The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-10-08
Attorney j. D. Call Talks of til.
Majors Case.
HOPES FOR A REVERSAL
TRANSCRIPT OF EVIDENCE
FILED YESTERDAY.
Affidavit Which Makes a Grave
Charge Against One of the Trial
Jurors Accompanies the Papers
Witness Who Saw the Tragedy
Through a Pair of Field Glasses

Attorney J. D. Call of Brigham City
was in Salt Lake yesterday on business
connected with the case of Abe Majors,
who is in the penitentiary under sem
tence of death for killing Captain
Brown of the Ogden police force in
running fight last spring. An appeal
has been taken in the case and the
transcript of evidence taken at the
| trial was filed in the supreme court
yesterday.
Majors was tried and convicted under
the name of James Morgan, and the lat
ter name appears ON the papers filed
yesterday Il am thoroughly convinced
of the innocence of Majors" said Mr.
Call, land have not the slightest doubt
but that the supreme court will order
the case remanded for a new trial
take this position for several reasons,
any one of which would be sufficient.
Affidavit of Misconduct.
I'm the first place, I have filed an
affidavit from Verone Phillips relative
to misconduct on the part of William
Fosgreen, one of the trial jurors. When
he was being examined as to his COM
potency Fosgreen Swore that he could
try the case impartially. He said he
would be willing to have Majors sit on
jury to try him, if their positions
were reversed. although he might know
that Majors entertained the same feel
ings toward him that he entertained
toward Majors. That is to say, he felt
thoroughly competent to try Majors and
did not entertain any prejudice against
him.
Now, Fosgreen said to Phillips and
to several other citizens whose affida-
Wits will be filed, that if he got on the
jury he would certainly hang Majors.
So much for misconduct on the part of
this juror In the next place, we have
discovered some new evidence which
was held back by the prosecution al
the trial, although the county attorney
was cognizant of it.
New Witness of Shooting.
''Our new witness is George J. Wells,
who is constable in Willard precinct,
where the killing occurred. Wells will
testify that he stood at a point about
400 yards from where the tragedy took
place, and looked at it through pair
of field glasses. He will swear that he
saw the man who was killed by the
officer fire at least one shot,
"Of this he is absolutely positive. He
thinks he saw the defendant fire one
shot, but can't be sure about it. AS
matter of fact, the Majors who was
killed fired both shots. When his body
was found his hand was barely two
inches from the handle of a revolver
two chambers of which had been dis
charged.
Every chamber in the defendants
pistol was loaded. and, therefore, if he
fired at all he must have picked up his
brothers gun after the latter had fired
one shot. This is manifestly absurd
theory, for he would have had to make
the change in full view of the witnesses,
none of whom testified to seeing any
thing of the kind.
Again, when the officers. came up
they Immediately asked the defendant
where his pistol was. He showed it to
them fully loaded and pointed to his
brothers on the ground with two cham
bers discharged. In the short space of
time that interviewed between the kill
ing and the approach of the officers he
would not have had the opportunity
for formulating an untruth as to the
ownership of the guns
another Point at Issue.
Mr.. Call will remain in the city until
Tuesday. He does not think the SUI
preme court will reach the case at this
term. 1t will have to pass on another
feature of it before reaching the main
issue. This is in regard to the tran
script. Mr.. Call SAID that IN other
cases Judge Hart, who presided at the
trial, had allowed appellants to file a
of the testimony taken.
He understood that this course would
be permitted in the Majors case. and
went to the trouble of summarizing the
evidence. Then Judge Hart required a
complete transcript. Mr.. Call viii ask !,
the court to pass on this matter at the
present term. The complete transcript |
was the enc filed yesterday. If the
court decides that a. summary is suffi.
cient this one will be withdrawn and |
the other substituted.