Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1901-09-25

Il
| the belief becoming SO common, that
men who are charged with crime shall
not be permitted to go thru the form of
q trial in court of justice, but that
Lynch law shall take the place of the
calm and dignified administration of the
| law by our courts of justice.
When that doctrine becomes suff1-
ciently prevalent in this country, If it
ever does, our institutions will be set
pside and overthrown and IL we are not
misnformed as to the state of mind of
some people in some parts OF the coun-
| try the time is fast approaching when
men charged with crime will not be per-
mitted to come into court and submit to
a calm and dignifled trial, but will be
strung up to tree on the bare suspicion
that some one may hold the belief that
they have committed some crime.
Il suggest, gentlemen, that that class
of the community who are crying out in
| our cities and are sending letters to
lawyers suggesting that the man who is
charged with the crime that this defend
ant is should not be permitted to have
| a trial before a court Of Justice are a
more dangerous class to the community
than the anarchists about whom We
read so much.
Now, 1t is the duty OF every Ameri-
can citizen or every good man to stand
| firmly by the law, and put his voice
against any idea that a man should be
punished for any crime until he is
proven guilty in court beyond any rea-
sonable doubt.
my associate and myself are here to
uphold the law We are here to see that
this trial progresses in q legal, orderly
ond proper manner. We must in every
way possible put down and suppress
| this feeling that cases may be disposed
of without the intervention of Courts of
| justice.
This trial here is great object les
son to the world. Here is a case where
man has stricken down the beloved
president of this country, in broad day
| light, in the presence of hundreds of
| thousands OF spectators. II there was
ever case that would excite the anger,
the wrath of those who saw 1t this was
one, and yet. under the advice OF the
| president, "let no man hurt him." he
was taken, confined In our prison, in
dicted, put upon trial here and the case
| is soon to be submitted to you as to
whether he is guilty of the crime
charged against him. That, gentlemen,
speaks volumes in favor OF the orderly
conduct of the people of the city OF But
falo.
Here was man occupying an exc
allied position, man of irreproachable
character; he was man who bad come
here to assist us in promoting the pros
rerity OF our great exposition. And he
n, 14tya hN1l n
ton
His death has touched every heart IN
this community and in the whole world,
and yet we sit here and quietly consider
whether the man was responsible for the
act he committed That question is one
you are called upon to decide.
The law presumes the defendant In
nocent until he is proven guilty, and we.
start with the assumption that the de-
fendante was not mentally responsible
for the crime he committed. We have
not been able to present any evidence
upon our part. The defendant has even
refused on almost every occasion to talk
with his counsel He has not aided us.
so we have come here unaided to con-.
slider this important question. But
know there is in every human being a
strong desire to live. Death is specter
that we all dislike to meet and here this
defendant. without having any animosi-
ty against our president. without any
personal motive. so far as we can see,
committed the act which. II he was sane,
must cause his death.
How can man with sane mind
perform such an act? The rabble in the
streets will say, no matter whether he
is insane or not, he deserves to be killed.
The law, however, says that you must
consider the circumstances and see II
he was in his right mind or not when
he committed the deed. II you find he
was not responsible you would aid III
lifting great cloud from the minds of
the people of this country. II the be-
loved president had met with railroad
accident and been killed our grief could
not compare with what 1t is now. II you.
find that he met his fate thru the act of
an insane man 1t Is the same as tho he
met 1t by accident. had the profound-
est respect for President Mckinley. I
watched him in congress and during his
long public career and he was one of the
noblest men God ever made. His policy
we care nothing about, but 1t always
met with my profoundest respect. His
Death was the saddest blow to me that
has occurred in many years.
Judge Lewis was crying when he fin-
ished, and the eyes of many of those in
the court room were full Of tears
Judge Titus then arose and said that
Judge Lewis had so completely covered
| the ground that 1t seemed entirely un-
necessary for him to reiterate it and he
4 would theraforn. rest n ~
At $40 District Attorney Penney be-
gan summing up. He spoke in clear,
well modulated voice, and every word
could be heard in any part Of the room.
He said in part:
1T is hardly possible for any man to
stand up and talk about this case with
out the deepest emotion. 1t WAS the
most awful tragedy that ever came up
on the world.
I'VE have shown you how this defend
| ant stood in the temple of music that
afternoon and shot down our beloved
president. We have shown you how he
attended anarchistic and socialistic
meetings at which was own in his heart
the seeds of his terrible act.
THE counsel for the defense says If
the defendant was sane ne was respon-
sible and that IL he was insane he must
be presumed to be innocent. He tells
you that it is a presumption.
ut is also presumption Of law that
every MIN is, zane until proven insane.
Is, - t.