Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1908-02-28
hinder Law Decision Was No Sur
prise Except in its
Quickness.
WAIT OF TWO HOURS WAS ALL
,,.,,otlon OF Result About Town
During Evening; sheets Goes to
Family Thoroughly Happy.

=, took eight men less than TWO hours
,.sgree that under the law George A.
sson,s charged with accepting a bride
,'ni,e chief of police, was not guilty
r,strict Attorney Loofbourow con-
,.,aad the arguments and was follow
', hy Irdge Morse, who read his in
st,nctions to the jury. The Judge was
dome at 10 minutes past three and the
i,uy under Bailiif Andy Smith, march
I'd out OF the courtroom into the jury
room. r,>,r am t1An,D
executions to the charge were then
taken by both sides and this done, the
defendant attorneys, spectators ana
others remained about as II confident
the jury would be in within a short
time.
Tho nress table and while paying no
narticular attention to anything going
IN about the room. He was painly i'll at
'"''' Jury MARCHES IN.
when at 4;55 o'clock the jury
marched back into the courtroom a stir
started in the courtroom and swept
throughout the building. There We're
few spectators who waited from the
trial. but when the jurymen took their
seats the courtroom was comfortably
filed.
GOOD WORD COMING.
Sheets attorneys, Christensen and
Wedgwood, smiled and the defendant,
who had been sitting doubled up in his
chair, united himself gradually as he
read in his attorneys faces that the
word was to be good.
When asked If decision had been
reached, John James, who had been
selected as foreman. arose and answer
Ing in the Affirmative, passed over to
Clerk King, a sheet OF paper The
clerk glanced at 1t and passed II to
Judge Morse, who glancing at 1t passed
It back to the clerk. nodding to him to
read 1t.
The verdict was known before it was
read as 1t was evident the jury would
not be in so quickly with a verdict of
guilty or announcement of disagree
ment
NOT GUILTY"
Clerk King was reading, Estate of
Utah VS. George A. Sheets, etc. We
the jury empaneled in the above case
find the defendant not guilty"
JOY is SHOWN.
The troubled look which George A.
Sheets has worn for year and longer
disappeared He sighed and when court
adjourned hurriedly he walked toward
the jury box, where he shook hands
with each juror and thanked him for
the verdict. His attorneys were at his
side first and he shook hands with
them. Friends near him crowded around
him and ciutched his arms because his
hands were busy.
MY gratitude and thanks go out to
every man and woman of Salt Lake and
Utah who has stood shoulder to shoul-
der with me and believed in me through
the prosecution OF tile graft charges
made against me-" he said, talking rap"
idly; Il never let myself think that l
would not be acquitted
SALOONS CELEBRATE.
When the word reached the police
station several policemen shouted and
the flag on the fire station was run up
under the direction of Lieut.. Andy Elk
rem.
Celebrations in various saloons about
town started the minute the verdict
came In, and were kept up until away
after midnight. The cause of 1t all,
Sheets, himself. went home to his fam
lily straight from the courtroom, and
there he was visited during the even
ing by officers and citizens, DESTROYS OF
expressing thier satisfaction at the re-
suit of the trial.
VERDICT EXPECTED.
An acquittal was expected unless the
jury happened to hang" because, un-
der the law there was but one decision
possible; that of mot guilty" The
jury had to decide whether or not Dom
aldson and Bell were accomplices, and
II so their testimony could not be re-
garded at all. The jury. of course, saw
Donaldson and Bell We're accomplices,
and as their testimony was the only
evidence bearing upon the crime itself,
bribery. 1t did not take long TO reach
q decision,
THREE BALLOTS TAKEN.
Three ballots were taken; the first
standing four for conviction and four
TOT acquittal. This ballot was cast ia
bring up discussion of the evidence
and case generally. The first vote was
east Immediately after John James had
been elected foreman. A half-hour later
the seond ballot was cast, and this
STOOD five for acquittal and three fol
conviction. The third ballot was made
~ o'clock and was unanimously in
favor OF the defendant
INSTRUCTIONS TO JURY.
The Instructions to the jury were
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