The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1895-11-18
STRANGE CASE RECALLED.
Recent Accident Rcvivcs n Most Noted
Criminal Trial-llow q Man Was Sem
tenced to Death for Homicide Caused
by q Giuss Pitcher.

NcScut ASSiusut NcNANSs {" "OSs NosS~
Criminal Trial-llow q Man Was Sem
tcncod to Death for Homicide Caused
by Gluss Pitcher.
In the paper of last Saturday. says
the Cincinnati Enquirer, appeared an
account of strange accident in which
a man was killed by the discharge Of
a gun while lying asleep on lounge in
his room, the weapon being discharged
by reflected rays of the sun falling upon
the cartridge chamber of the firearm.
Since the publication of the story q
correspondent from York, Pa. writes
concerning the accident, and refers to
a similar case, in which, through the
efforts of a clever Cincinnati lawyer
named c. G. Wallis. the person ac-
cused of murder and sentenced to be
hanged was set at liberty, the circum-
tantial evidence on which he was con-
victed being entirely exploded by a
witnessed demonstration as to how the
accident really occurred. The York
correspondent referred to volume 13 of
the Criminal Law Magazine. page 6O7,
on which q full account of the case
appears. The case was that of the
state Of Tennessee against Avery. tried
in Henry county, that state, and is one
of the most remarkable in the history
of criminal jurisprudence.
In June, 1887, Charles Ensley, the
cousin of a man of the name of Avery,
was killed in his room while lying on
a lounge, about 8 o'clock in the after
noon. The weapon which caused death
was small rifle. sending a thirty-two-
caliber ball through Ensleys brain. No
one was in the house at the time but
Ensley. An empty rife was found ly-
ing on rack on a wall of the room In
which tho EillinU ha
bullet fitted the tube.
Avery Sentenced to Death
Avery was arrested for the crime.
as he was the only living close relative
to Ensley. and by his death profited to
the amount Of about slOO. 200. Avery
was tried, pleaded not guilty, but was
convicted of murder in the first degree
and sentenced to be hanged. He ap-
pealed to the Supreme court, and en-
gagged Mr.. Wallis to defend him. The
Supreme court remanded the case back
to the Circuit court on technical errors
Two mistrials were brought about, and
then came the strangest part of the
story. The brilliant Wallis struck the
keynote to the mystery. In August,
1891, he had the rifle loaded and hung
on the wall. A white sheet. with the
form of a man marked on it,
was placed in exactly the posi-
ton occupied by Avery when lying
asleep, and a heavy cut-glass pitcher
of water like the one found in the
room was placed on the shelf above
The temperature was 30 degrees in the
shade, one of the hottest days of the
year. The pitcher acted as 81 sun glass
and the hot rays of the sun shining
through the water were refracted di-
rectly on the cartridge chamber of the
rifle.
Eight witnesses We're in the room,
and few minutes after 3 o'clock a
puf and report occurred and the
ball struck the outlined form back Of
the ear, in the exact location where
Ensley was shot, ard the theory Of cir
cumstantial evidence went to pieces.
The incident being witnessed and sworn
to, readily explained itself to the Jury.