The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1908-11-27
Sentence Is Promptly Pro.
nOunced on the Prisoner.
FROM 2 TO 2I YEARS,
In the State Penitentiary at
Michigan City.
His Attorneys Will Ask for a
New Trial.


MRS Belle Guinness and her three
children by setting fire to the Gun-
ness house, April 28, was found guilty.
OF arson by the jury. Within five min
utes after the verdict was reported
Juoge Richter had sentenced the de-
Iendant to the state prison at Michi-
gan CITY for an indeterminate term
OF Ifom 2 to 21 years. He will be
! Lakeh TO Michigan City today to begin
MS sentence
The verdict was reached within half
an hour after the Jurors had return-
ed from supper. Word was conveved
10 Bailiff Matz who at once telephon-
su Judge Richter and the attorneys
IN the case. The lights in the big
court room were turned on and with.
IN hrteen minutes the court was filed.
Ldnphere was brought over from
the Jail at 1920 o'clock. The Jury
1lea ne INTO the court room and took
us pace Foreman Mill announced the
jury mad agreed and with that he
passed the white piece of paper to
Judge Richter who, after making the
entry on his docket, read the verdict:
we the jury, find the defendant
guIlty OF arson, and that he is 50
There was no demonstration. the
people having been warned to keep
Judge Richter thereupon asked
each juror Individually if this was his
verdict and the answer in each case
was Yes
PREVIOUS to the handing of the YER
dict to Judge Richter, Foreman Mill
said that he wished to make a state
!nent. TO the court, but Judge Richter
informed him that he could not hear
any statement until after the verdict
nad been received and read. After if
nad been read, Judge Richter asked
MIN II he cared to make the state
ment' ' put he said that it would do no
good now. Judge Richter expressed
MS thanks to the jury for it's careful
and conscientious consideration Of tba
the jury. u
Following the withdrawalao the
Jurors, Judge Richter Instructed
Lamphere to stand up. The prison
er s race, still looked haggard and his
eyes were downcast. He held his
naIio5 tlsd as oeIore him and then, just as
the church bells in the city were ring
ing out, Judge Richter asked him If
ne mad any reasons why sentence
should not be passed. He replied
SIoWiy' put distinctly: 81 have none"
With that Judge Richter sentenced
MIN to the state prison in Michigan
city for an fndeterminaee term of from
two to twenty-one years, fined him
Sosooo ana dlsfranchised him for five
years. The court then instructed fhe
sher1n to return him to his cell
Attorney Worden, for the defensa
SAID that motion for new trial would
be made and should it be refused. an
appeal to the Indiana sInrerne corr+
would follow. The Indiana sunreroe
court IS two years behind in its work
and so this case could not be reached
until after he had served the minimum
time of his sentence Mr.. Worden de-
clared the verdict to be ridiculous. s.Tf
he was guilty at ALL" said the attor-
rey, "he would have been guilty. of
murder. He should have been acouIt-
ted"
The motion for new trial will he
based on the courts instruction that
the jury could find Lamphere guilty of
arson.
Should the case be carried to the s,,-
preme court and sent back for retria1
Lamphere could not be tried on anv
charge in this particular case excepting
arson, the crime of which he was con-
victed. However, in an event of that
kind, the state would elect to try him
on one of the other indictments nroba
bly, the Helgelein case
Members of the jury are reticent
about discussing what occurred in the
jury room, but enough has been learned
to know that but for two members
Lamphere would have been found guiItv
of murder or manslaughter In other
words, the verdict is something of a
compromise. Several members of the
jury, it is said, held out long for n1ur
der in the first degree with a life SEN
tence. So far as could be learned, none
was for hanging.
q
was confident that the adult body in the
fire was that of Mrs. Guinness He re-
iterated his innocence in the matter of
setting fire to the house, though admit
ting that he was on the road and saw
the fire that night. He also declared
that he did not see Mrs. Guinness kill
Helgelein. Il have no COMPLAINT to
make about the verdict. Things looked
pretty blue, but the verdict might have
been worse"
All the members of the jury made
the following signed statement:
I'VE the undersigned jurors, empan-
eled and sworn in the case of the state
of Indiana, VS.. Ray Lamphere, hereby
say that it was our judgment in the
adult body found in the ruins of the
fire was that of Belle Guinness and that |
the case was decided by US on an en- |
tireIy different proposition. The law
stipulates that all prisoners excepting
those found guilty of murder shall go
to the state reformatory if they are un- |
der 80 years of age. 1t is therefore |
necessary for the jury to find the age of |
the defendant, so that the judge will |
know where to send him. This explains
the reference to Lamphere's age in the
verdict
Visited by His Mother.
Laporte, Ind, Nov. 27.-Before Ray
Lamphere under sentence from to
21 years was taken to the state prison
in Michigan City this afternoon he
was visited by his mother. The aged
woman wept as she clasped her son |
in her arms, but the prisoner bore up
today that he would move on Monday
for a new trial and that upon the
same being denied he expected to per-
feet an appeal. AS Lamphere's