The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1906-12-05
GILLETTE IS
CONDEMNED
Herkimer Jury Says He Killed
His Sweetheart.
CARRIES DEATH PENALTY
TrasedyoiBis Moose Lake in Which
Grace Brown Lost Her Life
Murder In First Degree.

HERRIMER. y. y. Dee. 5.-The
Jury In the trial of Chester T.. Gillette
for the murder Of his sweetheart, Grace
Brown. nc Big Moose lake last night
returned q verdict Of guilty In the nrst
degree.
Sentence will be- pronounced t0mor.
row morning. to which time court nd
Journcd after the jury had reported.
Former Senator Mills. Glllctte's coun'
sci. before adjournment announced
that when court rcconycncd he would
move TO have the verdict set aside.
The jury. which had delIberated for
Ave hours, sent word ut IL o'clock
that verdict had been reached. A
moment later they ilcd Into the court.
room. aud at ll:i5 o'clock an officer
who had been sent for Gillette return
ed with the prisoner.
Pale aud a tribe nervous apparently,
Gillette faced the jury. and when Mar.
shall Hatch. the foreman. declared
that n verdict OF guilty In the first de
gree had been found The youthful pris.
oner gave not a sign OF emotion. A
few moments later. when his counsel
had announced his purpose OF making
formal motion that the verdict be
set aside and the judge was dlsmissing
the Jurors, Gillette bent over a nearby
table and. picking mp a pencil, wrote
something upon a sheet Of paper. lie
then folded the paper carefully and
placed II in his pocket. Immediately
afterward he was taken from the
courtroom back to his cell In the Jail
II was learned that the jury had
some difficulty In reaching an agree
ment, and six ballots were taken be-
fore the twelve men agreed. Up TO
that time the Jury had stood eleven for
conviction and one for acquIttal.
The case was given 60 the jury at
$50 o'clock last night. after Judge Dev-
endorf had occupied an hour aud 6f-
teen minutes in his charge. He dealt
with the points OF law involved and
instructed the jurors TO consider the
evidence from a legal standpoint and
not TO be influenced by sentiment.
The session until the judges charge
had been taken mp by District Attor-
ney Ward, who described the friend
ship Of Gillette and Grace Brown and
their companionshp up TO the time OF
the girls death in Big Moose lake. For
the first time during the trial the
youthful prisoner broke down as he
was mercilessly scored by the prose
cution.
For some time he glared de6antly at
the district attorney, but when the
latter read abstracts from the letters
sent Gillette 10y his sweetheart the
prisoner burst into tears and at times
throughout the remainder of the SEES
sion sobbed convulsively.
When the jury went to its room and
Gillette was led back to his cell he
asked the deputy, Are the doors all
locked, sherlfrY He apparently feared
violence but there was no evidence OF
any such intention on the part OF the
big crowd that. swarmed the court
ROOM.
The chief features of Judge Deven-
doris charge were as follows
Gentlemen Of the Jury-The duty
each of you have assumed is an i'm
portant one, not higher or more sa-
cred duty than that Of a juror is
known to our civilization. A citizen
should not shrink from jury duty, but
should be as faithful to respond to the
performance of that duty as he should
be to take hold Of rife In defense of
his country.
"To all concerned this is a case of
great importance. TO the defendant
1t is Of vast Importance because his life
or liberty hangs on the issue. To the
people it is of infinitely more impor
lance because the good order Of the
community and the safety and life OF
its citizens depend upon the faithful
administration of justice.
ut is important to the people that
crime should be punished where crime
is proved to have been committed and
that the law of the state, the bulwark
of our safety, should not be unheeded.
For the manner in which you dis.
charge that duty you are answerable
to your consciences as well as to that
oath in all its sanctity. You have nc
right to be influenced or controlled 10y
anything but the evidence as 1t has
been presented to you and the law
governing 1t as given to you by the
court.
Something has been said with ref
erence to the motive. Proof of mo
tive of crime is not indispensable OF
essential to conviction. While a mo-
tive may be shown as a circumstance
to aid in fixing a crime, yet the people
are not required to prove motive
The motive in this case is said by the
people to be because of the relations
that existed between this man and this
girl. Now, whether the situation ii
which he was placed furnished a mo
tive sufficient for him to commit this
crime rests with the jury to say.
1.-THE defendant in all cases may ties
tify as a witness in his own behalf
but the jury may use their discretion
in regard to his testimony, as he is al
interested party. 1t is the duty Of the