The White Pine news. [volume] (Treasure City, Nev.) 1868-1906, 1906-08-21
SOME VICTIMS OF
CIRCUMSTANTIAL
EVIDENCE

the moose around the necks of innocent
men and that it has sent innocent men
to prison will be admitted readily
enough.
a young man had been surprised while
| in the sleeping room of the head of the
family, and had escaped by jumping
through a window. He was pursued,
but got away.
Two hours later stranger in the city
was arrested. The man and wife, who
saw him, positively identified the young
man, as did those who joined in the
pursuit.
To his attorney he persisted in pro
testing his innocence, but could not ac-
count for himself at the time the crime
was committed except by saying he
took a long walk about the city. The
attorney, who at first believed his client
guilty, looked up his record and became
convinced that the young man was in
nocent, but his conviction seemed a
forcgone conclusion.
LAWYER FINDS A DOUBLE
One day the lawyer met a man on
the street whom he mistook for his
client. Upon asking him how he had
obtained bond, the stranger replied that
the lawyer evidently mistook him for
some one alse.
An idea struck the lawyer The
stranger looked as though he was in
hard luck, and a proposition to sit in
| the courtroom during the trial was
readily accepted. The lawyer concealed
the double until the case was called.
Then he had the real prisoner sit behind
him, where he could not be seen. The
double was seated in the prisoners
dock.
Every witness identified the man pos
itively and the prosecuting attorney
looked satisfied until the real prisoner
was put on the stand Subsequently
convicted burglar made confession,
and among the crimes of his commits
sion was the one with which this client
was charged.
INNOCENT MAN IN JAIL
In 1870, John Maley, of Jacksonville,
W. Va, was sentenced to life imprison-
ment for numbering his wife with ar
senic. Twenty years afterwards it was
accidentally discovered that the poison
was given to Mrs. Maley by servant
through mistake for medicine, and that
! frightened by the result, she permitted
Maley to be convicted
In June, 1885, John Crowley myster-
iously disappeared from little town in
Michigan. 1t was supposed that he had
been murdered, and suspicion fell upon
John Van Nieman, brother-in-law of
the missing man.
Circumstantial evidence governed the
prosecution of Van Nieman and he was
convicted and sentenced to life impris-
onment. He served ten years in the
Jackson prison, Michigan.
Grow, in his wanderings about the
world, one day happened to read in an
old newspaper the story of his murder
by John Van Neiman. Thereupon in
April, 1894, he set about to get Van
| Neiman out of the jackson penitenti-
airy. As already stated the unfortun-
ate man served ten years.
MISTAKEN IN THE VOICE.
| George Nelson, fresco painter, had
the pleasure of spending two years in
San Qaintin because his voice sounded
| like that of robber named Dorsey.
lie was charged with robbery and at
tempted to prove an alibi by a Swede
and his wife at whose place he secured
his supper Through fear of being i'm
plicated in the crime the Swede and
his wife denied that they had ever set
eyes upon Nelson.
On circumstantial evidence Sacra-
mento jury convicted him and he was
sentenced to ten years Imprisonment.
Two years afterward two men, Shin
and Dorsey, were arrested in the east
and brought back to the Coast. 1t had
been discovered that they instead of
Nelson had committed the robbery.
w. F. Harmon, young inventor of
San Francisco, spent four years across
the bay as "a pena lty for the forgery of
Louis /. Trowbridge, an all-round
crook. When Trowbridge was in st.
Louis in 1893 he. was informed that
Harmon was serving time for his
crime. He worried over the matter
and fiaally gave himself up, However
this did Harmon little good for his
term had expired a month previous.