The Montgomery advertiser., 1903-12-04
say His Faculties Were
 Deadened by Drink.
Solicitor Brewer Urges the Jury to Pass Death Sentence Upon the Slayer of Beautiful Allie
 Armstrong.


 hope that the jury will view the killing of beautiful Allie Armstrong as man. slaughter and not as deliberate murder, the fight of his lawyers to save Ralph Armstrong from the gallows Is nearing its end. They have presented so far as was in their power the part that Ralph Armstrong took in the deplorable murder as the irrational act of a man crazed with habitual and excessive whiskey drinking.
 It is their hope that the jury will be- ' lieve that Ralph Armstrong did not delib- erately murder his beautiful cousin, whom he loved but for whom his love was death warrant, but that he killed her on murderous impulse while his brain was fevered and crazed from whiskey. They went before the jury beading for mercy and hoping for life sentence as the worst.
 Ina prosecution, through Solicitor Brew CT, urged the full penalty of the law iN his argument before the jury. The Solic- ltor saw no extenuating circumstances and he declared that the letter left by Ralph Armstrong with his friend, Homer Wright, showed the crime to have been premeditated. The Solicitor earnestly de- clared Ralph Armstrong is a diseased part. of the body polite of Macon County and that he should be cut off by law. Plea of Responsibility.
 The defense. in its inning today. sought to prove that Armstrong had so deadened his mental faculties with whiskey that he was irrational and irresponsible on the fateful night of October g. The amount of whiskey Ralph Armstrong drank the . day of the killing, his condition the night of the awful tragedy, made up the line of defense to keep him from the gallows. The jury had before 1t conflicting testi- mony as to Armstrong's condition before and after the fatal shots were fired There were. witnesses who swore that ! Armstrong was sober that night, although he may have been drinking some.
 The gaunt, haggard-faced defendant took the stand today in his own behalf : He was on the stand but a few minutes. . He swore he Knew nothing of the crlrne or the scene in the front room of his aunts house in Notasulga on the night of the tragedy. T remember taking a drink at the blacksmith shop late in tho afternoon" he said slowly and halting'y ''but after that knew. nothing until Ii o'clock that night when some one told me had killed Allie"
 He recounted his movements on the day of the murder and detailed the number of drinks he had taken. He admitted that last summer in Auburn he had told a < friend that he was married to Allie Arm strong. but he said he corrected the state ment the next day.
 1eCCeT LeIC W1CQ WI1&nC.
 As to the contents of the letter he left with Homer Wright, for his mother. his testimony was at variance with that of Wrights. It differed in some other de- tails of more or less importance with that . of other witnesses.
 Mrs. E. E. Delbridge, in her testimony, did not agree with the evidence of her niece. Miss Nellie Armstrong, as to what was said by Allie Armstrong after she W .s,t.. ;.l < she had faihted in the front room and had been revived by Ralph. The witnesses de- clared that Allie did not say Ralph had shot her when she told him that she would tell Aunt Ellen what he had done.
 The taking of evidence was completed at 3:30 o'clock p. m. Argument for the pros ecution was made by Solicitor s. L. Brew CT and for the defense by R. B. Barnes before the court adjourned at 6 p. m. Two more speeches will be delivered to- morrow morning. one by Ray Rushton for N the defense, one by w. c. Fitts for the prosecution. The jury will probably get the case by 10 a. m.
 Without complaint from either side, the trial under Judge Denson has proceeded quietly and with dispatch.
 The morning session Of the court be- gan at S:3O o'clock. The court immedi- ately proceeded with the trial
 Mrs. Delbridge Testifies. 2 Mrs. E. E. Delbridge was the first witness called. The fathers of Miss AL lie Armstrong and of Ralph Armstr ng were her brothers. She Is dignitied and H of clear, accurate speech. She gave her evidence positively, but now and then she showed the stress of feeling under which she labored She was dressed in black, wearing a heavy veil which she lifted while she was on the witness stand.
 Mrs. Delbridge testified that she was sister of H. Clay Armstrong and that Allie Armstrong had been reared by MT. M and Mrs. H. Clay Armstrong; Miss AL lie Armstrong had lived in Atlanta for the past two years, but had come to Mrs. Delbridge's home in Notasulga in July, of the present year. Ralph visited her frequently while Allie was stop ping with her
 The witness saw Ralph Armstrong the day before the shooting. Thursday. when he came to her house at Notasulga, and spent Thursday night at her house. He sat up that night talking for about two hours. He appeared to be under the in- huence of some drug. He told her that night that he was going to Reeltown and Roxana the next morning. He went away the next morning, returning at 5 o'clock that afternoon.
 At that time Allie Armstrong said to the witness, Aunt Ellen. Ralph Is in the house blooming crazy" The witness saw Ralph stagger cut her front gate and get into his buggy. Allie followed him. She placed her hand on the buggy and said something to Ralph and he got out of the buggy, although he had been insisting in drunken way that he was going to Auburn. Ralph staggered towards town. After returning to the house he fell out the back door and re- mained there for some time. The wit ness sent for Jim Delbridge. and when he came he and Ralph went into the front room which was used as a spare red room. and as a sitting room. Allie was occupying that room.
 Some Evidence Ruled Out.
 After supper Ralph and Jim Delbridge went back into the front room and Jim left in few minutes. Allie went in and talked to Ralph. After half an hour she came into the room of the witness saying, Aunt Ellen suppose Ralph should go to sleep in my rcOm--what about it?" This evidence was ruled out upon the objection of the State
 A few minutes after Allie returned to the room the witness heard a istol shot. She rushed up the hall. meeting Allie. Allie ran down to the room of the witness and the witness rushed up to the front room as Ralph staggered out. She snatched the pistol away from Ralph and went back to her room.
 Allie was lying upon the f5or. How did it happen?" she asked the wounded girl, If I had been there this thing would never have occurred"
 The witness testified that Miss Arm strong said. Ralph was depreciating himself. He was saying life had been