The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1902-11-28

diets are often the results of CON
promises, but this does not explain the
manner in which those compromises
or Weddings in opinions could be
| brought about, unless it is on he
| theory that fer tic time being there
was not a wholly sane man among the
, dozen. No other explanation is pos
sihle.
Just now the people of Anaconda
are discussing one Of those peculiar
! manifestations of mental ALTERATION
on the part of a jury in that place.
A man was tried for murder. There
was plenty of the strongest kind of
testimony to establish the fact that
the accused did really kill the dead
man. Even the defense, that is the
lawyers on that side Of the case, ad-
mitted the homocide. They couldn't
we'll get around it. Overwhelmed with
the proof of the guilt of their client,
they set up the old plea-insanity-
and brought expert gentlemen to
swear that in their opinion the de-
PENDANT at the time of the killing was
laboring under what they designated
as a 'Sdelusion Of persecution
It seems that the killer had invent
ed or thought he had, a machine
which in it's peculiar field OF applica-
ton was to revolutionize the world.
He applied to the other man, who oc-
cupied an official position in n OF
the reduction works Of the place, to
install one of the machines and give
it a practical test. The man applied
to did not seem to entertain the same
enthusiastic belief concerning the ef-
fciency of the appliance as possess
ed the inventor and he refused. AS
his word was final nothing remained
for the inventor to do except kill the
other man. This he did, going to the
extent of buying a revolver for that
express purpose and then to make
sure that it was all right he took the
Weapon out into the country and did
with the invention of another what
his intended victim would not do with
his-give it a thorough test, both as
to accuracy and power of penetration.
The trial apparently was satisfactory,
for the fellow returned to town and
then went where his "~persecutor' was
and fred an assortment of bullets in
to his body, with the result that soon
there was a dead man awaiting final
disposition.
AL this was proved, and much
more all the time duly bearing in
mind the %"delusion Of persecution
which was brought to the front regu-
larly and earnestly by the defend
ants lawyers. 1t worked, that is the
"delusion of persecution did, but not
to the limit Of it's power or purpose.
The jury evidently had been impress
ed with the idea sought to be con
veyed by the attorneys for the de-
PENDANT, to an extent only. Instead OF
acquitting the fellow, alter a struggle
lasting fifty hours the jurors found
him guilty of murder in the second
degree and fixed his punishment at
twelve ear in the ~penitentiary, one
year for each juror.
The verdict must be taken as prov
ing that the jury accepted the i'll
sanity theory, otherwise it must have
been murder as charged, but by wha'
process of reasoning the jurors al
rived at the conviction ina
the man should be punish
ed at all is not so easily un
| derstood. If he was insane at tn
time he fired the shots that resulted
in the death OF the other man he Ger
: tainly was not responsible for his az
/ tions and should have been discharg
ed with a recommendation for his sc
| auestration, for the learned expert
swore that 'delusion of persecution
S was ore of the most dangerous form
I of insanity. If, on the other hand
they considered him sane then n
should have been found guilty q
q charged" for there appeared to be n
t mitigating circumstances in conne'
ton with the homocide. Very likel
u the jury thought that the man wa
not 50 insane but that he could di
fcrentiate between right and wron
IS and still not sane enough TO be pul
e ished to the extreme extent present.
u ed by law for murder. So he wa
1t given the benefit of the doubt, the ju1
% holding to the side of safety by d
le recting that he should be placed for
AZ limited number Of years where /
!" could not again become dangerol