The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1907-02-27
By a STAFF Correspondentl

(By d STAFF Correspondent
Culpeper. Va. Feb. 26-With the COM
pletion of to-day's testimony the case
Of the Commonwealth against Jdmes and
Philip Strother for the Staying Of their
brother-in-law William F. Bywaters.
came to a close, and tomorrow morning
the defense viii attempt the erection OF
an impregnable protecting barricade
about the forms Of the two young de-
Pendants barricade built on the rock
Of Virginia's mwritten law. held together
by sentiment and heaTtstrings.
The defense has determined to strike
firmly and quickly. Mrs. Viola Strother
Bywaters. sister af the defendants and
bride Of an hour of the slain man, will
take the stand Immediately upon the
opening of the session tomorrow morn
ing Until this morning. it was expected
that Mrs Bywaters would appear as Il
witness for the State, but it developed
that the prosecution had changed its
plans, and the defense Immediately an
nounced her appearance in court as their
witness.
Mrs. Bywaters to Testify.
Mrs Bywaters will be granted the
courtesy Of a cleared courtroom while
- she #l-t-+es the events that led up to the
tragedy of December Is. Only officials Of
the court. the defendants, and the news
paper correspondents VIII he allowed I'm
the room during the taking of her testi-
mony. The story that Will be brought out
during the direct examination is known
10 all who are familiar with the case.
wiring from her lips during the cT0ss-ex-
animation is matter of conjecture.
Adherents of the defendants, and these
number by the hundreds in Culpeper
County, are sanguiue that the most rigid
questioning will serve merely TO strengthen
the defense. Bywaters friends and
sympathizers, and these are apparently as
numerous as those who condemn him,
seem TO believe the prosecution viii be
able to throw new light upon the tragedy
tending 10 lessen whatever sympathy the
defendants have inspired in the jury
Prosecution Not to Cali Her.
IN accordance with these views is re-
garded the decision Of the prosecution not
10 call Mrs. Bywaters, and the counter
announcement Of the defense. Friends
Of the defense discern a master stroke in
the action of the defendants counsel
Friends of the prosecution see with equal
clearness a brilliant coup d'etat by the
State. The former claim that the de-
Tense forced the prosecution 10 show their
fear of Mrs Bywaters testimony. The
latter affirm that the prosecution forced
the defense to put Mrs. Bywaters on the
EF,1 can
get better results through cross -eXamina-
tion than vice versa
One thing appears certain. The prose
cution has so far been laboring under an
enormous handicap The Commonwealth
attorneys have been confronted with the
problem OF trying to break down an un-
written law plea, with al the witnesses
who know the ms and outs of the case
bound firmly to the cause of the defense
through ties of immediate blood relation
ship with the accused.
Only Defendants Know story.
Who knows the whole story. the Incl
dents connected with the marriage. the
true details Of the tragedy itself? is the
question confronting Commonwealth At
tOrney Keith and mis- associate, Capt
Wood. The answer is obvious. No one
knows except the defendants Mrs. By
waters. her sister, Mrs. Z. L. Gaines, and
Mr.. Gaines. These people only were
present when Bywaters was riddled with
lead
When the last witness left the stand
to-day. and the prosecution announced
the close Of its case. not one fact had
been established, nor one bit Of testimony
introduced to shatter the case of the de-
fense, as outlined in the opening statement
of Attorney Jefries. the first day Of the
trial. Ali that had been established had
been freely admitted by counsel for the
defense. namely that VIII ByWaters and
Viola Strother were married December
i, by Rev DR. Ware, and that shortly
after the ceremony James and Phillip
Strother shot Bywaters to death, and
that they told numerous witnesses that
their reason for the act was the ruin of
their sister by Bywaters, and his attempt
10 run away after the wedding.
Unwrltten Law Plea strong.
That this prima facie case Of homicide
IS sufficient 10 influence the jury TO send
the two brothers to the gallows. or even to
a long Imprisonment, IS not regarded Sc
riOusly by many. tt is boasted by sup
pOrters Of the accused that no Virginia
jury would convict on such evidence.
when the defense Is based upon the prin-
ciples Of unwritten law
Even the prosecution would seem to
have recognized the necessity Of strength
ening its case by showing that in this in
stance the higher code" is not invoked.
TO this end the State has announced its in
tention TO show that BywateTs made rep
eration by marriage and had no intention
of deserting his bride when he was shot
down by her brothers. This can be shown
in only one way. through the lips of the
eyewitnesses of the shooting.
Under these circumstances il is the gen
eral belief among those who have fol-
lowed the case carefully that unless the
prosecution has a trump card up its
sleeve. which is regarded as unlikely, or
that II can change the aspect Of the case
through cross-examination of the de-
fense's witnesses, the Strother brothers
CONTINUED on THIRD PAGE.