The Alaska citizen. (Fairbanks, Alaska) 1910-1917, 1911-09-11
Man Sentenced for life
Lashes Judge to T lis F ace

not guilty il | had been tried for
the murder Of Won Phul
Il stand ready for your unjust
sentence
Wh,tford Gives Comments On Send
ing UP Miners.
The Court-The feeling concerning
| the man who Is now on the bench
of course, you are surrounded in
Jail with fourteen men that | recent
| " sent there and that occasioned
much public comment. but We have
nothing to do with that here. The
court has passed upon your motion
| for a new trial and the record has
been made on the trial. II there has
been any error committed, either
| by the court or in the conduct OF
| the district attorney. or in any Of
! the proceedings, the record is made
| here and your rights are fully guar
anteed in that record. The district
attorney. in his opening speech. ask.
| ed the jury 10 convict you of murder
in the first degree and said that il
was TO be either a verdict Of guilty
or not guilty. 1t was one extreme
or the other. II the evidence was
true on the part OF the prosecution
it established murder in the first de
gree It il was not true. or il they
we're not convinced beyond reason
able doubt. or that they believed
you acted in self-defense. you should
he acquitted.
Defendant Henwood-May | inter.
rupt?
The Court No.
Defendant Henwood In talking
forgot something. You will ruin
my case. | would like to
The Court Very well. thought
you were thu ough. Say anything FUR
Their that you want.
Defendant Henwood-I believe i:
has been stated that shu, tol
Phul in the back You have neve"
shown that | shot Won Phul in the
back. and the evidence goes to show
that the first shot might have struck
him in the wrist | am just as sura
in my heart that the man was lac
ing me as that l am facing You now
and that his first movement was 10
reach for his gun. The doctor
brought by the state could not tell
which direction the bullet went in
his shoulder.
All three Of your witnesses for
the state had been at the iheater
that night Judge Owens. think
was little prejudiced in his feelings
towards me not that ] had done
anything to HIM, but Was PERHAPS
little too familiar with him, and
apologized for that bat at least one
if not all three of them. had made
ter Mr. Copelanl's death that the,
decided to testify.
In other words. they were no,
going to testify Il the Won Phul
case. Mr.. Rol!es;one. il | had con
sidered who one o. M friends was
would have said Mr. ROLES, one
was one of them. II vo; Will read
over the testimony OF these three
men carefully, there was !ot sin
gle one OF them thul gave the same
testimony. with one exceptiOn-they
said that Immediately after | sho,
him he turned his back to me-
Now, there is not an American
citizen who can satisfy himself in
struck man and knocked him down
on the floor that he will Immediately
turn his back completely around.
have always claimed that the mar
was looking at me. | have always
claimed that he put his hand on his
hip pocket. One of the witnesses
said he was walking around; the
other two men said they were try
ing to pick me up. Those are the
witnesses that you brought to swear
my life away.
In the closing questions of the
district attorney to me. ! remember
these questions rather clearly: Mr.
Elliott said. Were you in Mrs
Spriger's room at 3 o'clock in the
morning. | said, 4 certainly was
not Didn't you tear a nightshirl
from the person of Mrs. Springer?
said 4 did not Now. they brough,
in the housekeeper at the Springer
ranch, Mrs. Carpenter: she is an ole
woman. and she is that type Of
woman that is vindictive: she dis
liked Mrs. Springer and took advant
age of her. If you are in the habi,
of Judging men and people, you know
that that woman's testimony was
false. You took it upon yourself tC
say that one of my witnesses--ii
was this man Carver who testified
had given false testimony. VIVA,
right had you to say that was false
You have no right to. | expected
you to say the same thing abou,
the next man.
Il think Mr. Chiles and Mr. Elliot,
will see the day when they are big
enough to take me by the hand and
say, when all of these things come
out, that l have been wronged. AL
of the truth is going to come out
between ) and $50, during the at
ternoon, she saw the maid come W
and she saw me come up and close
the door. That was the likely thing
to do if Mrs. Springer was in bed.
THE jury is supposed to use its
thinking power - like the Becken
stein jury. which was composed oil
different men-not any dollar-and-a
half men. Among these dollar-an
a-half men there are lots of good
men, but do you suppose they have
any chance with the district attor
ney's knowledge of their past and all
about their movements. You have
a lot of old stagers that know you
want a conviction; but you have go,
a different bunch of men on this
time-men who have minds of their
own and business of their own They
just took one vote and that was
not guilty.
"NOw Mrs CarDenter-I am get