The Bemidji daily pioneer. [volume] (Bemidji, Minn.) 1904-1971, 1908-02-25

this case you arrive at the con-
clusion that one or more of the
first shots fired at the deceased
by the defendant so disabled the
deceased that he was incapable Of
making further assault upon the
defendant and the defendant rea
| lized such fact and condition, and
you further find that after the.
deceased was disabled the defend
ant purposly fired another bullet or
bullets into the head or other vital
portion of the body of the deceased
with the intention of killing him,
you have right and it would be
your duty to take such facts into
your consideration in determining
whether the first shots fired by the
defendant were fired in good faith
in an effort to avert great personal
injury to himself or whether such
first shots were fired with pre-
mediated design to effect the death
of the deceased, and in the event
you should find the latter to be true,
there exists no right under the law
to claim justifable homicide or
self-defense in this case and you
should find the defendant guilty of
murder in the first degree.
And I further charge you, gentle
men, that if after considering all the
testimony in the case, you should
conclude that after the defendant
was and became so disabled that he
was incapable of making further
attack or assault upon the defendant
and the defendant knew such fact
and condition, and you further find
that after Williams was so disabled
the defendant Intentionally fired
another bullet or bullets into his
head or other vital parts of his body
with the intention of killing him and
each of the wounds made by the
several bullets fired into Williams
body was suffice to have produced
death, the defendant may be ad-
judged guilty of murder in the first
degree in inficting the last wound OF
wounds upon Williams person after
he had become SO disabled if the
shot or shots which caused such last.
mentioned wounds were fired with a
premediated design to effect Will
liams' death, and death resulted from
such wound or wounds, though had
they not been inflicted the deceased
would have died from the first wound
or wounds given him, and although
such first wounds may have been
inflicted in necessary self-defense.
I have submitted for your con
sideration only one offense or crime,
and that is murder in the first degree
/ The circumstances as disclosed by
the evidence in this case are such
| that but one or two conclusions can
be arrived at; that is, that the killing
was wilful, deliberate, premeditated
murder or justifable homicide
| The judge charged the jurors thai
they were the sole judges of the facts
in the case. When they had arrived
at the. facts they could then deter
mine upon verdict. They should
also take into consideration the re.
liability of the witnesses. There
should be no temper or bias in their
deliberations.
The defendant had testified and
the jurors should, in considering his
testimony, remember his interest in
the case.
The law knows no distinction be.
tween the white and the colored man.
Every juror accepted had said he
had no prejudice because the de-
| PENDANT was colored, and this declar-
alton should be remembered when
considering the case and arriving at
a verdict.
At 9:35, Joseph Coughlin was
sworn in as deputy sheriff in charge
of the jury and the good men and
true" retired to deliberate upon the
fate of James A. Godetts, charged
with the gravest ofense in the crimi-
nal calendar murder in the first de.
gree.
| At twelve o'clock midnight the
officer in charge of the jury sent
word to Judge Spooner that they had
failed to arrive at an agreement, and
would retire for the night.
| s T. . ~ q /