The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1903-10-15

he looked off a moment and when he
looked back the shooting had taken place,
and he didn't see Mr. Skinner step off.
Now he says. that while they admit that
Mr.. Fuller is man of unimpeachable
character, impartial in this matter and try
ing to tell the truth, that his statement Is
such as that it is contradicted by natural
evidence and cannot be true They say
that Mr.. Fuller said that when he saw
Mr.. Skinner before the first shot was fired,
or at the time the first shot fired, he was
going away from Mr. Haywood, and at the
time the second shot was fired he was go
ing a course southwest. Now the defend
INT says that if ne was going either course
that ball could not have hit him. He says
that if ne was going southwest at an angle
of As degrees q believe that was about.
what they placed it,, or If he was going
southwest, and in my front here is the
east line, thai it would have been impoS-
sible for him to have hit him in front of
the left arm. Now that is for you to say.
| thought when l first considered the mat
ter that that was natural evidence and 1t
was my duty to tell you whether IT you be-
lieved that he was going southeast, that
the wound could or could not be inflicted;
but upon reflection I reckon it is a ques
ton of fact, and | don't want to uSurp
your powers and l leave it to you to say
whether or not, if he was going southeast,
as Fuller said he was, the shot could have
been inflicted. If you are satisfied that
it could not, then it must follow as day
does night that Mr.. Fuller did not see
the matter in the light in which it was,
f., h, 70
hit him in that manner if he was going
right square with his back to him.
cat this point Judge PEBBLES accident
ally miscalled some of the points of the
compass and at the request of Solicitor
Daniel, read Mr.. Fuller's evidence)
"He says he was going 'sorter south
This Gndicating) represents the street out
there This is line directly perpendicu
lar to the street. Sorter south would
be little to the right. No man / sup
pose can tell how far to the right sorter
south would be- but it matters not wheth-
er it was much or less When he turned
sorter to the north, if he had turned
directly to the north and gone north as
matter of fact, every step he made IN
| til he reached the line drawn perpen
dcular to the east would not have been
going from Mr. Haywood but would have
| been going to him, because it is a mat
| ter of current knowledge that we all must
take notice of, that the hypothenuse of
! a right angle triangle is longer than
either one of its legs; and, if he went
out and turned due north, that WOULD
put his left side to Mr.. Haywood, and
instead of going from him he would have
| been going to him until he crossed the
eastern line. But Mr.. Fuller says be
wasn't going west, he was going sorter
north. Then it is for you to say whether
| or not after he went out sorter south
! and then turned sorter north and the
second shot was fired whether or not it.
could have hit him in the way it is admit
ted it did, because the State proved by
Dr. Knox how the ball entered, and the
defendant proved by DR.. Jordan how t
entered. and the clothes have been ex-
;, hbited to you. and it is for you to saw
whether or not it was possible for that
shot to have hit him if he was going
as Mr.. Fuller said he was going.
| Nov, then, the defendant says that
notwithstanding they have brought cyl
dence here to prove the bad character Ct
Hocutt; that, notwithstanding they have
i brought witnesses here to show that be
made contradictory statements; Eotwith
8 standing they brought witnesses here tc
show that Schmitz had made contradic
Z tory statements, the defendant says that
they both proved good characters by 8
larger number of witnesses than the oth-
Ell side proved bad characters, and that
when you prove a mans character, 1t only
gives you the means of ascertaining how
much truth there is to be put In HI.
testimony. And the defendant insists
that there are other witnesses here tc
corrroborate these men, because he say
7 that the coat there, which has Meth i
! disposition nor the capacity for sayns
t a lie, showed that that wound could not
G have been made in any position othe
s than the position occupied by Mr.. Skin
| ner according to the testimony OF Mr.
/ Sehmitz and Mr.. Hocutt, and Barnes anC
s Mack Fuller and Thomas And he says
$ therefore that they are corrob0rated
Y this natural testimony and you ought tC
believe them without regard to their char
acter And he says that if you believe
Z them, you ought to believe that the frs
! shot hit and at that time Mr. L
was laboring under the apprehension
that he was going to be shot, and if h'
had reasonable grounds to believe AM
did believe he was going TO be shot, theI
| the court tells you that the law excuse
him for shooting, because he was thei
: shooting in self-defense. But these ar
matters entirely for you to say, whethe
OF not he had reasonable grounds to d
=. Continued on Fourth Page)