Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1901-06-28

UP to the Judge and States Attorney.
The Morrisville Messenger lambasts
the jury which failed to convict in the
Lamoille county court one Petrie,
who tried to kill his wife with knife
and afterward attempted to cut his
own throat. The prisoner was prose-
cuted for simple assault, instead of at
tempt to kill, as intended, owing to "a
misjoinder in the indictment. The
Messenger says:
The defence was insanity, but was
so utterly foundationless that the pris-
oner's counsel had little or no hope
of securing his acquittal. The author
tiles at the Waterbury asylum, where
Petrie was for some time confined,
scoffed at the insinuation of the re-
spondent's insanity. There was one
chance in a hundred of an acquittal
and the respondent took it, knowing
that anything is possible with a mod
ern Lamoille county jury. The vote
stood eight for conviction and four
for acquittal the four latter being
well known. That they are unfit to
sit on a jury was suspected before
and is since assured. But the worst
is to come. One or two at least of
the jury are said to have been serious
ly under the influence of liquor during
the consideration of the verdict. To
one was furnished 80 bottles of beer
from the agency, conveniently by.
To another, pint of rye whiskey
from the same source. A citizen of
the village is said to have sat with
them in their room while they were
"deliberating" and assisted in the can
sumption of the beer. The revels of
the inebriated caused serious disturb
ance and loss of sleep to neighboring
guests in the house. Judge Munson
was necessarily aware of the
outrageous and scandalous proceed
ings, and after expressing him
self in scathing language on La
noble county court juries in general
and this in particular left for home
on the first train Saturday morning in
disgust.
The facts stated in this article are
furnished this paper by the states
attorney, but are known by dozens.
The failure to convict a man of sim
pie assault who tries to cut his wife's
throat and nearly succeeds is bad
enough, shameful and dastardly mis-
carriage of justice, but the accom-
panying drunkenness, revelrv and de-
bauchery makes of it a hideous af-
front to what was not long since the
good name of Lamoille county.
And so the June term of Lamoille
county court closed in a blaze of
shame. The safety valves of prohi-
bition," the agencies. still wholesale
rum to all corners and boards of civil
authority will continue to place names
on the jury list which are unfit to
decorate the rear wall of a country
slaughter house.
The conditions which the Messen-
ger pictures are shameful and deplor-
able, but something can be done to
mitigate the stain on Lamoille's es-
cutcheon. Isn't the question up to the
states attorney and Judge Munson?
The Messenger shows that they were
cognizant of occurrences that were
outrageous violations of law and or
der. If this is true, why did Judge
Munson not have the offending jury
men arrested Immediately for con-
tempt of court and severely punished?
And why did the states attorney not
have the person who furnished the
liquor prosecuted for violating the
prohibitory law? Silence may be gol-
den at times, but not while questions
like these go unanswered. Judge
Munson and the states attorney have
the floor