The herald., 1896-09-16
Recalled by q Supreme Court
Decision
A NEW TRIAL FOR SANDERS
Convicted Of Forgery and Suspected Of
numbering Woott,n
The Decision Is Based on the Failure
to Admit Evidence Which Might
Have Shown Murder
Associated Press Special Wire

Associated Press Special Wire
SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 15.-The
story of the disappearance of William
Wootton of Fresno county ON Feb. !,
1894, is revived by the decision of the su-
preme court filed today granting a new
trial to w. A. Sanders, convicted Of for
gerry.
Sanders was accused of Woottor's
murder but the authorities fearing that
conviction of murder could not be OBJ
tained, tried Sanders for forging Woot-
tens name to a draft for $1400 on Kutner,
Goldstein & Co., and he was convicted
| on this charge. The reason for entering
.. new trial is that the draft was dated
after the time of Wootten's disappear
ance, and the prosecution did not show
that Wootten was legally dead.
Sanders was Wootten's nearest neigh
bor on his ranch near Fresno. Sanders
was a school teacher and had some local
reputation as scientist. Sanders in
duced Wootten to sell his ranch and
soon after Wootten disappeared, and al
though Sanders was suspected of his
death, no authentic trace of Wootten
was ever found.
The court said: at was incumbent
upon the prosecution to show that the
instrument purporting to have been ex-
ecuted by William Woot\ was in fact
u Forgery. One mode by which they
undertook to establish this was by evil
dence that Wootten was dead before the
day upon which the instrument bore
, date. True, this would not conclusively
establish the false character of the
draft, for man might post-date such
an instrument. Nevertheless, it would
be evidence tending to show its false
character. Again, it was proper part
of the case of the prosecution to show
that the defendant uttered and passed
the instrument, knowing 1t to be forged,
and, If the prosecution could establish
to the satisfaction of the jury that
Wootten had died before the day upon
which the instrument bore date and
that Sanders knew of his death, it would
unquestionably' be strong evidence
| tending to show that he knowingly
| passed a forged instrument
'"The evidence tending to show that
| Woptton was dead was admissible, even
| though 1t tended to show that he was
murdered by Sanders
Another ground upon which a new
trial was granted was that the court
| had improperly shut out the testimony
of Wesley Traver friend of Sanders,
! who would testify that he had seen
| Wootton in the company Of Graves
| Knausch after Sanders was supposed
| to have killed him. On this point th,
| court says:
| Under the circumstances and under
| the nature of the evidence which had
| been brought to bear against Sanders,
! he should have been allowed the fullest
la ;de in the matter. The court how
ever, under objections from the prose
cution, refused to admit the evidence of
| Traver and left such fra gments of it as
were admitted in an eviscerated ana
| well-nigh unintelligible condition. This
was hardship and injury to the de-
| fendant. The Importance to the
defendant Sanders OF evidence,
even the slightest. showing or
| tending to show, that after that time
! Kootton was seen in his company, and
in the company presumably of the two
men whom the prosecution claims to
be myths is manifest and no discussion
is needed to show the injury which the
ruling worked.
| On the assertion that Knausch and
Graves were but myths, the court says
| that under the circumstances they might
have still existed and yet have escaped
| the knowledge of the officers. AS to a
| question of the instruction of the jury,
| the court says:
| MANY of the instructions proposed
by the defendant were not fully en-
braced in the instructions given. De-
| PENDANTS proposed instructions as to the
reception by the jury of evidence of ex-
ira judicial admissions or confessions
was objectional in law and should have
been given. Other instructions might
also have been given. The jury was not
to be debarred from considering this
evidence with all the evidence in the
case, because the death of Wootton
might have been proved to their salts
faction beyond a reasonable doubt for
| the death of Wootton might not have
been, under the evidence, and in view Of
the jury. necessary to be conclusively
established to warrant a verdict. If,
however, the jury believed from the evil
dence that the defendant was not guilty,
unless it was proved that Wootton was
dead and that Sanders knew of his
death, then under such state of the
evidence it would unquestionably be in
cumbent upon the prosecution to es-
tablish the fact Of his death and of the
defendants knowledge of that fact be-
yond and to the exclusion Of any reason
able doubt"
Upon these questions the court re-
versed the verdict of Sanders guilt and
sent the case back to the superior court
for new trial.