Clinch Valley news. [volume] (Jeffersonville, Va.) 18??-2019, 1911-09-15
A GREAT SPEECH
IN BEAIIIF CASE

q
Louis Wendenburg, the special pros
ecutor in the Beattie murder case in
mead himself a statewide
reputation as a criminal lawyer by
his conduct of the case. The following
are some of the quotations of his
closing speech to the jury:
"When the silence of that fatal
night was broken by the screams of
that poor, defenseless woman, rs she
realized that the man who had sworn
to protect her was fiend incarnate,
and he silenced that scream with the
report of that death dealing gun, God
frowned and the law shuddered. "
"This man was left alone on the
scene of the crime, left alone by that
pool of blood-with the somoking
weapon still in his hands. He threw
the gun into the car and the body of
his wife after it like the body of
a slaughtered beast. -
AhS fSaiHGd COulloCl
for the accused have asked you on
principles of sophistry how this man
could have committed that crime.
say that man who murders his wife
is not only murderer, but fool. E"
Beattie had to account for that
gun, and he tells you of big bearded
highwayman, a giant, who fired the
shot, and of how he, mere stripping,
goes up and wrests that gun away
from the giant, not knowing whether
he had double barreled shotgun and
whether the'giant would have given
him the other load -
"Thank God, no scrubby farmer came
along and picked up that gun. He
threw it out in the highway of
tramps, hoping that some tramp
would pick it up
| l wonder how much of this man will
go to heaven and how much will go
below. God has given us means to
procure evidence. The great power
which moves all things appealed to
the conscience of Paul and made him
reveal all he knew
This is the cheapest murder ever
heard of. 1t has an element of cheap
ness about it,"
This is the greatest crime and the
worst under the roof of heaven. Thi.
young man, gentlemen, has bound {
band of blood around his name so thai
generations will slowly go by it unit
1T is blotted out from memory The
dark and bloody annals of the pas
have nothing to equal this crime"
But there is an invisible power
somewhere, and that same power mad,
Paul tell the balance of that secret O.
his heart. He had nothing to fear. HI
knew he was an innocent agent. But
here he has been vililfed, and tn,
worst character has been attributed
to him. But tell Paul Beattie tina
God, who made him disclose tina
dreadful secret, will look after him
He has nothing to fear"
, :" A ministerial friend of mine sug
gested that the deeds of Henry VII
of England formed the greatest bio
on the escutcheon of England. And
say that this crime of Henry Beatti
has formed the greatest blot on tn
escutcheon of Virginia."
They tell you to let him go free
Let him go free. and l tell you tina
every unpublished murder takes som e
thing away from the security of ever,
man 8 life. Let this m2n go free, anC
say to Virginia: Go to the grav,
of Cluverius; go to the grave of Nc
Cue, and to the grave of Jeter Phil
Ups; dig up their bodies and apologize,
to them, and place band around TIN
escutcheon of Virginia, to remain
there through all eternity
'Justice must be satisfied, and
broken law must be vindicated. Go
gentlemen of the jury. and render
your decision so that the verdict O
this State will be: "Well done, tho,
good and faithful servants"