Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1909-08-13
ATTORNEY FOR MRS. SUTTON
DIRECTLY ACCUSES ADAMS OF
KILLING LIEUTENANT.
DAVIS MAKES STRONG PLEA
AGAINST SUICIDE THEORY
Shows That Enmity of Other Marine
Corps Officers Against Sutton Was
Intense - Scores First Court of In
quiry as Farce-Arsues That sut-
toms Death Did Not Follow Brawl.

Annapolis, Aug. 13.-The session of
the court of inquiry investigating the
death of Lieut. James N. Sutton.
United States marine corps. reached
the concluding stage today when
Henry E. Davis, counsel for Mrs. SUIT
ton, summed up his case.
Davis went back to the coming of
Sutton to Annapolis, and alluded to
him as a mothers offering to her
country's service. He referred to the
lieutenant's hopes and aspirations as
shown by the letters to his mother and
brother, and to the events of the day
prior to the tragedy, his companions.
etc, arguing that everything tended to
the negative the idea that Sutton con-
templated suicide. He criticised the
composition Of the original board of in
quest, of which the recorder was Lieu
tenant Willing, but for whose derelic-
tion, Davis said, Sutton might still be
alive. The board of inquest, he said.
acted with indecent haste, with no
notice of Sutton's family, and placing
upon him the brand of suicide, thus
denying him a christian burial, accord
ing to the family faith, and consign-
ing him to an unconsecrated grave:
stripping his parents of the hope of
reunion with him hereafter, and con-
demning him, as they were compelled
to believe, to eternal punishment.
Not a Drunken BrawI.
The speaker said the only recourse
OF the family was an inquiry such as
the one just closed. He outlined the
n onths of effort on the part of Sut-
toms mother and sister to bring this
about. Mrs. Sutton's suspicion, he said.
grew with delay. 1t was intensified by
rebuffs and disappointment and turned
into conviction which found express
sion in denunciation, which could not,
he said, be thought strange. Davis said
the tragedy did not follow drunken
brawl; that Sutton's alleged former
escapades shed no light upon the case;
that these and other matters should
never have been brought into the case
He sketched the events of the evening
and night, as shown by what he de-
clared We're uncontroverted facts and
criticized the finding of the first board
of inquest, declaring vast amount Of
testimony had not been brought out
by the board of inquest, tho easy of
access.
Accuses Adams Of Murder.
Davis declared the fights that imme-
diately preceded Sutton's death were
not fought by Sutton, but by others
who have on the witness stand
acknowledged bitter enmity against
Sutton. He ridiculed the idea that SUIT
ton killed himself because he thought
he killed Rocker, saying the evidence
shows there was no appreciable inter-
val between the exclamation. "He has
killed Rocker" and the firing of the
fatal shot. Davis declared that parts
of Lieutenant Adams testimony were
pure invention, and pointed out con-
ilicts in the testimony Of the other
lleutenants and to Inconsistencies and
contradictions to meet the exigencies of
the evidence with which he had been
confronted and he insisted Adams had
to all intents and purposes admitted
his guilty relation to the death OF SUIT
ton. Sergeant Dehart. he charged. com
mitted before this court the most flag
rant perjury.
A. E. Birney, counsel for Lieutenant
Adams, compared the honor of an Off
GER to the honor of woman, and de-
clared that the young lieutenants in
volved would he relieved of all respon-
sibility for Sutton's death. He said the
charges were based entirely on the
frantic rawlings of a woman"