Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1906-03-08
| THE CRIMINAL : DEFENCE
TrialSin Which Attempts Were
Made TO Prove AllblS.
CASE OF GORTON TWINS

The alibi has always been a favor
lite defence with calculating Grim
mails. Il has. on the other hand, in
hundreds of cases. extracted the limo
cent from the meshes Of net Of cir
cumstantial evidence which must
otherwise have inevitably dragged
them TO unmerited doom.
Clocks have played an important
part in these defences. Lives have
depended on their accuracy or mac
curaey In the case OF a man named
Hardy, who was accused OF having
taken part IN a murder with others
one of the murderers. after the crime
was committed. made his way home
as fast as possible. IL was night and
there was 10 one in bis house but
servant. Putting the clock in the hall
back two hours. the man went 10 bed,
and rising shortly afterWard awole
the servant ard ordered her TO go
Gown stairs and see what was the
time. The girl did SO, and once more
retired 10 her room. when the muir
derer. stealing softly downstairs ia
lis bare feet. once more put the clock
right TIE msJspecti- GaNs evil
dence that the prisoner was in bed at
the time when the crime was com
United secured his aequittal on his
trial The truth was made known
OF a deathbed confession some years
later
Witnesses who come forward to
prove alibis BY the clock sometimes
prove very unsatisfactory In muir
der case at the Central Criminal
Court two Witnesses swore most per-
sistently to the prisoner having been
in their company at the hour when
the prosecution contended he was en-
gagged in the crime.
Are you quite certain of the exact
time?" asked the counsel for the pros
ecution.
Certain" replied the first witness.
How are you so sure about it?"
asked the barrister.
1--WE were in the Bear public house,
and | saw the time by the clock in
tbs bar, replied the witness 1T was
27 minutes past g."
You saw that time yourself?"
asked the'counsel.
Yes"
One Of the detectives engaged in
the case here whispered something to
the barrister, and he turned to the
witness once more
You see that clock he said, point
ing TO the clock in the court What
is the time by it?"
The witness turned CHASTITY pale,
scratched his head, gasped. and was
silent He could not tell the time.
The alibi bubble was hurs, The pris-
oner as-condemned
A Young girl who lived with her
parents in lonely part of Kirkcnd-
bright was one day left alone in their
cottage while her father and mother
were harvesting. On their return the
girl was found murdered A surgical
examination revealed the fact that the
injuries inflicted must have been the
work Of a left-handed man. and the
police discovered in the soft ground
around the cottage the imprints of the
boots OF a running man These i'm
pressions corresponded exactly with
the boots of a young laborer named
William Richardson who was ac-
quainted with the dead girl. and who
also was left handed Richardson, on
being asked where he was on the day
Cf the crime, declared that he was
employed the whole day in the work
of his master a farmer. some dis
lance away This fact was borne
witness TO by the farmer and Rich
Srdson's fellow servants, and the DO
Hco were baffied
The alibi. in spite of all the other
suspicious circumstances against the
prisoner appeared SO strong as to be
unsssailable But the police perse-
vered. and at last one Of the detec-
lives discovered that Richardson and
his fellow servants had that day been
employed in driving their masters
carts. These carts had been driven
in direction which took them close
10 the scene of the crime. and while
they had been passing through wood
richardson had requested his com
radcs 10 stop few minutes while he
IAN to smiths shop and back They
did so. and one of the drivers remem.
rered that Richardson. when he re.
turned, had been absent half an hour
Y his watch This was ample time
for him to RIM TO the cottage. commit
the murder and run back again He
had not been TO the smiths shop The
ajhi thus broke down, Richardson
was found guilty. and. before his exc
oution. he confessed the justice of his
sentence
An ingenious system of proving an
aiibi was that of a man named Cor
toh--at least that was one of his 20
names-convicted OF various clever
frauds in the north of England. He
he'd twin brother and while he was
engaged in a robbery the twin kept
himself in prominent evidence in
another far removed place When
Gorton was arrested, the persons who
had met the twin trooped into the wit
nes box
Their evidence was of course given
in all honest belief that it was per-
reetly correct. The arrangement broke
down at last. however. through one
Of those little oversights that even
the most cunning rogues viii fall mot,
and the ingenious twins came TO their