The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1904-11-02
THE INSTRUCTIONS.
The Defense Abundantly Pleased
With the Rulings.

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question Of instructions to the jury. one
of The most important OF the entire trial.
I was settled, after a long conference be-
tween Judge Morris and the attorneys on
both sides. The result of tile consulta-
tion took everybody by surprise, and
cren.ea something like CONSERVATION in
the newspaper camp. It had been under
.s,ood throughout the city that the discus
sion would end III nothing more thilh q
considera.ion Of points OF agreemcnt and
everybody looked for long and WINDY
argument tomorrow owes the sixty Or
r,,c,e questions Of lnw presented. rs ~
happened, Judge Morris took the bun bS
The horns and disposed of the matter a
once.
,rhc defense is nbundantly pleased with
what II got.
# Only two OF tho instructions II offered
were rejected. though several were modl-
fled In varying degrees Another an
,lounccn,ent was made possible by the
conference. that the argument OF inc
case witt begin tomorrow; that 1t VIII
conclude Friday night. and the case Will
go to the Jury on Saturday
1t was also learned tonight that It has
been positively decided that Common
yyenith's Attorney Gllmcr will close the
argument for tho prosecution. This is an
exceedngly interesting point to Charlottes-
Vile people.
The Instructions.
The instructions are long, but they will
figure prominently IN the case. They
will be given to the Jury Tomorrow, as
follows:
The court instructs the Jury that in all
criminal prosecutions man has rlght
4 to be confronted with his accuser and
the witnesses against him. and no state
ncnt made by any witness or other per-
son, elsewhere than in the court and IN
the presence Of the accused, constitutes
evidence against him. The sole purpose
for which evidence. Il any such state
rnent Is admitted or for which It can be
used, is to enable the Jury TO judge
whether or not tho witness is entitled TO
credit,
The court instructs the jury that the.
law presumes every person charged WIN
crime to be innocent until his guilt Is
established by the Commonwealth be
yo,1d d reasonable doubt. and this pre-
sumption Of innocence goes with the ac-,
cused through the entire case and applies
at every stage thereof; and If, after
having heard nil Of the evidence in this
4 case the jury have 4 reasonable 3douDt
of the guilt OF the accused upon the
whole case, or as to any fact, essential.to
prove the charge made against him III the
Indictment lit Is their duty to give the
S prisoner the benefit OF the doubt and find
him not guilty.
The court further instructs the jury
that upon the trial of this case. II a rea-
sonable doubt of any fact necessary to
establish the guilt of accused as charged
in tho Indictment be raised by the owl
Cence or lack of evidences such doubt is
decisive and the jury must acquit the ac-
cused since a verdict of mot guilty"
means no more than that the guilt of the
accused has not been established In the
precise specific and narrow form pre-
scribed by law.
The court Instincts the jury that when
upon a charge Of murder, the evidence
6 is wholly circumstantial as is the case
6 here the absence of all evidence OF an
Inducing cause or motive to commit the
A. cffcnse5 charged affords OF itself 4 strong
presumption Of innocence.
The court instructs tho jury that murder
by poison. lying III wait. Imprisonment.
starving or any wlful deliberate and pre-
mediatcd Killing or In the commission Of
or attempt To commit arson. rape. rob-
berry or burglary Is murder Of the first
degree. All other murder is murder of
the second degree
a.s The court instructs the jury that In the
application of circumstantial evidence to
the determination OF the case, the utmost
caution and vigilance should be used.
Such evidence is always insufficient where
assuming all to be true, which the evil
! dcnce tends to prove, some other reason
able hypothesis may still be true, for 1t
4 is the actual exclusion of every other
reasonable hypothesis which invests mere
circumstances with the force of truth
Where the evidence leaves it Indifferent
which Is several hypothesis is true or
establishes only samel finite probability
+ OF one hypothesis, such cannot amount
to proof. howcter. gEAat the probability
may be-
And the court further instructs the jury
that all the evidence in this case which
tends to establish that the accused Is
guilty OF the crime which he is charged, 4
Is circumsantiaI and not positive evil
dence. Therefore, although the jury may
believe from tho evidence III this case
that there Is a strong probability that the
accused Is guilty Of the offense Charged
In the Indictment still II upon the whole
evidence, there Is any other reasonable
hypothesis consistent with the innocence
they cannot find the accused guilty. and
this Is true although 1t may appear from
the evidence that the probabilities Of his
guilt are greater than the probabilities Of
his Innocence.
Burden on Prosecution.
The court instructs the jury, even II
they are satisfied from the evidence be-
yond q reasonable doubt that the ac-
cused took the life of the deceased, then
the jury are instructed that the law pre-
Humes prima facie that such killing was
murder Of the second degree and the
burden rests upon the Commonwealth TO
elevate the offense to murder in the
first degree, by proving beyond n reason
ahle doubt all the elements of that
crime as defined by another instructions.
The court iAstructs the jury that even
though they may believe from the evil
dence that the witnesses, William McCue
and Jobn Perry, may have made state
lncnts in conflict with or In contradiction
OF the evidence given by them on the
witness stand, In considering the guilt
Z or innocence OF the accused of the crime
With which he Is charged, the Jury are
not at liberty 10 take into consideration
a any such contradictory or conflicting
statements OF tho said Witnesses or either
of Them but must consider the case OF
tie accused, as If such statements had
ieYfr been made, except that they may
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