tell all they knew about. The visit
TO the barn was taken up.
Lizzie had told Bridget that she was in tho
barn, heard a groan and went into the house
through the open screen door. DIR. Bowen
asked her where had you beenY She said she
had been out in the barn for IRON To Mrs.
Churchill she said she had been to the barn for
q piece OF tin or iron with which 10 fix her
soreen. Mr. Fleet aaked her whether ahe had