Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1906-01-23
TUCKER DENIED.
Judge Sherman, Superior
Court, Refuses New Trial.
fuckers Counsel Admits It's
a Bitter Disappointment.
Second Adverse Decision---WiII Eventually
Go TO U. S. Supreme Court.

Cambridge, Mass, Jan. 22.-Charles
L. Tucker, under conviction for the
murder of Mabel Page, is refused new
trial on the ground of newly discovered
evidence in u decision filed Monday by
Judge sherman of the superior court.
Counsel for the defendant had petit
toned for new trial on the strength
of new evidence referring to the Can
adian pin found on Tucker subsequent
ito the murder which the government
claimed was stolen by him after the
crime. nut according to the new evil
dencc had been seen in fuckers yacht
ing cap several months before the
death of Miss Page.
When the adverse decision was an
nouncod to- fuckers counsel, Valley,
lnnes & Mansfield, Philip Mansfield, of
the firm. said
Il am bitterly disappointed. What
the next move will be l cannot now
say. Eventually, I suppose, the case
will go to the supreme court of the
United States, but nothing of course
has yet been decided upon as yet"
This is the second adverse decision in
the Tucker case. Several months ago
the supreme court of Massachusetts
ruled against the defendant in his petit
ton for new trial on the strength of
exceptions taken during the trial The
second petition addressed to the su-
perior court, claimed that new evidence
of sufficient consequence to warrant Il
new trial Of the case had been discover
ed. Counsel filed affidavits from
various persons which alleged. in sub
stance. that the stickpin, found on
Tucker. had been seen by them pre-
viously to the crime and that it had
been given to him by his wife.
A second ground upon which the de-
PENDANT asked a new trial was the con-
tcntion that there were errors at the trial
in that the government was permitted to
introduce evidence that the prisoner was
without money before the murder. that he
was possessed of lit afterwards, and that
there was no evidence that money was
missing from the Page house. Judge
Sherman said of this point:
The supreme court decided that there
court. And now the court is asked to
ion of the supreme judicial court on ac-
count of this alleged error in law. But
this court is bound by the decision of
that court. If counsel for the prisoner
uhen at the triad believed that there
WAS no such evidence and this claim is
not an afterthouSht. tEcn it appears that
they saw fit not to call this claim to the
attention of the court during the trial; so
that a mistake Of facts. if any, could
then and there have been corrected"
AS to the newly discovered evidence
Judge Sherman declared tina. in his opin-
ion it would not have changed the YER
dict had it been offered at the trial. In
conclusion the court said:
after careful and prolonged trial be-
fore an able. fair-minded and impartial
jury. the defendant was found guilty
The prisoner has had all his rights care
fully guarded and preserved for him and
he is not entitled to n new trial and in the
exercise of my discretion 1 ovorrule his
notion
Tho next move O.: the part of the state
will be made in a. few days when a mo-
ton that sentence be passed will be made
by Attorney General Dana Malone and
District Attorney George A. Sanderson.
Death by elcctrOcution is the penalty of
first degree murder in Massachusetts.
In connection with the Tucker de-
cision today. it was pointed out that
there is bill before the Massachusetts
legislature making it impossible for
death to be decreed to a person convict
ed Of murder in the first degree upon
evidence, and if there Isl
any doubt as to whether the facts in
the case constitute direct or circum-
stantial evidence. the prisoner is to
have the benefit of the doubt Tucker
was convicted on circumstantial evil
dence.
Lawyer Thomas Valley informed
Tucker Of the courts ruling at the
county Jail here today. After leaving
the jail Mr.. Valley said: when 1 told
Tucker that the court had refused a
new trial he turned pale but did not
cry. The boy was really stunned by the
decision. He always held that his wife
found the pin and when we told him
that someone had come forward and
told us that he had lost the pin he
looked at it from a layman's stand
point and concluded that he surely
would get a new trial"
Harry Middleton. negro IS years