The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1898-07-19
IN THE BALANCE
The Trial of Browning Draws
to a Close.
EVIDENCE is CONCLUDED
AND THE GREAT ARGUMENT
HAS BEGUN.
TWO SPEECHES MADE YESTERDAY
Mr.. E. W. Pou for the State and Mr.. f. NJ.
f.. n.Io.
Is CONCLUDED
TWO SPEECHES MADE YESTERDAY
Mr., E, W. Pou for the State and Mr.. F. NJ.
Simmons for the Defense--Four Other
Speeches 10 be Made Monday.

Of if however. was adverse. A strong
and forcible argument was made to the
court and jury that he should be held
responsible for the deed.
He saw the closed doors of w
houses opened. his own home and the
home Of his aged father-in-law, and IN
side behcld the CHASTITY skeleton OF MS
own misdOing.
Solicitor Il. w. Pou drew a picture
Of i young sister-in-law with y pane
in her arms, charging Browning with
being the author of her ruin. and a PIC
tur of an old man with but few more
years to live at most, passing about IN
mortal dread of the despoiler of his home
He was forced to listen to the charge Of
unkindnesS. to the charge of seduction,
to the charge of gross ingratltude in try
ing to law the old man out Of the house
that had been his for fifty years, and
the charge of the villainous killing of
the man whom he had 50 repeatedly
wronged. To all this he listened still us
IL statue. He shifted his clear dry eyes
from the Judge to the jury, from the
jury to the eloquent young solicitor.
whose every sentence branded him with
infamy. His wife sat beside him plainly
clad in the emblcms of mourning. Next
to her sat tho defendants sister and
ffsI Nv 1Io SHl-t ti 60
old daughter. Such scenes were new to
them. They looked wistfuIly at the
court and Judge and puaked under the
whitening denunciatiOn of husband.
brother and father.
AS Mr.. Pou, after having spoken for
an hour and a quarter. took his seat the
young woman drew Il sigh of relief and
the defendant could not conceal his graf
ifcation that that part of the ordeal had
passed.
Mr.. +. NJ. Simmons arose to make
the opening speech for the defense. He
spoke as II who earnestly believed
hat the killing, while it was deplorablo.
was eNcusable in law and in fact. He
seemed to realize that upon him rested in
Il manner the responsibility of the life
or death of the man who had come and
placed his life in the hands of the court
and jury Of his fellowmen.
The eyes of the defendant
seemed brighter as they rested with
evident confidence upon the man
who was making such a powerful. ap-
peal for his life. The young
women looked at each other. then at
the man beside them. at the speaker and
the jury. resting then as though they
would strengthen the appeal that was
being made. Mr.. Simmons spoke for
two hours and Il half. making a strong
and a touching appeal for the prisoner at
the bar. the scenes pictured by Mr..
Pou were replaced by others more pleas
ing
The friends of the defendant were
privileged TO look upon Il picture of a
good. honorable citizen with no malice
or Ill feeling towards any a one. being
bounded and prosecuted by an iratc. dan
gerous man who was following him
about. his hand already stained with the
blood of two of his fellow creatures,
telling whomsoever he met that he had
killed two men and that Browning, his
son-in-law. was to be his next victim.
The best part of the day was spent in
the tedious examination and crosS-ex-
animation of witnesses. Mr.. +. NJ. Rose
began the opening argument for the
State at 800 O'Clock and as stated he
spoke for an hour and fifteen minutes.
His speech was clear-cut and convinc-
ing.
He said: There were four verdicts
any one Of which the jury might rem
dcr-murder III the first degree. murder
III the second degree. manSlaughter and
not guilty. He defined the law as APP
plicabIe to these four vcrdicts.
How was this crime committed?'
said he. You must decide from the
circumstance surrounding its commits
sion. No human eye saw this tragedy,
but those of Browning and Strickland.
and Strickland is dead.
"Browning had IL motive. He wanted
possession of the land, and SO long as
Strickland lived he could not enter.
One month before the fatal day. Brown
ing said at Daisy Bennus' house that he
would have possession Of the land if
he had to kill his old fatherin-law. We
are told that Strickland had persuaded
Browning. such was not the case. The
old man had lone all he could to aid
and encourage his ~son-in-Iaw. The old
mans life was taken, a cruel, pitiful
sacrifice upon the altar of Brown
ing's ingratitude, and yet they tell us
Browning was prosecuted.
The solicitor replied to the suggestion
that Strickland had killed two men by
pointing out that he had lived in Wake
county for half Il century. and no grand
jury had ever seen tit to investigate the
charges. He went to his grave honored
and respected by his ~neighbors. Such a
man can not be Il murderer.
At the close of Mr.. Pou's
speech Mr.. Simmons arose. This was
the first time that Mr.. Simmons had
been heard III so important a case in
Wake county. He spoke for nearly three
hours. and his speech was one of the
strongest and most forcible that has ever
been heard in the court house.
He tore away so far as powerful ar
gument could do so. the Notifications of
the prosecution. He rested his case upon
this one question: Strickland had said
over and over that he was going to Kill
Browning. He had told Mr.. Bum SO.
he had told Mr.. Krump SO, he had told
Il dozen others so on the day Of the kill
ing. He met Browning. had Il knife iii
his hand; he made the asault
that must necessarily end in the death
of the one or the other. Mr.. Simmons
went carefully over the evidence and
| fully and thoroughly discussed every
feature of the case. He impressed the