The herald., 1895-11-01
BARNES BURNING WORDS
In His Closing Argument in
Durrant Case
GRIN COMPARED WITH DEFENDANT
Beside Whom the Ancient MUIR
derer Is Noble
THE MOTHER is OVERCOME
By the Torrent of Invective and De-
nunciatiOn
Parnes Tnrrs the Fact to ADVANTAGE of the
Prosecution
The Speech viii 3a Concluded Today-There
Remains Only the Judges Charge
and the Case viii Then
Go to the Jury
By the Torrent of Invective and De-
nunciati0n
parnes Inrrs the Fact to Advantage of the
Prosecution
Associated Press Special Wire

Associated Press Special Wire
SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 3l.-District
Attorney Barnes did not finish his argu-
ment in the trial of Durrant today as he
announced last night that he would do.
The jurors asked the court not to send
them out tonight, as they would pi efer to
be- charged tomorrow morning and have
all day to consider the case. The request
was granted, and as the district attorney
desired to have his words still ringing in
the ears of the jurors when they should
retire to agree upon a verdict, he spoke
until time for court to ad iourn and then
announced that he would not finish until
tomorrow morning. AS Judge Murphy's
charge is understood to be very long, it
is believed that the Jury will not retire
before tomorrow afternoon.
That Durrant is not only monster,
but criminal whose actions both before
and since \ pril have been in keeping
with the actions of other great criminals,
we're the statements that the district at
torney endeavored to keep before tho jury
today. The impulse that prompted the
prisoner to steal Blanche Lam ,nt's rings
from her body, he said, was the same i'm
pulse that had caused other criminals to
steal that forswhlch they had no use after
committing similar crime. If it were
not for the fact that criminals always do
things that should be lett undone and
fail to perform important acts, he said,
law breakers would never be detected.
AS the district attorney dwelt upon the
ghoulish nature of a man who could steal
the rings form the body of an innocent
girl that he had murdered, his .eruncia.
ton of the defendant became SO bitter
that Mrs. Durrant was unable to retain
her com posure. She burst into tears and
flung her arms around the neck of her
son as If to shield him from the torrent
OF invective of which he was being made
the object. Durrant remained measure
oily calm, but his mother. although she
made several efforts, could not control
her emotion. In the meantime the dis
tfict attorney, who did not notice her
state. his facs being turned away, con-
tinued his scathing argument, until Juror
Smythe finally brought the incident to
an end by asking for u five minnie re-
cess. The request was granted and when
the proceedings were resumed Mrs. Dur
rant hsd recovered herself.
Barnes referred feelinely to the incl
dent of Mrs. Durrant's collapse as q very
natural and proper one. 1t was one OF
the saddest phases OF crime that with the
guilty suffer the innocent. He sympa-
thzed from the bottom OF his heart with
those who are connected with those
charged with crime. But the jury and
he had duty to perform, with which
sentiment had nothing to do. Ii sym
pat1ized with this unhappy mother, ont
he called attention to the other mother,
to whom the mangied remains of The
victim had bean sent.
He pictured her whiting for the little
footsteps that would never be heard
again and for the sight of q form she was
never to see in Life. He then resumed
his argument.
''Theodore Durrant," said Mr.. Barnes,
stands forth in American Jurisprudence
today as the most brutal criminal of the
age. He is creature beside whom
Holmes, the multi-murderer who Is now
on trial in Philadelphia, is perfect gen
tleman and scholar; beside whom Pro-
lessor Webster, the Harvard Instructor
who killed DR.. Parkman many years ago,
was kind ana genial citizen. and as
com pared with whom Cain was
George Warrington.
He took tuis child into the church
alone. There she was with him alone in
that great building, this weak and sicklv
child, unable physically to cope with he
monster and as the Russian proverb
saws: Heaven was high and the ear
affair off, No one was there to come to
her and, no one could hear her call for
mercy as it fell upon his oallous car. She
stood alone In ths library, the prospective
victim of a lustful murder-a murler that
shall be spoken of by our children, your
children and your children s children,
until the end OF the history OF jurisprn-
dence. But the library did not suit the
murdsier's purpose Why? Because the
library had a window opening out on
Bartl5tt street. The girls shrieks might
be heard and be was most liable, yes, he
was almost certain to be discovered.
"No-on second thoughts the belfry.
Gentlemen, can't you imagine this crea-
ture, | can't call him man. L have
strugg led to overcome the feelings OF alb
horrenca against this person and to he
absolutely fair to the prisoner. But To
any man, when such conclusive proof oil
crime IS presented, must come some sucn
feelings.
Can t you imagine; can't you see as |
can? Perhaps | have thought over this
case so much that when close my eyes
can see the two together L can hear
him telling her of the view from the bel
fry. | can see them walk out OF the
library and climb the stairs leading to
the balfry door. But efter the Sd Of
April it was locked. Who had the keys
to the church? George King. the pastor.
JhnltOT SatelndD anu lueOuoIe l'Nti Iauts
Who was the mechanic OF the church?
Theodore Durrant. Who was it who
changed the lock on the library door?
Theodore Durrant.
lie nad in his possession, ! assert
from the facts and inferences in this
case, he had a key or keys that would
lock and unlock that belfry door. lie
had common kew that would unlock
the south door of the church and the
janitor's door. He had key to thu
library door, and he had KEY that
would unlock that belfry door through
which this defendant and that girl now
dead passed in life.
And l assert as certain and rs sure as
are the stars in their courses, that on
the Sd Of A pril behind that door, some
where III that belfry was that MURDER
committed.
That this girl was drugeed-that
she was murdered in somebody's back
ward and carried up there, as Mr.. Deu-
prey argued to you the other day, seems
to me the sheerest nonsense. There, IN