Norwich bulletin. [volume] (Norwich, Conn.) 1895-2011, 1911-09-08
Counsel For the Defense Asks Jury to Spare
the Son to His Father
BITTER ATTACK ON PAUL BEATTIE'
Attention Called Latter's Reputation For Truth and
Veracity-Prcsecution Lays Stress Double Life
of the Prisoner and Points Out Miss Binford as
Motive-Beulah Binford to Go on the Stage.

Chesterfield Courthouse, Va, Sept
7.-For five long hours in a hot and
murky courtroom, Attorney Hill Car
ter, with plea of both pathos and
Jurymen in an effort to secure the ac-
auittal of Henry Clay Beattie,. Jr,
Verdict Expected Tonight
At sunset Mr.. Carter concluded and
tomorrow the great battle of the trial,
the clash between Harry M. Smith,
Jr., of the defense, and l.. c. Wen
friends and notable lawyers, is sched-
uled, verdict being expected some
time during the night.
Denounced Paul Beattie.
From the depth of an argument in
which he unSparingly denounced Paul
Beattie, cGGsin of the accused and
principal witness against him. as
weakling and falsifier, Mr.. Carter at
times fairly shouted to the jury as he
leaned over the bar, but when the day
was drawing to close his voice sank
to whisper of impassioned appeal
Spare the Father His Son.
If you gentleman of the jury he
said in a measured tone. "can within
the sanctity of your oath prevent the
III CSSiHS VI lu0 pOiSOn6u CndI1Ce 10
the lips of this aged father his heart
already bleeding from the stab of a
dagger which took away a life if you
can say, spare him the son whom
he loves SO dearly, / ask you within
mercy to bring in a verdict of not
guilty"
Elder Beattie Greatly Affected
The lean man of wrinkled brow and
sunken cheeks who sat beside his ac-
cused son dropped his eyes and raised
his fan to conceal the trembling of his
lips and the huge gulps Of emotion
that followed.
Young Beattie SpefIbound
Young Beattie started hard at the
jurymen, his face waXlike and still
For moment there was silence in the
courtroom. Then Judge Watson look
ed at his watch. glanced through the
windows at the. long shadows on the
green, and without further comment,
adjourned court until nine o'clock to-
morrow morning when the final lap in
the race for the life of Beattie will be
run.
+ The Judges instructions
The day began with the reading by
Judge Watson of the Instructions to
the jury. More vital than usual were
they, particularly as attention was
drawn to the frailty of the alleged
confession of Henry to Paul and the
manner in which it came-in Jail from
an incarcerated witness to the COM
monwealth's attorney. Other points in
the story of Paul which related to the
conversations of Paul or meetings of
the two cousins alone unsupported by
witnesses were held up as requiring a
careful scrutiny.
Stress on Beattie's Dissipation.
j. NJ Gregory, who opened the ar
gument for the prosecution, laid par
tlcular stress on the awfulness of the
crime, the admissions of the accused
himself on the witness stand as to his
relations with Beulah Binford, and his
continuance of them, Notwithstanding
his marriage and the, birth of a child.
The prosecutor appealed to the moral
and religious senses of the jurymen
and bespoke in bitter terms the aver
sion of society and the nation to the
life of dissipation depicted by young
Beattie, his thum Sampson, and nu-
merous other witnesses. ~
BeuIah Binford the Motive.
Quoting from the Scripture and
pointing out wherein the character of
Beattie had been most revolving in it's
departure from the accepted standards
of morality, Mr. Gregory reviewed the
details of the double life admitted by
the accused while on the witness stand
and held forth Beulah Binford, the
girl of the underworld, as the motive
for the crime. He concluded with the
question Oh now the gun bought Dy
Paul Beattie for his cousin happened
to be the identical weapon that was
used in killing Mrs. Beattie.
Carter's Plea in Roaring Voice.
His speech occupied barely an hour
and a half. but the one that followed |
by Mr.. Carter for the defense was
many times as long. man of girth |
lowered the bar. occasionally empha
sizing his remarks with wide, sweep |
Ing gestures and a roaring voice. :
Attack orr Paul Beattie.
Most vigorous was his invective |
against the testimony of Paul Beattie. |
He characterized as childish the col
lapse of Paul at the coroner's inquest |
boys grandfather had testified as to
his poor reputation for truth and vel
racity. Many were the hypothetical
questions he propounded to assert the
in1pro bab bility of the murder by the
young husband
Why Was Not a Pistol Used?
why he asked. should this young
have someone else buy shotgun and
go about the attack on his wife in this
senseless fashion; why
could he not have employed a pistol,
practically an invisible weapon, and
one to which he had easy access? And
oOOS liO iOOh ~ yOtt hihC thOs COlQ- |
blooded brute that committed this
crime %
Paul Feared He Would Be Blamed.
Discrepancies-to his mind-by the
score were instanced by Mr.. Garter
as showing the Inconsistency of Paufs
story. The one explanation which b !
offered for PauFs course of actor.
was the fact that Paul did buy a shot
gun for use Oh the bridge where he
worked as a Watchmam and was alarm
ed four days tier at The possibility
of the crime being raced To his door
cIuna to Hishwayman Theory.
He has no explanation as to the +
Of the gun TO the alleged high
hands and gave no intima-
ton in his speech of charging Paul
with the. crime, for he cling stead
fastly to 1.-The story of the defendant |
of the six-foot highwayman of scruby