Norwich bulletin. [volume] (Norwich, Conn.) 1895-2011, 1911-09-09

Chesterfield Courthouse, Va. Sept.
S.-4WeIve Virginia farmers knelt at
Ccs-. tonight III Lne VOscuiit, -. tue
small jury room of Chesterfield court
house. praying fervently that they
might pass judgment Alright on Henry
Clay Beattie, Jr,. indicted for the MUIR
der Of his wife. Grimly determined,
they arose moment later and silently
one by one recorded a unanimous YER
dict Of Guilty.
Jury Out SO Minutes.
Pausing IN solemn contemplation for
fifty eight minutes. weighing carefully
the meaning OF their decision and once
more on hended knees beseeching di-
vine assistance that they might not
err. they filed into the hushed stiffness
or the crowded courtroom and with
startling suddenness twelve voices. in
stead OF the usual one OF the foreman,
spoke the single word, Guilty. 1t
VAS almost a shout.
To &c Electrocuted November "a.
rfne spectre of death which stalked
lfiidlothian turnpike on July Is last
when the life Of Mrs. Louise Owen
Besttic was taken away with the sin
Gle report of q shotgun stared hard at
the young husband. ready TO claim its
victim by electrccution on Friday. No
vember a. next. But the prisoner re-
turned the gaze, answering and un-
afraid.
AINcTplcd 70 OOEbOif rilS
The court Of appeals, to be sure,
will be asked to grant a writ of error
and a new trial. Young Beattie. cog
infant Of the legal weapons yet at his
disposal. did not surrender. Instead,
he consoled his broken down father,
vnite-hsired and Wrinkled. and com
ferted him as he whispered, Il haven't
lost yei. father
His lnfideiity an lnfIuerce
Unusual as had been the tragedy and
the cruesome stage where it occurred,
the twelve jurymen did rot hesitate tG
admit to their friends that they stood
IN judgment not only over the cold
hiooded murder. but upon his marital
inddeiity as well 1t perhaps was the
dramatic climax Of Virginia Justice
which in the last half-eentury has.
swiftly sent 10 death such nurderers
as Ciuverius. Phillips and McCue
Great Interest in Richmond.
Al the close of a powerful address
b T. -. Wendenburg, the voluntary
assistant or the commonwealth in the
cas-. The suspense was felt not alone
IN the courtroom. but in Richmond,
where thousands Of people awaited the
oltcorne. The jury had for eleven days
heard evidence. for two days speeches,
hrt the words OF Wendenburg rang in
their ears as they left the courtroom
TO find their verdict:
Wendenburs's Strong Plea.
Let that man go free he cried.
what, Let that man go free2 Why,
tho motherhood of Virginia, the wo-
manhood of this nation will shudder
fu terror as the security of its life is
threat tened. Let this man go free?
The man who basSed in the degraded
sunshine OF another woman while at
his home young wife nursed his
child Gentlemen ] merely ask you in
the name Of justice to DO your duty
The Prosecutors Word Picture.
in vivid detail the prosecutor por-
traycd the wife as she started on her
innocent journey into the cool air of
summer night. The jury saw again
in their minds the automobile in which
she rode beside her husband. how Be
attic stepped into the darkness of the
rhickef found the shotgun which he
had earlier concealed. and deliberately
slew his wife. The desperate ride
home with a bleeding and lifeless body
crushed into the small space in the
front part Of the machine, the husband
coidlv sitting against the blood covered
head OF his wife. were graphically de-
tailed TO the jury.
Blood Stained Clothing Exhibited.
The defense had claimed. he said,
that on PauTs story alone vas built
the case OF the prosecution, but ne held
sloft the bloodstained clothing OF the
prisoner as the mute evidence of the
other evidence" ."
Shouted ~Shsnel" at Prisoner.
Not alone with the clothing did the
prosecutor disentangle what he termed
THE cheapest fabrication Of the cheap
est murder" but he shouted shame at
the prisoner for his relations with
mere slip of a girl from the age of
thirteen until within his own married
life. and held her forth the motive
for the crime.
Passion Bern of the Devil
And the prisoner admits Il was the
,zssion," said Mr. Wender burg. Yes,
h was passion, but passion born of the
devil. and passion that sent to death
his wife so that he might continue his
p1rious pleasure" Mr. Wendenburg
concluded his address few minutes
after D. m A brief respite was Civ
en- the jury and at 5.zs O'Clock it be-
gan consideration of the case.
Jurors Minds Already Made Up.
For ffty-eight minutes they were to-
Eether in deep consultation. a jury of
simple farmers who each morning sang
hymns and strove to forget the story
Of dissipation as related day after day
On the witness stand. What had been
generally predicted was true. and their
minds were we'll made up by the time
they left the courtroom
Vote Was Unanimous
w. l. Burgess. a square jawed man
with an earnest face, was elected fore
man They balloted and il was no
surprise, they afterwards declared, that
all voted alike. They prayed that they
might not take life IN vain, and they
opened their consciences to one an
other for nearly AN hour. 50 that they
might go back To the court room firm
IL convinced Of their duty and OF one
mind.
Seattle Reads Sporting Page.
And ia the court room sat Henry Clay
B~atiie Jr.. the sporting page of a
newspaper spread before him. But he
did net read long. He folded the pa
rer and concealed his face in il. Those
who sat near the boy of iron nerve
observed the twitf1ling of his lips. as
though moving in prayer. las he sat
with rloser eyes awaiting the return
Ct the Jury. He raised his hsad for a