The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-01-09
LADY SCOTT BECAME HYsTERICaI
WHEN SENTENCE WAS PRO-
NOUNCED ON, HER.
EIGHT MONTHS IN JAIL.
EARL RUSSELL INDICATED BY
THE PUNISHMENT Of HIS
MOTHER-IN-LAW.
SENSATION IN THE COURT ROOM
Her Ladyship Rebuked by the Pre-
siding Justice for the Violence
of Her Language.

LONDON, Jan. S.-Lady Selma Scott.
the mother-in-law Of Earl Russell. who,
through counsel, pleaded guilty yes
terday in the central criminal court of
criminally libelling his lordship. in
connection with John Cockerton. an
engineer, and William Aylott. a. valet
was sentenced this morning to eight
months Imprisonment, Without hard
labor. Cockerton and Aylott, who also
pleaded guilty, yesterday, received
similar sentences today
Lady Scott, accompanied nv her
daughter, Countess Russell, entered
the court room at an early hour. They
were both stylishly dressed in black.
and pending the opening Of court.
walked up and down the corridor the
daughter having an arm around her
mothers waist. Both ladies were pain
fully nervous and Lady Scott was
heard to remark: Il do not dread go
ing to prison; but I feel the Injustice
Of the way I have been treated"
Justice Hawkins entered the court
room shortly after II o'clock. Those
present were principally lawyers: there
was. only one woman spectator Sir
Frank Lockwood, counsel for Earl Rus
sell, in a brief speech, asked that all
ground for doubts as to his Iordshin's
character be removed, and counsel for
Lady Scott, addressing the court in
turn, said that her ladyship would mn
dertake never to republish the ubels
and he appealed to the judge not to
deprive the daughter of her mothers
protection. Counsel then asked Der-,
mission for his client to make a state
ment and Justice Hawkins nodded his
consent ThereupOn, Lady Scott read
an address, saying that she accented
any punishment the judge would give
her Tor the sake of honest, suffering
women. She had believed that the men
in the dock and the dead man Erred
erick Kast, the groom. who died Of
consumption in Holloway Jail where
he was confined as one of the three
male defendants) had told the truth.
Continuing, her ladyship said she
trusted that no one in the court room.
including the judge, would ever see
their daughters suffer as hers had suf-
Tered Her only fear was that her
daughter would be followed by de-
tectives and that something would hap
pen to her.
Lady Scott was very nervous and
trembling, but she read her statement
clearly. Justice Hawkins then sum
med UP, Lady Scott, who was visibly
growing more nervous every moment.
stepping back and forth in the dock.
and when Justice Hawkins. contin11ine
said: I'm 1889 arrived that in daW
when Earl Russell made the acquaint-
ance OF Lady Scott, the origin of all
his unhappiness, her ladyship inter-
rupted with: Thank you. my lord.''
Justice Hawkins did not notice the
interruptions, but Mr. Hall, counsel for
the male defendants, who, all along.
had squabbled with the judge, made an
ob5ectlon, threw down his brief and
said: Il abandon the case"
The incident caused a great sensa-
ton. All present in the court room
stood up; Lady Scott became hysteri-
cal. threw back her head, pounded the
railing Of the dock and shriel1ed: This
is abominable."
Counsel tried to pacify Lady Scott
and when quiet was eventually re-
stored Justice Hawkins sentenced her
to eight months imprisonment with
out hard labor and afterwards i'm
posed the same sentence upon the two
male defendants. When Countess
Russell heard the sentence pronounced
she shrieked, and her mother, Lady
Scott, shouted, There is not one word
of truth in it," Then, addressing her
daughter, apparently, She cried, "You
@S.nu II vas IHpOSSlple TO get justice.
Thereupon Justice Hawkins ex-
claimed, II will not allow you to thus
address me-" rtff
The court officials promptly removed
Lady Scott. who wills be taken to
WormWood Scrubs prison.
Cockerton and AyIott, who are two
communicating men, stood stolidly in
the prisoners dock throughout the pro-
ceedings. Earl Russell, who occupied
a seat among counsel, beamed
throughout, evidently deriving consid-
cradle satisfaction from the result of
the trial. Owing to ill-health, Lady
Scott will be accorded in prison the
privileges of a f1rst-class misdemean-
ant. 1855