The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1897-01-08
GALLOWS' SHADOW
Now Hanging Over First Mate
Thomas M. Bran.

AnnOCouC6-VuIy 'AO
Seven Hours Before Reaching Verdict.
Boston, Jan. 4-After q hours DELHI
Grafton, the jury in the case Of Thomas
NJ Bran, charged with the murder of
Captain Charles L. Nash of the barken-
tine Herbert Fuller, on the high seas,
July Is, 1896, came into court at $40 Sat
urday afternoon and returned verdict
OF guilty as indicted.
AS soon as it was announced to the
court that the jury had reached deci-
sion, the prisoner was brought in and
the jury headed by it's foreman, filed to
its place. Bran eagerly scanned each
face as the men were seated, but if he
learned his fate, he gave no sign.
The veEGict was Il complete surprise
to nearly everyone. Bran heard the
fatal words of the foreman With moth
ing more than slight blush, keeping
his stole attitude throughout the trying
ordeal. -Four times the jury asked for
instructions from the court on knotty
questions.
When the jury etired on Friday after
noon a test ballot was taken at once
1t stood to for conviction. They
talked for three hours before it was
proposed to take u !ect nd ballot This
ballot came nearest conviction of all
ballots taken until the last The vote
stood II to / for convection, and it was
stated that the Juro" v no stood Odt was,
Charles w. Hewes of Chatham, a sail
maker.
After the II to / ballot the jury re-
turned to the discussion of the evidence.
The jurors who voted for acquittal
hung their hopes on the belief that it was
not possible for Charles Brown, the only
witness who gave direct evidence in the
case, to see into the ca bin, as he said he
could.
At o'clock Saturday morning a bal
lot taken then resulted in vote of to
Q for conviction. About breakfast time
a ballot showed that the jury had fallen
back to to 4 for conviction, and the
jury stood in that attitude during the
day until noon. While the jurors waited
for dinner they took a ballot. and all
the votes were cast for conviction. They
reported at once to the officers that they
had agreed, and the Jury was called into
court and the verdict recorded before
they ate their dinner
Upon returning to the jury room Juror
Warren M. Blake was informed of the
death of his sister, Isabella. Mr.. Blake
lives in Wobucn.
The case was one OF the most closely
fought of any tried in this state since
the famous Parkman murder case in
1850 and even now the lawyers for the
convicted man have not given up the
fight for his life. None of the exceptions
taken at the trial were vital points, for
the court in nearly every instance ruled
in favor of the prisoner and gave his
counsel far more latitude than was al
lowed District Attorney Hoar
The scene utSftle the courtroom when
the verdict mas announced was sensa-
Eional. as from the great crowd there
arose an almost gasp of surprise. 1t
took only a few seconds for the news
to spread throughout the city, and al
most before BramAbimself realized that
he stood in the sh.taD-7' ~ the galIovTs, :
The fact of his guilt was on every tongue.
AS soon as the jury had been polled
Lawyer Cotter Immediately moved for
a new trial, and as usual the court ap-
pointed a day when the argument on
both sides will be heard on the motion,
Jan. 8 being the day set
For some minutes &fter the announce ,
ment of the verdict Bran kept his nerve.
but the strain WAS too much and he
gave way to tears for the first time
during the ordeal.
At the time he could say very little,
only to repeat over and over again,
81 am innocent, / am innocent, am not .
guilty of this.
u did not believe it possible that any
such thing could happen to me. | could
not believe it, but | know | am inno-
cent"
Bran is bearing up remarkably we'll,
and seems confident of securing a new
trial. He slept soundly Saturday night,
and yesterday morning arose and ate
a hearty breakfast. He does not show
the least trace of nervousness.
Harry 4. Booth, one of the jurymen
who convicted Bran, says
Il am prepared, and | think | can get
four others of the Bran jury to do the
same. to make an affidavit that in agree
ing to the return of verdict of Guilty
against the prisoner, we voted against
our convictions.
That is to say. that While we may all
have believed that the mate was the
man who committed the crime, at the
same time we did not consider the evil
dence established that beyond all
doubt.
of the belief of the jury that they were
permitted only two courses-to find the
prisoner Guilty or Not lGuilty'-and
could not come into court finally without
having agreed.
Another and very potent factor in
bringing about the result was the
meaning given by the jurors to Judge
Colts instructions as to how a minor
ity should be guided in endeavoring
to come to the views of the majority.
The court was understood to have
practically instructed the jury that the
minority must give in to the majority,
or in other words, that one or two men
in the minority must consent to hang
a man, because the majority considers
him to have been proven guilty" .
Boston, Jan. 5-The cost to the United
States government of defending and
prosecuting Mate Thomas NJ Bran for
the murder of Captain Nash is probably
not far from $4,000.
Bran Verdict at Halifax.
Halifax, Jan. 5.-The excitement here
ever the Bran verdict continues una
bated Newspaper opinion is that the
jury's finding was fully justified. Inter
views with police officials who took
.