The Salt Lake herald-Republican. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1909-1918, 1910-03-22
BAD
FOR DR|SKELL
Testimony Offered in Murder
Trial Decidedly Against the
Alleged Slayer of Special
Policeman Riley Last Fall.
POINTS IN DRlskELL TRIAL.

DriskeIl to his brother In "a plea =
TO assist him in escape from jail. =
Evidence introduced by the =
state showing saws with which 10 4
file his way cut of Jail were SNUG =
= gied into Driskell I'm packages of =
breakfast food.
Negro fireman testified he heard 4
DriskelI admit that he shot OFF, \
y Riley.
= ROOming-bOuse keeper cOrrcbo-
rates testimony of eyewitness of y
shooting that DFiskeII wore
Hight suit of clothes.
Chief Counsel MathOnihah 4
Thomas fer defense announced =
that DrISkeIl would be put on the y
= stand today I'm his own behalf.
Prosecution still withholding
the confession made by Driskell y
admitting 10 the police his guilt. =
Characterization CT Witnesses =
for the defense shutters CREDIBLE
fty of testimony.
The ease may go to the jury =
late this evening or tomorrow at y
noon.
<*%<<<<<%*%%+%<*%%%+%*&*%%
With the testimony of every wit
ness. both for the state and defense,
the thongs of the law are Tightening
about Lucian Z. Driskell, who is on
trial for the murder of Special FOlice
OFFICER c. c. Riley on the night of Oc-
tober 8, 1909, in Judge T, l. Lewis di-
vision of the district court.
EImina ting any anticipation of what
the verdict of the jury will be. those
who heard the damaging evidence ad-
duced at the trial yesterday, must have
been constrained to the conclusion that
If Driskell escapes the extreme penalty
he viii be a lucky man.
At 2;30 o'clock yesterday afternoon
District Attorney SLoOfbourow an
nounced that the state would rest upon
direct testimony.
Testimony which was construed by
many as damaging to Driskelrs
chances of acquittal was introduced
during the morning session when Will
lam Morgan. cell mate of Driskell,
during his Incarceration in Jail testi-
fled he wrote ct brisk ellis dictat ton,
two notes to Tracy Driskell, brother of
the defendant.
Morgan is government prisoner
and is held on a charge of counterfeit
ing. The notes contained instructions
10 Driskell's brother to bring saws and
guns to the jail which would enable
him to escape The note is as follows:
say, I. k, we will be in the hall
tomorrow night at about halfpast
IL and Will have the screen fixed so
you can hand us in gun or to and
you make 1t back to your room see, we
VIII mark our window with the candel
burning on the bars. and you come up
and hit the screens and we viii no
you are there with the stuff and will
take 1t from you. don't fail tell us to-
morrow you viii be there. ii is life or
the roap you no. Good BY.
cor YOU can cut the littel wire that
holds the screen and We viii push it
out. don't fail us"
Deputy Sheriff ]. f. Burbridse. day
Jailer, testified that on February 10
he made a search of the cell occupied
by Driskell and Morgan and found saws
secreted on Driskeirs person. Deputy
Sheriff John c. CorlesS subsequently
found another note i'm Driskell's over
ais rolled up in cigarette papers.
The court protected Morgan from in
eliminating himself just as Attorney
Thomas had started in to put him I'M
der rigid cross examination.
For the first time since the trial was
begun counsel for DriskeI disclosed
the nature of the defense. Matt Thorn
as, chief counsel for the accused. in
his opening statement to the jury,
frankly stated that no attempt would
be made to prove an alibi for Driskell,
but the defense would endeavor to
show that q few minutes before the
shooting of Officer Riley, DriskeH
broke away from MS custody some
where on the east side of State street
between Second South and First South
streets and eseaped by running through
the alley adjoining the Orpheum thea
ire on the opposite side of the street
from the scene of the shooting.
Hints at Kennedy.
Counsel for the defense admitted that
al about O'Clock on the night of the
killing Of the special officer, Driskell and
his pal Kennedy. had been arrested by
Riley at the corner OF State and Second
South streets; that while the officer was
taking the men TO police headquarters
Driskell broke away from Officer Riley
before the shooting and therefore could
not have been the man who committed
the alleged murder.
The impression was left that the muir
der was committed by Kennedy, and I'M
Ger the circumstances as outlined by
counsel for the def tlrigkall *
cent of the crime, ne having ped be-
fore the shooting and short time later
was at his room in a hotel conducted
by Mrs. w. a. Rector at South First
West street.
MIR Thomas promised the jury that
he would produce witnesses to show that
the man who did the shooting IN noWise
fesembled the defendant, but. on the
other hand, the man who escaped through
the Orpheum alley was Driskel.
In the face OF the evidence secured from
Mrs Sarah E. West who saw the shoot
ing, and later, when taken to police head
quarters, positively identified Driskell as
being the man who killed the officer; OF
the note written by priskell Wlile in Jail,
admitting 10 his brother, Tracy Driskell,
that he was in dire straits in connection
with the crime, the defense realized that
they must make a strong counter show
ing against these damaging statements.
Defense Is Lame.
Instead of having witnesses to bear out
the line of defense that Driskell did not
commit the crime, but escaped from the
officer and disappeared several minutes
before he was shot, the defense made a
decidedly lame showing.
The defense called Henry McSlater, q
young man about town, who admitted
on the stand that he was a hanger-on
about a gambling house. 1t was with this
witness that the defense was to prove
that he saw a man answering the descrIp-
ton of Driskell run through the Orpneum
alley few minutes before ne saw an
other man shoot the officer down across
the street.
Instead of proving the valuable wit
ness which the defense evidently thought
he would be McSlater became badly con-
fused in tel1ing his story direct, and al
most panic-stricken under Che rapid-fire
of crOss-exs mnatiOn by District Attornow
Lo0fbourow
McSlater in an incoherent and rambling
manner said he was standing in front
of the Empire theatre when he saw two
men walking north on State street be-
tween Second South and First South
streets.
Suddenly" said the witness. 7 heard
the driver of water wagon call to
somebody who was running across the
Street and who was about to run into
the sprinkler The two men whom I had
first observed were some distance ahesd
of the man who was trying TO cross the
street The man who was running de-
toured around the water wagon and
crossed ahead of the two men, but kept
10 the east side of the street and dis
appeared from my view.
II was standing in front OF the Or
pheum theatre reading a billboard My
hack was to the east side of the street
/ heard two shots in rlpld succession.
~ rushed across the Street and saw the