Montour American. (Danville, Pa.) 1866-1920, 1901-01-24
VOLUNTARY
MANSLAUCHTER
Continued from first page.)

Commonwealth in an effort to see
that justice is done. 1t was for the
Jury to decide the case from the evil
dence alone, without influence by their
feelings or sympathies.
Crime, he said is something that the
law forbids. The law is addressed to
man as a responsible being. The OBJ
ject of government is the protection OF
life, liberty and property. Life to
M. L. Fisher was the greatest blessing
that can be vouchsafed to man. From
that he was cut of. Murder is the
highest crime known to the law except
ing treason.
The statutes reverberating through
the ages from Sinai itself is for the
protection of life. The learned man
commits murder secretly for fear that
he may be punished; the ruffian MUIR
ders with the dirk or gun through the
promptings of rage and hate.
The difference between murder in
the first and second degree is intent.
Intent is the planning to do something
before the act is committed. The
story of thiscase is brief one, bute every
element in il, he said points to the first
degree. Continuing Mr.. Scarlet said:
I,shall show you that even the evidence
of the defense, proves murder in the first
degree. That is shown by acts commit
ed both before and after the commission
of the crime The defense says the
threats that enter into this case are not
specific. lThreats are not usually speci.
fc. But these threats were uttered in
anger"
Mr.. Scarlet then reviewed the diff
erent threats to show that they referred
directly to the intent to commit MUIR
der.
Another circumstance of preparation
for the commission of the crime" Mr.:
Scarlet said: ''was the fact that he
Immediately began by getting drunk
to put himself in a condition where be
could commit the crime, with hopes Of
committing his punishment. Is that
an evidence of the good character
which the defense has tried to showi
He went and borrowed money to buy
revolver. A revolver is not associat.
ed with life. 1t almost always signi.
fes death. He claims that he bought
it to protect himself from Strouse. II
Strouse was such a dangerous man,
why did he 60 up there where be
would be in danger. Why did he not
take his borrowed dollar and hire some
one else to 60 for his clothes, or why
did he not take policeman with him
Here we have the threat and the pre-
paration for the crime, now comes the
search for the victim. Revenge was
in control of the man. The search fol
clothes was an excuse for his presence
on the farm"
Mr.. Scarlet said that the purchase
of ten cartridges, when five would have
sufficed to kill one man, indicated tina
Wintersteen intended to kill Strous'
as well as Fisher. He also said tina
the defendant had contemplated suicide
but like all criminals, he was a cow
ard, and could not carry out the whole
of his plan.
In regard to Wintersteen's condi
tion when he gave himself up. Mr.
Scarlet said: "There was not scintill,
of evidence of insanity. The defens'
could have introduced direct evidenc,
to show it, but the only attempt to d'
that was simply an effort to impeacl
the evidence of the prosecution.
Mr.. Scarlet said that all circum
stances, logically connected, proved
murder in the first degree, but he fur
ther intended to prove that crime b,
the defense itself
The defense of intoxication or in
sanity, he said, was placed out of tn
case by the testimony of Wintersteel
himself, who swore that before the shoot
ing he was perfectly cool and did no
lose control of himself until he crossed
the field.
In regard to good chara cter, Mr.
Scarlet said, that the testimony o
Wintersteen himself showed the malic
in the man. He also said that th
claims of defense were false. If tn
shooting was in self defense, he said
Wintersteen would not have said afte
the shooting, 81 bought the revolver b
shoot Martin Fisher and then myself? !?
Self defense, said Mr.. Scarlet, pre-
supposes sanity.
In regard to the shooting the al
torney said: The shot, as claimed b.
the defense is an impossible one Win
tersteen said Fisher reached with bi