The evening times., 1895-10-22
MURDERER HARRIS TRIAL
Slayer of Mathew SpueI| Very
Nervous in the Court.
JURYMEN NOT ALL SELECTED
Several of the Talesmen Had Read the
Account of the Case In the News
papers and Were Prejudiced
Others Had Conscientious ScrupIes
Against Capital Punishment.

The trial of John, alias P atsy, Harris.
indicted for the murder OF Matthew Spruel.
was begun by the partial selection of a
jury this morning before Judge Cole in
criminal court division No. 1. After
an hour the panel was exhausted, eleven
jurors had been chosen with, however.
seventeen challenges at the disposal OF
the attorneys. Thirty-five talesmen were
summoned to appear in the morning.
The story of the killing that placed
Harris before the court this morning to
answer with his life for the crime is brief
He lived with his wife in the second story
of houi on Thirty-third street, George
town. Downs tairs Matthew sprueli had a
barber chop in the front room and lived
with his family in the rear rooms.
On the 4th of last July Harris wife
entered the shop about noon, and, it is
claimed, to spoke to all around her save
SpruelL Harris came In an hour later in
a partially intoxicated condition. Spruell
asked why his wife had sighted him. Har
ris aid he had told her to speak to no men.
FOLLOWED WITH THE PISTOL.
A quarrel resulted, ard Spruell flour
ished razor and Harris drew a revolver.
A woman separated them, and Harris pis-
tol was thrown into the back yard. 1t is
said he went on up stairs and a few min
utes later returned and passed through the
rear door, picking up the revolver in the
back yard.
About O'Clock Spruen started down
Thirty-third street. Harris went after
him. Seeing him coming. Spruell ran and
Harris gave chase. At the corner of
Thirty-third and NJ streets Sprnell turned
into hallway and Harris fired a shot at
him. As the fleeing barber reached the
first stairway landing Harris fired a sec
ond bullet. that lodged in Spruclrs abdo-
men and produced death in an hour. The
murderer was Immediately arrested,
Harris is tweDty-eight years OF age, but
he looks almost ten years vtungcr. He
is small, slender and coffee-tolured, and
his features were made lighter this morn
ing by the evident fright and anxiety he
was laboring under.
When brought before the court he sat
between his counsel, Messrs. Richard c.
Thompson and Charles L. Frailey. who
had been appointed to defend him, and
watched every movement in the selection
of the men who were to have This life in
their hands. He has a fairly intelligent
face, and does not lonk ike the ordinary
negro criminal.
Two men were excused by Judge Cole
because they said they felt that they had
been so biased by reading of the case
that they could not render fair verdict.
They were Mr.. Anderson REM and Mr..
Fred NJ. Lewis.
''You have reaf the newspaper accounts:
they may not n. Ways be correct" said
Judge Cole.
II find that the things hear through
the newspa apers are in most Instances cor
rect" said Mr.. Lewis
Six jurors had conscientious scruples
against capital punishment. The others not
left temporarily In the box were challenged
by the lawyers
The names OF the eleven who may be per-
mitted to remain are as follows: Messrs
Joseph W. Hooper. Frank Wells, Thomas d.
Water, ]. d. Harris, Joseph s. Haas. C. NJ.
Beck, C. E. Addison, Emanuel Kempman.
Patrick Phillips, L. W. Hennon and W. f.
Cruitt