Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1907-02-16

old, afterward member of the legislature
and at one time a candidate for the
position of commissioner OF Indian aft
fairs, was yesterday sentenced to a year
and six months in the state penitentiary
for the crime of forgery in the third
degree. The specific charge against
Major Murphy was the forgery OF road
tax receipts A stay Of proceedings was
granted to permit the preparation OF an
appeal to the supreme court and it IS
likely the matter will be taken UP by the.
supreme court at the March term.
Judge Pollock, in passing sentence,
commented upon the prominence OF the
defendant and went over the facts in
the case. He stated that the rumors that
he had attempted improperly to infiu-
ence the jury were without foundation
Continuing, Judge Pollock said:
eff it was unfortunate that the case
was tried here, because Of the distance
from Ward county, that condition under
the circumstances could not be helped,
because you had right, if you felt that
you could not secure a fair trial at
home, to make your affidavit to that eff
feet, and the judge of the district court
of that district had an equal right to
transfer the case to such place where
it could be properly said that it was
fully removed from all the influences,
political and otherwise, which may have
surrounded it in the county of Ward,
or any county closely adjacent thereto.
Throughout the entire trial the jury
were kept together, removed from every
possible outside influence which imper-
#ceptib1y might come to them from con-
tact with their fellow citizens and the
reading Of the newspapers during the
time of the trial, to the end that when
they arrived at decision it would be.
based wholly upon the testimony as
given from the witness tand, and the
instructions as to the law Of the case
as given by the court 53..
In appointing Mr.. Townsend to ap-
pear in assisting to prosecute the case,
I chose an attorney who does not and
never has lived in Ward county. I es-
pecially charged the jury that person
ally i did not intend during the trial to
express an opinion whatever upon the
facts Of the case; that / had no right
SO to do and that if even by inadvert-
ance I had expressed any such opinion
it would not in any way be binding:
upon them, as they were the sole and
exclusive judges of your guilt or in
nocence. 5$5
he Tumor which was sent out and
which found its way into the press to
the effect in substance, that I had en-
tered the jury room and improperly at
tempted to coerce the jury into bring
ing in a verdict, is wholly without, foun-
dation in fact, SO that it cannot be
urged that the jury were improperly
influenced in view of the further fact
that the court instructed the jury, BY
written instructions, which were con-
stantly in their hands, that a defendant
in criminal action is presumed to be,
innocent until the contrary is proved,
and in case Of a reasonable doubt as
to whether his guilt is satisfactorily
shown he is entitled to be acquitted /
and further that the law requires that
no man shall be convicted of a crime
until each and every one of the jury IS
satisfied from the evidence in the case
to the exclusion Of every reasonable
doubt that the defendant is guilty as
charged
~ would, therefore, appear that t1r1-
der the testimony as given, and the in
structiorls of the court with reference
to these other offenses, that the jury,
aided by proofs Of your acts with ref
erence, to them, concluded that you in
tentionally and without authority is
sued the Crowder receipt, These other
receipts were a part of the same trans
action with reference to the contracts
with the two railroad companies in
question and the jury must have con-
Guided that your acts and intent with
reference to them were largely indica-
tive OF your acts and intent with ref
ererce 70 the Crowder receipt, So: that
when any dispute occurred iii the testi-
r1ony as To the Crowder receipt they.
must have found against You upon that.
issue
e he question Of fac, therefore, I,ay-
ing been settled BY the jury, the duty
now falls UPON this cot,rt ~ re,, -