The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1894-06-01
Judge Severance Holds That Con-
ways Indictment Has Not
Been Altered Since Leav-
ing the Grand Jury.
Affidayits and Counter AffidaVitS
Presented in Court This Fore
noon Concerning the
Indictment.
The Taking of Evidence Now
Begins I'm Earnest, and
the Trial will be
Completed.

As stated in Saturdays issue, the de-
Tense in the Conway case raised the
point the the Indictment had been al
tered since Conway pleaded to it, and
that this gave him some legal rights.
The matter came up the first thing
this morning, when court convened
at ten o'clock.
Lorin Cray stated that in accord
ance with the suggestions OF the court
the defense had prepared affidavits
and served Them on the0state, at 300
D. M, Saturday, and that the state
had not yet served it's counter atfidav-
its. Being wholly in the dark as to
these, the defense might not be pre-
pared to go ahead to the end.
Mr. Cray then read the affidavits.
The first was one by VIM. Conway,
in which he objected to the trial, ow-
ing to alleged change of the indict-
ment since leaving the grand jury, by
the insertion of the words, "Wm. Con-
way and John E. Layne are" He ask
ed that he be discharged. Mr.. Cray
stated that it is claimed that the al
iteration was made after the defend
ant had pleaded to the Indictment.
An affidavit from Clerk of Court
ThOrne certified that he and Ira Z.
ShiSSler had carefully compared the
copies Of the Indictment with the or
iginal Indictment and that they were
the same. Mr.. Shissler made a SINH
lar affidavit, and also that the words
SWIM. Conway and John e. Layne'are"
were not in the copies or original in
dictment.
Byron Hughes testified as to the ar
raignment of Conway and Layne, and
that he read copy while the county
attorney read his copy, and it was the
same, and he noticed the commission of
words, looked over County Attorney
Benedict's shoulder and saw that the
words in question were not in the in
dictment read by Mr.. Benedict. He
called the attention of his brother,
VIM. Z. Hughes, to the commission, and
they looked up the law. Again they
saw the Indictment belonging to the
County Attorney, and the names were
still omitted. The county Attorney
took the Indictment, went into the
judge room, came back with the in
dictment folded, handed it to the
Clerk Of Court, and the atfiant had not
seen it since until lately read. 1t is
now interlined in the hand writing of
Mr.. Benedict, and the Indictment is
nOtthe same one as that upon which
Conway was arragned, but is fOrg-
cry. VIM. Z. Hughes made similar
affidavit.
The concluding sentence of Mr..
Hughes affidavit is as follows: "And
that the paper which has been pro-
duced by the county attorney upon
the trial and read to the jury by the
county attorney as the Indictment
upon which the defendant is put upon
trial is not the Indictment found and
presented by the grand jury but is
now falSitied and is forgery as afore-
said"
This concluding the affidavits, At
tOrney A. Il. Pau arose and said that
the prosecution cheerfully courted
an investigation, whether the point
taken was good one or not. He had
would present. He read an affidavit
by County Attorney Benedict, who
testified to as to the preparing of the
Indictment. The Indictment now on
file is the same one as passed upon by
the grand jury. Before presenting it
to the grand jury he discovered that
he had omitted the words in question,
which he interlined at once, in the
presence of j. A. Flittie and Arthur
Schaub. He had made other interline-
atlOnS, all OF which were made before
receiving the signatures of the grand
jury officers. He compared the in
dictment with copies with Ira P.
ShiSSler, and as they read the same, he
supposed that the copies were the
same as the original. He denied that
he had taken the Indictment into the
Judges room, or took it from the
Clerk of Courts desk until the time of
the trial.
Judge Severance asked whether it
was claimed that he was in the office
at the time Mr.. Benedict is alleged
to have gone in with the Indictment
in his possession. VIM +. Hughes
stated that the court was in session
at the time, and that the Judge was
sitting behind his desk in open court.
An affidavit by j. A. Flittie was
read, substantiating Mr.. Benedict's
statement, especially as to the inter-
lining of the words of correction.
which was done before the grand Jury
had received the Indictment to pass
upon. He twice saw the words inter
lined. Arthur Schaub made SINH
lar affidavit
A. NJ Smith, foreman of the grand
Jury which returned the Indictment
against Conway and Layne, Dec. 18th,
1898, testified that the words in ques-