The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-10-24


When the ten minutes had eNDired
they reported that they had failed TO
agree and Judge Norreli and the at
iorueys went home after declaring q
recess untiI 9 O'Clock this morning and
the jury Was l0cned UP Tor the night
The impression was that majority
were for conviction for murder ~ 1Ae
second degree and that TWO OF tIle
jurors stood for aequittal This OF
course is but a mere guess, however
it IS exceedingly doubtful if a verdict
VIII be reached and Il DISAGREEMENT
seems TO be looked for
Yesterday morning at 10 O'Clock
Judge Powers, for the defendant, re-
sUned his argument 20 the jury and
al O'clock in the afteEnoon con-
Guided one Of the best pleas ever made
in this state.
County Attorney Van Colt began che
closing argument for the state when
judge Powers concluded de spoke
ill O'Clock ard then court took a
recess until Z O'Clock. al nlch hour
Mr.. Van Cot resumed his address and
concluded at $40. MT Van COUt s
argument was brilliant effort, yet
moderate in its tone and absolutely
free from anything saTOring Of venom.
he was absolutely fair to the de-
fendant yet CnBeied no point WhIC1
would strengthen the case of the
prosecution. Il Was logical, c6nYine-
ing and eloquent
Then followed Judge Norren's charge
ana at 8 o'clock the jury retired
JUDGE POWERS RESUMES.
Judge Powers began by taking up
the Seddons again land escri6ing as
their motive the clearing of Tom Sed-
don who Was in jail under suspicion
of completely in the crime. 1t Was
that which unlocked the gates. Ii
Tom hadn't changed his story he
would not now be walking the streets,
he would be in The DenitenJiGry. The
prosecution says the Seddons mad no
motive for changing the story. Ia that
they are resting on d broken reed.
Counsel referred 10 the statements Of
NJ. and Mrs. Seldom that they did
MOI know that perjury, false swearing,
WIS punishable by Imprisonment in
the penitenUary. Yet these Seddons
are all that stand between this woman
and liberty and on such testimony as
theirs they would hang this gentle, re-
fined girl or consign her 10 dungeon.
To hang her would be as bad as
murder itself, the law is not looking
for SUCH victims. Il is as much tbs
business of The state TO protect the
innocent as 10 punish the guilty.
The prosecution asks why the defense
hlO not pun hlN Slil > mother AAQ SISTER
on the stand. We might give many rea-
sons why. but the great reason is that
We didn't need to. because the prOSecU-
lion has not made d case. You VIII not
conVioS this sirI because certain Wit
nesSeS have not been called TO the
stand.
Judge Powers referred to the discrep-
ancies in the testimony of various wit
nesSes. especially as 10 the time Of day
u-l7fVh Mrs Hamilton l,,-o1,eror h..
cartridges, and TO the three or four
people who testified positively that they
heard "a piteous cry" "a piteous
grOan." and so forth. after Hamilton
was shot nut when the doctor came on
The witness stand he positively sWOre
that it VAS an absolute impossIbility
for any person wounded as Hamilton
was to cry out and thai his death must
have been absolutely instantaneous.
Judge Powers argued that the position
Of the shots found in the side of the
house and in the fence showed that a
struggle had been going on between
the parties, who were changing their
positions and not standing ~ one place
as the shooter would have been had he
or she been shooting TO murder.
Counsel up TO this point had discussed
the testimony o. the prosecution show
ing its weak points, and now he turned
his attention To the evidence the de-
Tense had introduced Ia meet the case
Of the state. He called attention to the
retiring and modest manner Of the de-
fendanJ. To the frank and open NAY in
which she told her story on the witness
staad- She has not lied 70 you. said
counsel She has taken you into her
confidence. She has laid bare her
Wom2n's heart 10 you. She has con-
fessed 10 you as she would to lar sod.
What more can you demand of her.
She loved that man Nhen she married
him. She unQuestionably loves him
now [ am not much of q churchman.
said counsel, but believe that peni-
tenCe, true and sincere penitence, IS the
only punishment the Almighty imposes
Tor sin, and this woman is peniten5, for
the fault she has confessed.
Many of us DON'T treat our wives af-
ter marriage as We ought to. Love TO
man is 4 WUman's whole existence. The
negligent husband leaves the door open
and The serpent enters. The Woman Is
not all TO blame. When Hamilton be
come aware Of his Wife's connection
with P2Vcy, counsel argued that Il WAS
natural that she should deny il ard
attempt 10 keep her husband from
learnins the truth. but at the same
time she had realized what she had losr
and resolved in her heart naVer again
10 be untrue 20 her husband. HaMiI-
tons way of getting the confession
from his wife. counsel deprecated. oS-
pecially his breaking his promise not
10 reveal the secret She confessed TO
him. The written confession was
couched IN the phraseology OF lawyer.
not ia that Of an uuskilleG girl That
paper bears out Che truth Of Mrs. Ham
nton's statement that she had written
II At he dicJation OF her husband ana
he had gotten the form Of il from. q
lawyer l1e got this confession BY prom
islnS that no human eye would eyer
look upon 1t; that no one would eyer
know IL But he at once violates that
confidence and in the refinement
Of cruelty be informs her mother.
No man Mho Is worthy the name
would obtain the confidence and the in
most thoughts OF his wife's heart and
then give them TO the public. 4 bo1f
the only kindly words this woman has
received since this trouble began came
from Nary Hamilton, not from Her oy,o
people, but from her husbands flesh
ana blood, from his sister. a kind. good.
Christian woman
Hamilton right along, however. held
out false hoges of forgiveness to his
wife. he seemed 10 take 4 delirht in
torturing her ne made promises which
he Broke and never intended 10 keen.
The actual cause of the tragedy was
the action Of Emily Seldom in lSeeplng
the diamond ring from her sister Lon,
Lou wanted II 10 give It TO her hus-
band; her husband expected it and
because he didn't get il ne uuarretad
with his wife and the ouarraI Ia,I "a IN,