The Hattiesburg news. (Hattiesburg, Miss.) 1908-1917, 1909-05-29
.CR0SbY'S FATE NOW
WITH TWELVE MEN

would have done under the same cir.
cumstncs.
In fact the attorneys for the state
and for the defense hedged around the
Crosby confessions as given on the
witness stand by Jailer Tom Giles,
this confession being the connecting
link between the scene in the woods
and the circumstantial evidence
which led to the last time McShan was
seen before he went into the woods.
To break this connecting link and
to throw doubt on the legal value of
! the Crosby confessions was the bur-
den which fell on the defense. The
defense dwelt upon the second Crosby
confession which was to the effect
that he Crosby shot McShan twice,
whereas in his first confession Crosby
said there was but one shot and that
his wife pulled the trigger.
The skull exhibited to the jury by
Coroner David Farley, showed the
effects of two shots. one in the face
and one in the back of the head. Con-
stable Riley, on the witness stand who
heard the sound of a gunshot on Eas-
ter Sunday morning told the court that
he heard only one shot. This diverg-
ence in the apparent facts was made
the basis Of all arguments for the de-
fense excepting in the matter of pre-
senting to the jury the question of
justification on Crosby's part because
if he killed McShan, Crosby did it in
the defense of the honor of his home.
At 2:05 o'clock Attorney Conner
closed the argument for the defense.
MIR. McLaurin's Speech.
At 2:25 o'clock District Attorney
McLaurin arose to close the case and
place it in the hands of the jury. He
at once took up the claim of Attorney
Scarborough for the defense that the
state had failed in its effort to identify
the dead body as that of McShan. The
district attorney briefly summed up
the circumstances of identification
and then took up the statement on
the stand of witness Tom Giles as to
the confession made to him by Crosby |
and presented in corroboration of the |
shot fired and that his wife pulled the |
trigger, the statement made to the
court by witness Constable Riley that
he had heard but one shot that Sunday
morning. To this the district attorney
added as a corroborating that he had
taken a gun to the woods and hid it.
The district attorney at this point
branched off to the 'unwritten law" ar
gument as used by the defense at |
torneys and warned the jury that they |
had sworn to bring in a verdict in |
accordance with the law and with the !
evidence as heard from the witness |
stand and not allow themselves to be |
influenced by the "unwritten law" ar
gument..
The district attorney claimed that |
the defense tried to stand on two |
grounds, self defense and protection |
of mans home. The district attorn-
ey having only about a half an hour |
at his disposal devoted almost all of |
this time to answering dramatic illus |
trations used by the defense in their
arguments some of his answers at |
times being quite amusing and which |
put the audience and the jury on the |
best of humor which proved a relaxa-
tion to the jury after the seriousness
which other counsel had filled the at
District attorney closed at $40 and |
the instructions were given to the jury |
which then retired to the jury room.
On of the pleasant features of the
session was the number OF |
congratulations rendered by many in
the court room inside and outside of |
the bar to Mr.. Stokes Robertson in |
warm congratulation of his eloquent |
of the case for the de- |
fense to the jury.
FIInAfc IMMnDA, nrnE0DMh MNES |