Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1911-10-18

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cred her interest n balanced 1t over
against her testimony. 1t was the whole
general trend of the story of Rush's
relations with the girl, the threats he
made against his wife. the. intimacy
that existed between Them" he con-
tinued. That" he said, gave each
one a firm conviction that the slender
woman. who had sat before them for
six long. weary days. had shot her
husband because she believed herself
to be in imminent danger OF her life"
Verdict Popular, Sheffield Rejoiees.
No more popular verdict was ever
returned by another twelve men. Few
if any questioned the justice of the
finding. On all sides, men n women
rejoiced over it. 1t was only here and
there in far scattered instances that
the jury's decree did not meet APP
prevail.
The glad news preceded the hurry
ing train that bore the crowd of happy
Sheffield people to their home. 1t
spread like wildfire in the little town.
and when Mrs. Rush's dozens and
dozens of sympathizers alighted they
were Joined by a throng that had come
to the station to meet them. Mingling,
the two masses marched up the street
in a triumphant procession. A bonfire
was lighted-the beacon Of hopes de-
ferred suddenly realized.
Clock Prepared for It.. ].
The verdict of acquittal was expect
predicted the jury would agree on mot
guilty. within an hour. County Attor-
ney Clock anticipated it, so did Liggett,
his assistant. They will acquit, I'm
no fool" the former said soon after
the jury retired. They've peat u.s."
the two brothers and two sisters of
the murdered man agreed rs the
twelve deliberated.
That Andrews and Johnston We're
confident that they would get a verdict
was shown by their determination to
waive their argument. A dangerous
proceeding. other attorneys vowed, un-
less founded on a great faith based on
strong evidence.
Trial Ends Suddenly.
No one. excepting the defendants
lawyers, was prepared for the sudden
termination of the trial. They had
previously weighed the advisability of
not arguing the case, thus preventing
Attorney Liggett from closing. and at
! the last moment thought favorably Of
it. But to others Andrews announce
| mnet came with a suddenneSs almost
startling.
Ordering his instructions brought to
| him Judge Wright began reading them
rapidly. They contained thirty three
separate Instructions n legal de!ini-
tons of terms necessary to define the
meaning OF the law, For a full hour he
read. Never once during the reading
| did Mrs. Rush's dark eyes stray from
the judicial face.
Relations OF Pair i Factor.
In addition to being the usual in
structions in murder cases where self
! defense is the plea of the defendant.
! Judge Wright instructed the jury that
it was right for it to nave in mind
any evidence that showed the relations
between Rush and the Warner girl that
| " ould be of aid to them in reaching 4
| decision regarding the feelings that eN-
listed between Rush and his wife when
the latter murdered him.
The court instructed that If the jury
found that Mrs. Rush acted as a rea-
| sonable, prudent and per-
son would act, believing herself in
great peril of death or serious injury.
1 llIdl IL SllOSIS IiIlo ShA"S SAbS VNS J~oNA
| fled in shooting her husband and acquit
her. Five forms of verdicts were at
tached. They ranged from guilty In
the first degree with the death penalty
Included down thru second degree muir
| der and manslaughter to not guilty.
Verdict Confirms Defense.
The jury's verdict confirmed the
claim of the defense that the. regard
Willard Rush held for the telephone
] girl promoted the abuse he showered
on his wife and led up to his threaten
ing her to such an extent that h was
rightly justified in believing that her
life was in danger and that in killing
him h pursued a course n thought
necessary to save herself.
The state was put in the extremely
embarrassing position Of having to
prove Mrs. Rush guilty by her friends.
and to drag from them against their
will evidence that would convict. These
and Mrs. Rush herself were It's sole
sources OF strength. The evidence Of
the physicians who conducted the post
mortem, while It showed that the bull
let NUS have been fired into Rush's
body while he sat and his wife stood,
was overbalanced by evidence. greater
In bulk and from equally reliable
sources that declared this theory not
1t all tenable. Some Of 1t was directly
contradictory.
osfenseas Claim Strong.
Alongside Of this was Mrs. Rush's
simple claim unsupported by evideDce