The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-12-05

Him 10 His ~Face-Spent Evening Read
ing in His Cell. while Grace Browns
Family were Forced 10 Leave the Court
Room Broken Down-sentence Set for &,
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. Crowd waited AID
Evening. Chatting as n AZ . Church
SociaI Various wise ones VINO Has
Predicted n Hung Jury Were Cheered
ID by the Tedious Evening wait.
HERKIMER, Dec. 4.-The jury in ths
! case of Chester Gillette found him guilty
tonight of murder in the first degree in
killing Grace Brown, after it had been out
for four hours and ffty-fve minutes.
The prisoner took the verdict as calmly
a. he has taken every other incident In
this unusual trial and although his face
was chalk white and he showed his nervous
ness by constantly putting out his cheeks.
he was much calmer than the Jud &c on the
bench who received the verdict.
, When he had known his fate Gillette
Immediately took a piece OF legal cap paper,
folded it in half. tore Off part of IL and wrots
a telegram to his father telling him OF the
verdict. Sentence was put down for Thurs.
( dsy at 10 O'Clock on the request Of Senator
Mills, who asked for two days time in order
TO prepare a motion to set aside the verdict.
At 10 SIS o'clock the crowd. which had
been chattering az it waited in the court
room. was suddenly silenced by the Tour
knocks which came from the door leading
into the jury room beside the Judge desk.
In a moment the chatterinc stopped and
then there was a rustic as the deputies in
the room ran out to call the Judge and ths
| District Attorney and to send for Gillette
and his counsel.
For the first time since The beginuiny
or the trinl the excitement Of the peopis
was enough to keep them absolutely silent.
The moment the copr knocks came thers
was a silence IN the room 50 deep that IL
was oppressive.
The District Attorney was the first ~
arrive. lie had gone 10 bed. not eXpectin:
that a verdict would be reached until too
morrow morning. and had come - to
, courtroom freshly awakened with his h8''
rnmpiel and hiS eyes half fu}l at sleeI.
he was very much excited, for the isrs
that the Jury had found "A verdict 80 quickly
argued that il would he one Of guilty
4 few RintItps later Gillette hirlself ~.
pearcG with his wrist handcufcd 10 that
or Under sheriff kloch. Hi face wa
Whit, with an almost unearth'y color ami
his eyes were nothing but two ob'ong
dark slot= which ior.,rd rs # they had
been burned in.
His cir was calm. though, a. it has been
through the whole TRIAL and he was aprar-
entity much more 4eif-Coutained than the
deputy WHO h8d guard OF him throughout
the time which hc has spent in Jail. Gil
Etta was bed 10 tie seat beside the counsel
table and immsdiar 'ly WIS IN the Gttltnds
which he had assumed throughout tho whole
trial. His fae war . his hand and h"
looked straight before him With almo't no
: oppression on hIs lace.
II was plain o. those who watched him
closely that he was frightened. frightened
more than he imagined he could be. hut hs
did not show il except for the nervous
twitching Of his fingers and the swelling of
his cheeks, which he kept half full Of air
in order to hide any expression which his
face might otherwise have worn. II w9s
fully ten minutes before his counsel arrived
through the door which led from the Judges
private chamber.
Mr.. Mills and hr. Thomas came in and
took their seats, followed by the Judge. who
took his seat at the bar. Judge Devenorf
showed more signs of being excited than
did Gillette, although this was not his first
murder trial. Immediately upon the ar
rival of the Judge there was a scuf1ing Of
the deputy sherifs ined up On each side Of
the door by the jury room who formed y
Gordon around the rail in front Of the bar.
When this was lone Deputy Halter took out
his key and unlocked the jury room.
One by one. with Marshall Hatch, whom
they had chosen as their foreman, az their
head, the Jurors filed through the door and.
instead of crossing to the jury box. sat In n
transverse seat, which had been occupied
by Grace Browns family throughout the
trial.
The moment they sat down the rustic
in the court room which their coming hal
caused was followed again by the Same
deathly silence. Out OF this came the
voice Ct Clerk Burney, which itself was
shaky.
RI Gentlemen, he said, have you arrived
at a true verdict and chosen one Of volr
number TO speak for you?"
The first man in the front 70 W Of the two
solemn lines Of jurors got to his feet. Mar
shall Hatch's voice was frmer than that
I Of Clerk BIrney.
We have he said. " find the de-
PENDANT guilty as charged in the indi~t.
ment."
Gillette, who had been closely watching
the foreman. did not move a muscle al the
words. He Eat with his face in his hands but