The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1912-10-25


 Twice during the afternoon the jury communicated with Justice Golf Once it asked for the stipu1ations made by the state with the four in formers, Rose, Webber, Va1lon and i Schepps' letter to Rose written by the little gambler at Hot Springs. Ark, l and expressing his willingness to teS- :; tify. The second time the jury want I ed the testimony of persons who talk j ed with Schepps in Hot Springs. The first request was granted; the second . denied because portions of the testi- mony taken at Hot Springs had been excluded from the evidence by the court. Schepps. in view of the courts charge, apparently was much in the i jury's mind After waiting four hours for a yer | dict, Justice Golf went home for din-7t ner. He left word that he would re turn at 10 o'clock unless he should be wanted by the jury in the meantime. Before leaving Justice Golf instruct ed court attendants to take the. jury to dinner when it's members should sig nifty they wanted togo. But the jur- 1 ors made no such request and meal was sent in to. them-sandwiches and. coffee-in a dry goods box at 8:3o o'clock. At 10 ec1ock no further word had : been received from the juryroom and1 indications then were that the jury -i'T The he prisoners destiny w was deliver ed into the jury's hands at 2:2o o'clock this afternoon, after three
  Becker characterized as distinctly un- fair and a ''tf1in-veiled summing up for the state and upon which his counsel, John F.. Mcintyre, declined to comment To do so, he said, would ] place him in contempt of court
 Stripped of it's legal verbage as it Golf, the charge was in effect, rul- ing that the guilt or innocence of the-t prisoner rested almost solely upon the debatable point as to whether sam Schepps was an accompIce to the crime. Dapper little Schepps when arrested at Hot Springs, styledshimself as the keystone of the arch. AS events transpired, he spoke truer than he knew.
 No Compromise Verdict.
 The court itself was doubtful as to Schepp's status and had declined to guide the jurors in decision What l he did instruct them to do was to return a verdict of first degree mur- der second degree murder or to ! acquit the defendant. Manslaughter was eliminated and a mo compromise verdict was directed upon the motion of Becker's lawyer. By far the great CT part of the courts instructions dealt with murder in the first degree, the 1 penalty for which is death.
 Thanked by counsel, face expression less Becker sat chewing gum while of the railing sgt his wife, head bow ed eyes downcast.
 The white haired justice spoke in a monotone but with incisive delibeE- ation. F.
 What the Law Says.
 ''It is not claimed by the prosecu- i ton that Becker's hand did actually 1 kill Rosenthal,'' he said at a crucial l point. Sit <iss claimed that he, request shosid sEl Be done ana as have already must be held responsible for the acts of every one who acted in pursuance of his request or instructiops;
 Tt is important here that I should direct you as to the law governing l the case now presented:
 Where a person is, claimed not to have done the actual killing but to l have inspired it and instructed it. Un- der the law, Becker stands charged l principally with the commission Of l the crime of murder on the ground that he counsel1ed and advised it.' The court here added that the main l with esses against the defendant were l so branded Rose, VaIlon and Webber. Schepp's relation he would not de- i fine.
 Justice Gof,s Charge.
 Justice Golf began his charge at s10:40 o'clock. He spoke almost in | whisper and the jurors leaned for
 After insfructing the jury that the 1 defendant must be presumed inno- reasonabie reas dl doubt that he he was guilty. Justice Golf defined the different de- gress of murder
 ''The killing of human being he 1 said. "can be considered as murder, manslau ghter-s and excusable homi- eide. There can be verdict of ex. l cusable homicide and I will not con sider that phase
 This mans case rests solely with you. But in making your decision 1 You must be guided entirely by the evidence and not by remarks of coun- 1 sell"
 Justice Golf warned, the jury not to 1 consider questions of counsel to which 1 ply.
 Tested by Judgment.
 ''The testimony Of each witness, he i continued, must be tested by your | judgment. You may reject or accept i any part of the testimony of any wit l ness whose sincerity you doubt and | you may also consider his manner of | replying to questions his hesita ton or i vation. es
 Murder in the first degree, the jus tice explained, is done with intent and i second degree without prem medita- ] tion-
 Tt is not necessary he said: that 1 hilton of murder in the second de- i gree. First, in the latter part of June l Becker told Webber he wanted Rosen- | thai killed; secondly, he followed this$ with instructions to Rose to have | RosenthaI Killed; thirdly, Rose, fol- ! out eT T the G designs % of Of the h. s defendant. edaat That sums up the states case If you find that it has been proved you ! must return a verdict of murder in | the first degree.
 '"The prosecution must have proved ! this clearly and beyond reasonable | doubt before you can find such a yer dict"
 Justice Golf cited cases in this tsu- perior courts held that it was not | necessary for the defendant to have seen the act of murder committed to | establish his guilt
 PrenledftatiOn.
 : -'It remains" Justice Golf con hnued, flor you to determine