The herald., 1895-10-06
MRS. PLAT A FREE WOMAN
The Charge of Arson Against
Her Dismissed
FIRST GRANTED A NEW TRIAL
Ice Silver Convicted of Burglary After a
Short Trial
One Supreme Court Opinion Received for
Fillng-Two Divorces Oranted-den.
eraI Court News

Mrs. Amelia Plat, recently convicted
of arson, appeared in department one this
morning to heaf Judge Smiths decision
on the motioA to grant her new trial.
The woman, since her conviction, has
spent the time at the county hospital,
where she has been quite sick. She is an
extremely nervous woman, and at times
has been almost com pletely Frustrated.
While waiting until several ex parte mat
ters could be disposed of, Mrs. Platt oc-
cupied chair by her counsel, General
Pierce, who tried TO encourage ner, but
she appeared completely crushed and ap-
parently took but little interest in mat
ter of so much Importance to her. When
her case was finally reached and Judge
Smith read his decision from the bench
granting the motion for a new trial. she
frightened up bit, but this did not last
long. AS this case has attracted much
attention, and the conviction of Mrs.
Platt was in the nature of surprise,
Judge Smiths reasons for setting aside
the verdict of the jury and granting a
new trial are given in full. especially as
the main evidence is reviewed by his
honor:
1.-THE defendant was convicted by q
Jury of ths crime OF arson. A motion for
new trial was ade by defendant, based
upon the ground mainly that the evil
denoe is not sufficient to sustain the ver-
dict.
MRS. Minnie Dunham. a witness in
the case, testified that defendant told
her before the fire that she had rented a
house and had procured large Insurance.
on her households and personal effects
and intended to burn the same and get
the insurance; that before the fire de-
fendant brought to the house OF witness
several articles consisting of some half
dozen anderskiits. shawls, etc.. saying
she did not want these burned up, and
left them at her house; that afterward,
at request of defendant, she sent them to
a party in San Francisco.
THAT after the fire defendant also
brought other articles to her house say
ing she had taken them out of the house
to save them from burning. Among the
latter articles So brought by defendant to
tho house OF Mrs. Dunham were four
ostrich plumes or tips, and that some
months after the fire defendant burned
them in her stove, saying 'Ashes tell
no tales" The underskIrts, shawls, etc
were produced at the trial, they having
been sent from San Francisco at request
of defendant.
1.-The defendant at the time of renting
the house was janitress of the Sandstreet
school and was rooming ON Temple
street. The rented house consisted of
four-room cottage, situated at Pico
Heights. some three miles from the place
where she was engaged as janitress.
The defendant had no family and gener-
ally was absent from her house on Pico
Heights most OF the week, going there
at the close of tie week. 1t does not ap
pear from the evidence that any OF the
articles referred to above were covered by
ba in her nrOOf Of lnqS
which she obtained her insurance. only
three silk underskirts are mentioned.
Mrs. Dunham swears she sent five silk
underskirts to San Francisco, but no
article produced in evidence on the trial
can be identified as being in the insur-
ance policy or in the list of her proof of
loss, so that it cannot be said that the
articles produced in evidence in any
manner corroborate the testimony of
Mrs. Dunbam. The case of the people
rests almost entirely upon the confessions
and admissions of defendant as testified
10 by the witness Durham. Now it is a
we'll settled principle of law that de-
fendant cannot be con yicted upon the
confession or admissions of defendant.
There must be other proof tending to
connect the defendant with the comm is
sion of the crime. g Grant on Ev., sec.
80; 81 Cal, 565; so CAL, 416; 55 CAL, 230;
People vs. Simonsen, decided by our su-
preme court May g. 1880
I'm this last case the supreme court
says that mere proof that building was
destroyed by fire does not prove the
corpus d 'li,ti.
''Tested by this rule. there is no proof
IN this case of the corpus deficit, for aside
from the confession of defendant there is
no proof that the fire was anything but
accideptal.
There being an absence of proof that
the fire was incendiary, and of the de-
tendant's connection Herewith, except
by extrajudicial confession of defendant,
the verdict must be set aside and new
trial awarded. and it is so ordered"
On the conclusion of the reading of the
decision Mrs. Platt was released on her
own recognizance and at once left the
court room. During the afternoon Dep
uty District Attorney McComas stated to
the court that under the rulings Of his
honor, it woulu b1 impossible to secure
sufficient evidence to convict, and he
thereupon moved that the case be dis
missed and the defendant discharged.
The motion was granted. the necessary
order was made and the Amelia Platt
arson case was closed.
Convicted of Burglary
Joe Silver was yesterday tried in de-
partment one bv Judge Smith and
jury, on charge of burglary, and con-
yicted in short order. Silver is quite