The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1893-11-21

LAWYER PURDY DRAINING THE BOTTLE.
drug, it being worse than the sandbag or
blackjack in the hands of highwayman
''There is enough poison in these bottles"
he continued, pointing to the connections,
ITO kill a small army"
Nonsense" was the reply of Lawyer
Purdy, the prisoners counsel, land will
prove It," he thereupon poured the stuff
down his throat while the prisoner invol-
UNFAIRLY started from his seat. s 'NH
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 chair in drowsy swoon
The jury brought in a verdict of guilty
without leaving their seats.
IL was evidently case where the crimi-
nal deceived his counsel.
Why Criminals Do Not Confess.
But having set out on career of folly
the criminal is not to be expected to eX-
hibit great degree of wisdom in extricat-
ing himself from the consequences of his
acts. And one of the chief folies 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-
munity the ablest criminal counsel are we'll
known and are especially well known to
law breakers. But when person charged
with crime has put himself in relations
with lawyer he usually hampers the
abilities of his counsel Mt the outset bv de-
claring his innocence, even if, asa matter
OF fact, he is guilty ''as charged in the in
dictment."
That the criminal does not ms n rule
ta ha ot Of Ii,
proceeds from these causes among others.
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 iptegrit" - oven the most lannon's
counsel easE4E4sziGsasSS
He is afraid that il he makes Il 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 IL 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 op-
crates also in inducing the criminal to lie.
ceive his counsel. Separated from the
world by stone walls-seeng, with the eX-
ception OF his counsel, only keepers who de-
spise him and prisoners who regard him rs
one Gagged felon always regards another-he
involuntalily 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
separate room ut q table, us one citizen
with another, free from the restraint of an
iron barred door.
Owing to these and other unwholesomc
inducements, a criminal awaiting trial usu-
ally lies to his lawyer.
1t is fatal mistake, one of those blund-
ers that are worse than crimes. Jonathan
Wild, the great thief taker and thief teach
er, was wont to inculcate to his pupils in
larceny the policy of uniformly adhering
to truth wherever truth was practicable.
His argument was that truth required but
little effort of memory; that it was al WAYS
consistent with fact; required no invention
and was therefore easy to the feeblest in
tellect and that, finally, a lie wasso precious
and valuable thing that it should never be
wasted, never brought into use unless alb
solutely necessary.
Facts and Theories.
The most ingeniously constructed false
narrative has larger or smaller spot of
rottenness and decay on it's surface
Rank corruption mining all within
Infccts unseen.
And the rude assaults of the cross exami.
nation by the public prosecutor soon con-
vert the whole ulcerous tissue into mass
OF debris fit only to be shoveled out of the
courtroom. 1t requires great talent, far
beyond the modcum at the command of
the average criminal, to frame fictitious
condition of events that shall consist with
the obvious and undisputed facts that are
connected with any crime whatever.
Every crime is a fact, and every fact that
has ever occurred in the history of the
world is more or less directly connected
with infinitely numerous contemporary
facts, many of which are capable of being
used as evidence. To suppress real facts
and invent Others is, therefore, like taking
away parts of SOME delicate and intricate
machine and substituting others Only the
most skillful of artifcers could reasonably
attempt such a task, and even he would be
apt to come short of his designs 'Nf
The most experienced advocates say that
no false theory Of innocence of crime can
be supported IL the attendant facts hap
pen to be numerously testified to by wit
nesses for the people; therefore. the accused
person, if guilty, should state to his coun.
sci the exact facts of the crime, in order
that they may be toned down, qualified or
explained away. Aside from the reasona-
Bile nature of this theory, the prisoner is
placed toward the court and jury in more
favorable attitude, since his defense does
not combat the entire truth, but only tends
10 shed different light upon it from that
Of the prosecution.
There have been during the past two