The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-07-27
VERDICT FOR DEFENDANT Or
DERED IN PITTsFIELD, MASS,
MANSLAUGHTER TRIAL
CHEERS IN THE COURT ROOM
When the jury Returnea a Verdict
of Not Guilty without Hav-
ing Left Their
Seats
HELD A PUBLIC RECEPTION

PITTSFTELD, Mass, July 26.-At the
opening Of court today in the Fosburgh
trial, Judge Stevens instructed the jury
to bring in a verdict of not guilty, and
this was done, ending the trial.
The jurymen did not leave their seats.
The verdict was received with shouts Of
applause, which the court Immediately
suppressed The demonstration. however,
was one of the most remarkable that has
ever occurred in court of justice.
Judge Stevens, in ordering a verdict of
acquittal, said:
JUDGE STEVENS CHARGE.
''Mr Foreman and Gentlemen-Durng
six days We have listened to q painful
recital of one of the saddest tragedies
ever presented to q jury. A beautiful girl,
Just budding into womanhood, was Shot
down and her brother has been accused
of the crime. The government has en-
deavored to prove that the girl was not
shot by burglars; it has endeavored to
exclude all other members of the family
from the affair, and third, to prove that
the shot was fired by her brother, Rob-
"The trial has proceeded somewhat in
the form of an inquest and has been
tried with great pains on the part of
the government and the defense. There
has been a desire to obtain proof, and
so a great deal of evidence has been m
troduced and admitted without objection
winch nave D6en eXcluQeQ unQer
the strict rule of the law. 1 think I
ought also to say to you that it is due
to the chief of police, who has stood be-
hind this prosecution, that in the view OF
the court he has tried to do his duty
with a single eye to ascertaining the
truth Now, Mr. Foreman and gentlemen.
a motion has been made that this case
be taken from the jury, and it becomes
my duty to say to you that in the opin-
lon of the court the government has no.
furnished proof sufficient to sustain a YER
dict of guilty against the defendant, and,
therefore, under the direction of the
court, in the indictment of Robert 5.
Fosburgh for killing his sister, you will
return verdict of not guilty"
The crowd in the court room, which IN
cluded hundreds of friends of the de-
fendant. broke into loud applause, which
the court Immediately quelled by stern
ly raising his finger and commanding the
sherig to see that the demonstration was
not repeated.
Robert Stewart Fosburgh, the defend
ant, was then ordered to stand, while the
foreman of the Jury was asked, What is
your verdict?" The reply was mot
guilty"
Judge Stevens then in a few words ex-
pressed his thanks to the jurymen for
their careful consideration of the case
during the presentation to them.
Young Robert Fosburgh was then dis
charged from custody and court was ad-
journed.
The great crowd then rushed as one
person to shake the hand of the smiling
young man, and it was several minutes
before the court room was cleared.
CHIEF OF POLICE WRATHY.
One of the features of the brief session
of court this morning was the announce
ment to the newspaper men of Chief of
To1,, oh
the affidavit which had been sent to him
yesterday by Chief Titus, Of New York,
had arrived in Pittsfeld this morning by
registered letter, but that the chief had
refused to accept them, and they would
be returned to New York. In explanation
of this action, Chief Nicholson declared
that he felt that he had not been treat
ed right by Chief Titus He said:
IF the New York police want to send
anything to me, they know how to do it
properly without notifying me by wire
tWenty-fOur hours before, and then Civ
ing it out themselves to the newspapers.
The affidavit in question was made in
Handaside or Gray. 1t was to the ef-
feet that Lewis Gray, with whom she had
lived, had told her on Aug q last that he
and fellow named Foy, did trick at a
house in Pittsfeld and had shot soma
one"
SHOOK FOSBURGH'S HAND.
Immediately after his discharge, young
Robert Fosburgh, accompanied by the
members Of his family, went to the Wen
dell house, where reception was he'd
and where hundreds of people took ad-
vantage of the opportunity to shake
hands with the young man. AS soon as
the jury was dismissed the foreman call
ed them together in his private room
and for the first time there was a con-
ference as to what the jurors believed.
Without exception, they declared that
they would have returned a verdict of
not guilty within fifteen minutes, even
had they not been instructed by the court.
They acknowledged they would have paid
no attention to the exhibits in the case.
While Judge Stevens was speaking to
the jury the members of the Fosburgh
family, realizing what his remarks meant
to them, burst into tears, while the de-
fendant sat with his head buried the
tears coursing down his cheeks.
When District Attorney Hammond who
has been the prosecuting officer in the
trial, was asked to make a statement, he
said that he thought it would be i'm
proper for him to say anything at this
time, except that from the evidence SUBJ
mitted the court was fully Justified in
taking the case from the jury. He
thought, however, that Chief Of Police
Nicholson was fully warranted in max
ing the investigation that he did.