The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1893-11-14

-.t .-.. ..
LAWYER PURDY DRAINING TIRE BOTTLE.
drug, it being worse than the sandbag or
blackjack in the hands Of a highwayman.
There Is enough poison in these bottles"
ne continued, pointing to the c%oncoctions.
ito kill a small army"
Nonsense" wa the reply of Lawyer
Purdy, the prisoners counsel, land I will
prove it," He thereupon poured the stuff
down his throat while the prisoner invol-
UNFAIRLY started from his seat.
A smile settled upon the lawyers face
as he held the empty bottle above his head.
He thought he had won his case. But it
was only for an instant. In the next he
turned CHASTITY pale, his legs trembled, and
he fell into a chair in a drowsy swoon.
The jury brought In q verdict of guilty
without leaving their seats.
1t was evidently a case where the crimi-
nal deceived his counsel.
why Criminsas Do Not Confess.
But having set out on a career of folly
the criminal is not to be expected to ,ex-
hibit a great degree of wisdom in extrcat-
ing himself from the consequences Of his
acts. And one of the chief follies which he
commits when summoned to answer to the
community for his misdeeds is to conceal
the real facts of his case from the counsel
whom he selects to defend him. This selec-
tion is not difficult, because in every COM
munity the ablest criminal counsel are well
known and are especially we'll known to
law breakers. But when a person charged
with crime has put himself in relations
with q lawyer he usually hampers the
abilities of his counsel at the outset by de-
claring his innocence, even if, as a matter
of fact, he is guilty las charged In the in
dictment." '. 1885,
That the criminal does not as a rule
state the exact facts Of his case to counsel
proceeds from these causes, among others:
8 He is not intelligent enough to see that it
is for his interest to tell the truth and the
whole truth. '-.
He is suspicious of the entire and abso-
lutte integrity of even the most famous
counsel. -. -..-
He is afraid that if he makes a full con-
fession to his lawyer, the latter will, If not
voluntarily, perhaps by an unguarded ex-
preston, let the precious secret slip.
He fears that the zeal of his counsel will
be quenched or his faculties obscured if he
knows that his client is guilty and just
how the criminal act was accomplished.
The natural desire of every man to stand
as high as possible in the estimation Of
those with whom he comes in contact OPP
crates also in inducing the criminal to de-
ceive his counsel. Separated from the
world by stone walls-seeing, with the ex-
ception of his counsel, only keepers who de-
spise him and prisoners who regard him as
one Gagged felon always regards another-he
involuntarily longs for the respect of the SUI
perior person who occasionally visits him
in the discharge of professional duty, and
with whom he is permitted to converse in
q separate room at a table, rs one citizen
with another, free from the restraint of an
iron barred door.
Owing to these and other u~nwholesome
inducements, q criminal awaiting trial usu.
ally lies to his lawyer.
1t is a fatal mistake, n of those blund'
ers that are worse than crimes. Jonathan
Wild, the great thief taker and thief teach
er, was won't 10 inculcate to his pupils il
larceny the policy of uniformly adherinl
to truth wherever truth was practicable
His argument was that truth required but
little effort Of memory; that it was Away.
consistent with fact; required no invention
and was therefore easy to the feeblest IN
t~ellect, and that, finally, a lie was 70 precious
and valuable a thing that it should never b.
wasted, never brought into use unless ab
solutely necessary.
Facts and Theories.
The most ipgeniously constructed falls,
narrative has a larger or smaller spot o
rottenness aud decay on its surface
Rank corruption mining all within
lnfects unseen.
And the rude assaults of the cross exami
nation by the public prosecutor o o con
vert the whole ulcerous tissue into a Mas
of debris fit only to be shoveled out Of TIN
courtroom. 1t requires great talent, ia
beyond the modicum at the command O
the average criminal, to frame u ~fictitiou
condition Of events that shall consist witt
the obvious and u%ndisputed facts that ar
connected with any crime whatever.
Every crime is a fact, and every fact tina
has ever occurred in the history of tn
world is more or less directly connected
with infinitely numerous contemporar.
facts, many of which are capable OF beinl
used IA evidence. To suppress real fact.
and invent others is, therefore, like takin;
away parts Of some delicate and ~intricat
machine and substituting others. Only tn
most skillful of artiticers could REASONABLE!
attempt such q task, and even he would b.
apt to come short Of his designs.
The most experienced advocates say tina
no false theory Of innocence Of crime Cal
be supported II the attendant facts hap
pen to be n~umerously testified to by wit
nesses for the people; therefore. the accused
person, il guilty, should state to his coun
sci the exact facts Of the crime, In orde
chat they may be toned down, qualified o
explained away. Aside from the reasona
BILE nature OF this theory, the prisoner |
placed toward the court and jury in a NOR
favorable attitude, since his defense doe
not combat the entire truth, but only tend
to shed IA different light upon it from tina
Of the prosecution. 20 #7 -
There have been during the past tw,
years two memorable murder trials in tn
city of New York. both carried on by til
people wholly On circumstantial evidence
both Nr crimes Of similar character, an,