The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1907-03-10

first and second degree was given to the
jury; whereupon they retired at about 4
clock in the afternoon of March s. On
the morning of March o. about 10 a. NJ,
l was notified that the jury had agreed
upon q verdict. At the time Judge Greene
was sentencing prisoners of the second
division and the reception of the verdict
was postponed until he completed the
same and vacated the bench; whereupon
the jury came in and handed their YER
dict to the clerk of the court and he
read the same in my hearing.
Felt Indignation.
"NVhen it was read I confess that
felt a degree of Indignation which pre-
vented me at the time from keeping
silent. The jury-all of them most Of
them-are my personal friends. I regard
them in personal way as highly as any
one in the community, nut my respect
for the laws of my country and for the
pure and unadulterated administration of
justice between all citizens alike knew
no bounds, and, hence. the remarks at
tributed to me came without thought or
without study, and since their utterance
l have seen no occasion to in any wise
regret or take them back. Justice is
represented in the body of our law as
a blind goddess holding the scales before
all parties equally; before all parties
who come before her sacred shrine, and
having a higher veneration for her pure
administration than the friendship of any
man or any jury that ever sat in the
box. l spoke the sentiments as attributed
to me.
Human. Life Too Cheap.
81 have no unlind feeling towards any
body connected with the case. but as long
as | remain upon the bench | desire to
see and hope soon to find, IN this county
a public sentiment which will not cause
us to blush and have the fingers Of for
eigners pointed at us as bad Birmingham
and wicked Jefferson county, and that
the estimation of human life may have
its just and proper conception in the adj
mnistration of our laws. 1t Is said in
this county that human life is too cheap;
1t seems too much like the truth to be
pleasant, and / say with sorrow and
with regret that / fear there is some
truth in these charges made against us,
This / consider against myself, along
with the balance OF the citizenship of
this county, / do not mean To be harsh,
but do mean to be honest and just. and
/ desire to see all people treated alike
before the law: the high and the low, the
foreigner and the home born, and when
this is done, and not until then, may we
expect the high. pure. holy and righteous
generation of the law and its administra-
ton.
These remarks attributed to me by
the defendant = attorneys were made after
the Jury had announced their verdict ano
when it was impossible to have any effect
upon the rights of the defendant in this
case.
Il have never yet, and never intend to
invade the province of the jury, but wher
I see the goddess OF justice as l saw
her lie bleeding before the courts of oul
country, l could not forbear making the
remarks. l believe in the old motto
fiat justitia rurat ceolum.
Live Topic for Discussion.
The verdict of the jury and the judges
address to the Jury was lively topic
of conversation in the courts and on the
streets for the rest of the day Wher
Solicitor Heflin was asked for state
ment he declined to make any, merely
shaking his head.
Resume Of the Case.
Thomas Shelton was tried for the muir
der of Ora Dunn, young girl who lived
in a house of i'll repute. The evidence
at the trial was to the effect that tho de
PENDANT went to the house one night
about two years ago, and that while ii
parlor with some other people the CIR
was shot She died about three minutes
afterward her only words being: TN
shot" None of the witnesses STATED
positively how the shooting was done
but the defendant himself stated thai
his pistol fell out of his pocket and ex
ploded when it struck the floor. One
of the states witnesses, who was present
at the time OF the shooting. testified that
Shelton said, speaking of the other girls
in the house: Line them up, and III
shoot them in a row.
Shelton went to Indian Territory after
the shooting and was brought back after
extradition papers had been obtained.
The trial of the case occupied the time
of the court the entire week. the first
tire days being devoted to arguing points
of law and selecting the jury