The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1910-10-06
BISSONNETTE NOT TO BE TRIED FOR IST DEGREE MURDER States Attorney Judson and Judge Gager Agree that Accused Shall Stand
 Trial for Murder In
 Second Degree Jury Quickly Selected for Second Trial of Man Ac- eused of Staying His
 Brother-in-Law In
 October, 1909 Originally Tried for First Degree Murder and Sen fenced for Life His Coun- se1 Secured New Trial Owing to Errors Tn Trial Judges Charge.

Napoleon Bissonnette, once convicted of killing his brother-in-law, Rome P. Demery, and sentenced to prison for
 life, was today arraigned before Judge Gager and jury: charged with murdez in the second degree. <On his first trial he was charged with first degree murder and convicted in the second degree. Judge Ralph Wheeler, the l trial judge, sentenced him to prison
 for life, the penalty provided by stat I ute. His counsel, Attorneys John c. Chamberlain and George Kane, sue ceeded in having the Supreme court
 reverse the finding on the ground that the jury. This of course meant a second trial Nor the accused.
 When States Attorney Judson heard of the ruling of the Supreme court he went carefully over the evidence, and after a conference with Judge Gager, l trial judge in the present action, de- cided that with the approval of the court he would not press the charge of first degree but would proceed un- der the second degree. This was sane 1 tlloned by Judge >Gager and the second trial was begun today.
 The crime occurred in Bissonnette kown home in Seaview avenue, Oct l4' f1909. The men engaged in a scuffle in the house and Bissonnette shot Demery. and killed him. His claim l was self defense.
 Twenty-six talesmen were callee
 this morning, before a panel of F jurymen could be selected. Nine of that number were excused from act ing in the case, by the defense, two by the state, and three by the court. Every man was asked by counsel for | the accused if he had and prejudice against self defense as a defense in a
 murder trial.
 When the jury box had been filled l it was remarked that the taleSmen have had little or no experience in jury work. The jury selected com prised:
 Cornelius H. Judd, Bethel; George | F. Bennett, Fairfield; Willis M. Ritch, Greenwich; Dolph P. Loverin, Hunt l ington; Daniel B. Shelton, Hunting
 Robert R. Mills, Westport; William l Austin, Darien; Charles A. Sherwood, Greenwich; So1on B. Wales, Monroe; l Albert Wheeler, Monroe; William w Carman, New Canaan.
 Before any of the prospective jury
 men men were summoned r for @ eSaminatfon min fe1t 1 that they could not honestly act in | the case to notify the coIrt before called. The court feared that some of the ta1esmen might know some l thing of the alleged shooting, might | in a way be related to either the ac-
 cused or the dead man, or that they might have formed an opinion as to l the innocence or culpabi1ity of the ia accused, that they felt it impos-
 sible to try the ease fairly and in l partially. The court notified the jury | men that while the charge in the l indictment calls for first degree mur- der that the accused would not be l tried on that charge this decision be- ing arrived at between the court anG | the states attorney.
 The court further stated that should any of the talesmen act as | jurymen it would be up to them to | bring in a verdict, either for murder 1 in the second degree, manslaughter, or innocence. In this way two jury
 men, Moses H. Thorpe and Charles
 w. Gordon were excused MT. Thorpe l because he had read of the case and l formed an opinion, and MT. Gordon | because he was hard of hearing. In | the latter case the court requested that the clerk see that the name was erased from the jury list for all time. -(Continued on Page Two1