The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1901-09-25
The Charge to the Jury.

full penalty OF the law.
The Charge to the Jury.
Justice White began his charge to the
jury at 1929. He arose from his seat and
stepped to the side of the bench nearest
ehe jury box. He said: 49,
Gentlemen of the jury-In this case
the defendant has acknowledged his guilt.
Such an acknowledgment in such cir
cumstances cannot go to the jury or the
court. The law requires that the defend
ant charged with such a crime must be
tried The law says that all the facts
must be observed and reviewed by you.
The law guarantees that the defendant
shall have a fair trial by twelve men i'm
partial and fair, capable cf taking the
testimony of the trial and giving it thor
ough consideration. II when all the cir
cumstances of the case are considered by
you there still exists in your minds rea-
sonable doubt that the defendant is guilty
you cannot find this man is guilty. The
people have submitted evidence tending
to show that this defendant committed
this crime; they have given evidence tend
ing to show that it was premeditated. If
you are satisfied that there was design
and generalization, and, if in accordance
shots were fired, then the defendant is
guilty of the crime of murder in the first
degree.
DUTY OF THE JURY.
"The jurors are bound to sift, compare
ana examine all the evidence, and. If in
their minds there is any doubt as to the
defendants guilt they are bound to acquit
the defendant. If there is no doubt in
your minds then you are bound to bring
in verdict of conviction. am very glad
that up to the present stage of this Ia
mentable affair, so far as the jurors and
the people of this city are concerned,
there has been shown that respect for the
law that is bound to teach a valuable
object lesson. The defendant has been
given every advantage of counsel | de-
plore any inctement to violence and the
man who is ready to go out and commit
crime because some other man had
committed crime is as guilty as the
latter and his act just as reprehensible.
"It is proper that | should define
murder in the first and second degrees
and manslaughter in the first and second
degrees. If the defendant on September
9th did wrcngfully assault, shoot or
wound William Mckinley by means al
legged in the indictment, and if the act
was committed with premeditated design
and if the act was the sole and approx
mate cause of death, and if the defendant
knew he was doing wrong at the time, the
defendant was guilty of murder in the
first degree.
'If the act was not premeditated, he
was guilty of murder in the second de-
gree If the shot was fired accidentally
and without generalization he is guilty
OF manslaughter in the first degree. 1t is
not necessary for me to discuss the ques-
tion of nanslaughter in the second de-
gree in this case
THE JURY RETIRE.
Justice White then commended the ju-
rors fer their naticnce during the trial
and ordered them to retire and bring in
a verdict.
Just before they did So however, Dis
trict Attorney Penny requested the judge
to charge the jury that the law presumes
every individual sane unless proven 9TH
erwise and the court said to them: "The
law presumes the defendant in this case
sane"
Lawyer Titus also asked the court to
charge the jury that if they were salts
fed from the evidence that at the time
of the commttal of the assault the de-
fendant was laboring under such defect
of reason as not to know the quality
of the act or that it was wrong, he was
not responsible and the jury must ac-
cult"
Il so charge" said the judge.
The jury retired at 3: 81 to consider the
evidence. The scene in the court room
then became dramatic in the extreme.
Continued on Second 2age.)