Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1909-03-18
No VERDICT IN
COOPER
CASE
DAYS DELIBERATIONS
OF JURY FRUlTLESS
Sensational Tennessee Murder
Trial Winds Up With Twenty
Thousand Word Explanation
of Law by Judge Hart.


IBy Morning Journal Special Leased wire
Nashville, Tenn, March 17.--Judgt
Hart delivered his charge to the jury
in the Cooper-Sharpe murder trial to,
day. The document contained 20,00t
words and the lawyers say it is tn,
most comprehensive and clear charge
ever delivered in a Tennessee court
1t includes the theories of the stat,
and Of the defense, a digest of the ties
timony of every witness on either side
Judge Hart read his charge from III,
witness staru, saying the law makes
the judge a witness of the law, sc
he would take the stand himself ant
give his testimony.
A detail of ten uniformed police.
men were stationed around the bar
the sheriff explaining that he inten'
ded to run no risk of a demonstration
at the eleventh hour. The reading
Of the charge was finished at 1915
o'clock and the jury Immediately re-
tired.
After reading the Indictment Judge
Hat said:
while this Indictment contains but
one charge upon its face in contem-
plation of law, it embraces foul dis
tinct felonies:
Murder in the first degree: muir
der in the second degree; voluntary
-manslaughter and involuntary man
slaughter. without reference at
present to the facts in this particular
case l shall o explain to you what
in law it takes to constitute each of
these different offenses."
Judge Hart then at length defined
the various f~elonies mentioned
The distinctive feature of the muir
der in the first degree he said, lis
generalization. and this element in
wolves a previously formed design or
actual intention to kill"
Judge Hart defined malice and de-
clarcd ii was the principal Ingredient
Of murder in the second degree.
Judge Hart defined heat of passion
~ excitement of such a nature as
would obscure the reason of any or
binary man and render him liable tC
do an act which might cause death
Previous threats by the deceased
agains tthe defendant, or acts of hos
tility toward him, OF previous abuse
of him. how violent soever ii may
have been, or trespass upon his pro-
perry" continued Judge Hart. "is not
such provocation as the law recognizes
~ sufficient to reduce an unlawful
killing TO m~anslaughter if the killing
was done at such time as had lapsed
after these things had been done as
n reasonable person would have
gained control, and a killing under
these circumstances would be deemed
by the law malicious and not the re-
suit of provocation. and therefore
murder. In other words, if there had
been sufficient time for the passion
TO cool. the ~provacation will not miti-
gate a subsequent killing to man
slaughter. The question is not whether
the blow was actually struck in the
continuance of passion but whether
there had been a reasonable time for
the passion to cool in the case of any
ordinary person. This must depend
upon the circumstances of the particu-
lar case under investigation.
Involuntary manslaughter is a case
of killing where It plainly appears
that death was not intended but was
the result of some unlawful act.
You enter upon this investigation
with the presumption that the de-
PENDANT is not guilty of any crime,
and this presumption stands as a wit
ness for him until it is rebutted and
overturned by competent an dcredible
proof. sufficiently strong to satisfy
YOU beyond a reasonable doubt that
the defendant is guilty of some of
the o~ffenses which have been hereto