The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1895-07-24

CZECH CONVICTED.
Jury Render a Verdict of
Murder in the First
Degree.
WILL BE SENTENCED NEXT WEEK
"Fish John" Says He Wants to
Die-Dangerous Precedent for
the New Woman.
WILL BE SENTENCED NEXT WEEK

John Czech, who murdered his wife,
was this morning found guilty OF muir
der in the first degree.
The jury, which had been out all
night, came into court just as the Court
House bell was tolling the hour of ten
o'clock. Early in the morning it was
rumored that they stood 10 to 2 for muir
der in the first degree. Last night it
was only 6 to G.
When Justice Lippincott vas informed
that the jurors had agreed he sent for
'Fish john" Under Sheriff Erwin per-
sonally attended the murderer in his
short walk from the Jail to the Court
House. When he faced the jury, who
stood in a semi-circle in front OF the
bench, his small, weasel eyes snapped
viciously at the crowd of curious spec
tators who stood to the right of the
space within the bar.
Clerk Lees began in a bungling way
to receive the verdict when the Court
stopped him and told him to repeat the
form, of which the clerk was evidently
ignorant. With due assistance of the
Court and Prosecutor Winfield. Lees
stumbled through the prescribed method
of receiving the verdict, and, as the de-
PENDANTS counsel was absent, polled
each juror, who replied in an undertone,
Guilty: murder in the first degree"
REMANDED FOR SENTENCE.
Justice Lippincott then discharged the
Jury for the end of the term, and fixed
July 81 for the imposition of the SEN
tence, which, of course, will be 'te be
hanged by the neck until dead"
Czech stood unmoved during the or
lea, and only for the restless movement
of his small. wicked looking eyes might
have been a lay figure. The verdict
was translated to him by Interpreter
Pressler. and he merely shook his head.
DREADFUL POSSIBILITIES.
One of the few amusing things con-
nected with the trial of Czech was a re-
ference made by Prosecutor Winfield in
his eloquent address to the jury yester-
day, to women's rights: The Prosecutor
Czech to Chief of Police Murphy, where
Czech admitted that he shot his wife be-
cause she would not go home and remaln-
ed out at night.
,.Gentiemen." said the Prosecutor, 'be-
fore you acquit this man on this ground,
for it is his only defense, and before
you establish the precedent that a man
may shoot hts wife for staying out nights
remember that the period in the history
of the world has been reached when
women claim equal rights with men, and
when they get them, may Snoot
their husbands for staying out nights.
there are not a few within the sound OF
my voice whose bodies will not be filled
with holes daughter by all in the court
roOm.)
When Czech was taken back to the
Jail. where he will remain until hanged
for his crime, he appeared more thought
full than usual; but declared that he was
satisfied and he did not care to i've
longer. He is now sixty years dig, and
is the oldest man ever convicted of muir
der in the first degree in this county.
The Jail now containts three condemned
murderers and one man who will be tried
for murder in September. The condemned
men are;APaul Genz, John Czech and
Patrick Sheehan. The latter murdered
Dtedrich II. CARDS of Bayonne, and he
will be executed August 10. The man to
be tried lis Frank Burger, who is alleged
to have murdered John Engelbrecht of
tence Czech on Wednesday, July 81.