The Washington herald., 1907-03-07
JURORS HOLDING UP
STROTHER VERDICT
CONFINED FRo,I FIRST FACE.

and let loose a food Of stirring appeal
90 the emotions Of the jury The jurors
sat with eyes fastened upon the face Of
the speaker and there was little DOUBT
that they were deeply impressed b. his
words Tenderly and poetiealIy M. Lee
referred TO Viola STROLLER at the innocent
beginning Of her love affair with By
waters. as "a flower the pollen Of whose
purity had not been brushed from her
petals. q sweet. gentle. confding. country
girl Poor. poor little girl said Nj
Lee softly, resting his hands upon his
table and leaning over toward the jury.
/ she surrendered herself 10 this man be-
cause she loved him, not wisely. but TOO
well She has wept her heart out wept
until the font Of her tears is dry forever.
but even iu the face Of the wrongs done
/ her she seems TO cling tenacIously 70 the
memory of this ByWaters
Leon Branded HeDrObatc.
Mr.. Lee accepted the courts suggestion
To adjourn until after luncheon. Upon
| the opening of the afternoon session Mr..
I Lee took up the thread of his narrative
of the events leading up 10 the killing Of
I Bywaters- Upon reaching that point in
/ the story where Viola Strother was taken
I To Washington for an operation. Mr. Lee
I launched into a scathinZ denuHciation of
+ DR. Leon of Washington whom the pTin-
cipals IN this trial accuse 81 having per
formed the operation az the iustigatiOn OF
Bywaters. Nr Lee described this physi-
B clan as "a '-souiless reprobate" who goes
upwhiDped Of justice 60 practice his vile
office"
/ Bywaters' Control over Girls Mind.
+ Gentlemen Of the jury" said Mr.. Lee,
Just imagine; this man would not per
/ form that operation On Thanksgiving Day
+ but ByWaters was willing ByWaters
stood by an6 heard this Infamous Leon
insult Viola S-rother when her pain was
+ beyond human endurance. and yet De did
not raise a hand IN her defense. This
( Bywaters. gentlemen, Is the man whom
/ the prosecution declares, wanted TO marry
7 this girl and live with her in peace and
/ happiness.
mo. this man never intended to marry
+ her. lie did not have 90 resort 10 mar
riage % hold her. his hypnotic influence
was sufficient for that He had acquired
. such domination over her mind and soul
/. that he knew he would not have 10 meet
/ this issue, as an honorable man would de-
I sire % meet I-by marriage.
Scoring for Capt. Woods.
/ Part of Mr.. Lees remarks were directed
toward the assistant prosecuting attor-
ney, Capt. Woods. Commonwealth attor-
ney for Albermarle County, who was
| called into this case 10 assist the prOsecu-
ton Of the SUother boys. Mr Lee at
. tackled The acceptance Of such "a PROPOSE
F ton by Capt. Woods saying that he
/ would rather lcse bis right arm than ap-
pear 10 this case. unless called 10 # by
his oath of office as Commonwealth at
+ torney. Later MT. Lee produced "a speech
. made by Capt Woods before the Bar As
ISOLATION Of Virginia. last year. in which
the speaker defended the principles Of
uuwTitteH law in many cases
Capt. Woods took up the burden of the
Commonwealth al { o'clock and did not
close his argument until nearly 10 o'clock.
he was interrupted by the supper recess
Of an hour. Iaborirg under 81 heavy
handicap imposed by the circumstance
LOT the case and the nature of the instruc-
tions Capt Woods went forth 20 battle
with all the power of his thirty-seven
years Of service as Commonwealth at
torney. aroused 10 aid him in this last
stand for written law and the conviction
Of The defendants and the fixing Of their
punishment
Capt. Woods Makes n Distinction
Capt. Woods. after few Introductory
remarks. made the statement that ne was
/ not present TO make any defense for the
Ubiquitous. infamous conduct Of Bywaters.
further than what the prosecutor said.
that 81. at the moment of the revelation
OF the state of affairs in the relationship
between Bywaters and Viola Strother. the
brothers had struck the betrayer down.
. as they did later. nothing could have
brought him Capt Woods INFO the
/ prosecution of this ease. Capt Woods
explained that when the brothers had
cooled and allowed "a marriage 10 take
place. for which he heartily applauded
them i'm their self-controI and their de
sire to protect the reputation of their sis
ter and family name. all had been for
given. and that the killing of their new
brother-in-law few moments after the
marriage could not be construed as an
act Co be justified by the terrible nature
of the wrong done the girl and her broth
ers prior TO the marriage.
Prosecutors Assertion Challenged.
The prosecutor dweIt at length upon
the deductions that the Commonwealth
wishes the jury to make in regard TO the
claim of the defense that Bywaters was
attempting to desert his bride when shot
down by her avengjng brothers. Capt.
Woods brought out all the suspicious
points possible I'm the story Of the shoot
ing as told by the defense and their rela-
tives who took the stand
At one part Of the argument Capt.
Woods assaiIed the defense of temporary
insanity as put up in this case. He said
that he applauded the old-time Virginian
who stood up IN the consciousness Of his
righteous wrath and took the conse-
quences Of his act Of avenging the be
I trayal of any of his women kin, but de-
plored the arrival Of the day when men
of Virginia sought refuge behind such
himsy barriers as this emotional in
sanity"
Attorney Moore interrupted and chal-
lenged Capt. Woods 90 mention one
criminal trial In Virginia where the I'M
written law had been relied upon and not
backed by an additional plea Of mental
iTresponsibility. IF YOU can cite one case
We VIII withdraw our defense of tempo
rary insanity and let the case 20 on its
merits" said Mr. Moore.
Capt. Woods closed with an eloquent
appeal to the jury 70 stick 10 the evil
dence and the law and not allow seuti-
ment or sympathy TO overcome their bet
ter judgment in finding a true verdict ac-
cording to their oaths.