Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1902-12-01
Judge Burnham Fixes Penalty
at Session of Court Satur-
day Night
ovERRULEs MOTION NEW TRIAL
Gather Furnishes Appeal Bond in Sum
of $1,000 and Case Will Be Carried to
Supreme court-courts Remarks
Gather Says He Is Ready to Take His
Medicine. essa...

At 81 so o'clock Saturday night Judge
Burnham sentenced Thomas Gather
who was convicted Saturday afternoon
of assault with intent to commit man
slaughter, to two years in the peniten-
tiary at Ft. Madison at hard labor. A
half hour before a motion was argued
for a new trial, but the court oVerruled
it and the sentence Immediately fol-
lowed Gather has furnished an appeal
bond in the sum of $1,000, and will have
his freedom pending the decision of the
supreme court.
In passing sentence, Judge Burnham
told the prisoner that the jury would
have been warranted in finding him
guilty of even the more. serious crime
for which he was indicted, assault with
intent to commit murder, as the EVIL
dence had Justified it. While you We're
under the influence of liquor" Judge
Isurnham continued, "all of the evil
aence seems TO indicate that YOU knew
what you were doing, so as to be re-
sponsible, in law, for your actions. Ii
was fortunate thing, both for your
victim and yourself, that death did not
result, so that you would have been
convicted of murder. While realize
that the innocent, your aged mother
and your wife, must suffer thru this,
YOU, yourself, have caused them to sur
fer by your own admitted debauch, that
got you into this trouble. Therefore
must do what 1 think the law requires
me, in Furnishing you.''
Judge Durham said further to Cath
er that If he made an effort to over
come his appetite for liquor, and
showed by his future conduct that he
deplored the wrong and appreciated the
fact that he had violated the law, at the
proper time he would stand ready to
lend helping hand. He told Gather,
however, that he must show by his flu
ture conduct that he appreciated the
leniency.
In conclusion. Judge Burnham said
to the prisoner that it was not neces-
sary for him to administer lecture on
temperance to him. IF YOU he add
ed, "and the people of Marshalltown in
general, can not realize the effects
strong drink has in making beasts out
of men in the last two cases tried in
this court, nothing that / can say can
impress it upon you more strongly. The
situation is -deplorable when two men
are on trial for serious crimes, the
cause of which is traoeable to nothing
else than the use of intoxicating Ii
quors."
When Judge Burnham had finished,
Gather said, Il want to say that am
responsible for drinking as I did, and
whisky alone is responsible for the
crime committed. am ready to take
my medicine, and want to prove to
you and my friends that can be a man,
and viii do it,
The maximum penalty for the crime
of which the jury said Gather was guilty
z is FIVE years in the penitentiary. The
minimum is one year In Jail.
The Higgason Case.
The evidence in the case of Higgason
VS.. the Marshall Oil Company was con-
cluded last Saturday afternoon. The
arguments in the case will either be
made at Toledo before Judge Burnham,
or by briefs.
Judge Burnham went to Toledo this
afternoon, where he will convene the
Tama county court. Judge Caswell
left for vinton, to resume his work in
Benton county.