The Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1???-1928, 1912-08-11
PROSECUTOR HID
HIS VERSION OF
GRACE SHOOTING
Heard Report Of Pistol Six Hours
Before Time Wife Fixed for
the Scuffle
REFUSED TO TAKE STAND
Judge Advised Against II, but He
Thinks Story Might Have Con-
victed Mrs. Grace

Atlanta, Ga, Aug. TO- Solicitor
General Hugh NJ Dorsey, States
prosecutor of Mrs. Daisy Opie Grace,
who was acquitted six days ago OF
the charge of shooting her husband,
made a public statement today@that
he could have convicted the woman,
in all probability, If he had revealed
a certain fact of his own knowledge
in regard to the shooting.
Dorsey says he heard a shot fired
in the Grace home between 8 and 6
o'clock on the morning of March 5
last, but, according to Mrs. Graee's
testimony, Grace was not shot UNI
til IL a, m. on that day. On that
plea her whole defense was built.
Legal ethics, Prosecutor Dorsey
now says, prevented his making his
evidence public at the trial
my wife and l." said Dorsey,
were in our bedroom on West
Eleventh street, just across the
street from the Grace home, on the
morning of March s. | happened
to be awake about 5 a, m, and |
heard a pistol shot in the Grace
house, / supposed at the time
someone was shooting at a cat.
Forgets About the Shot.
Il thought no more of the shot
until two days afterward, when the
authorities consulted me about the
case and gave into my possession the
two alibi letters they had found and
seized at the Grace residence. Then
it daWned on me that the report
had heard was the shot of the pistol
that wounded Grace.
Upon my own responsibility /
felt safe in ordering the re-arrest of
Mrs. Grace. I was, through my Of
flee, chief prosecutor of Mrs. Grace.
My evidence, my testimony as to the
hearing Of that shot ana the time ]
heard it in the morning, | knew
would improve the whole contention
of the prosecution and disprove the
woman's own statement that her
husband had not been shot until af-
ter / o'clock
But the mere fact of being prose-
cutor placed me in peculiar posi-
ton. Judges whom / consulted adj
yised me that for ethical reasons
ought not to take the stand, and
followed their advice
At the time of the shooting Grace
told the police he had awakened to
find himself shot, and knew nothing
as to how it had occurred. His
wife, he asserted, had gone away
and had locked him in his room.
The police had to break into the
room to get to Grace.
Story Told by Wife.
On her trial Mrs. Grace contend
ed that Grace shot himself about
II a. m. in struggle over pistol
which he had taken from his coat
hanging by the bed and with which,
she said, he had tried to shoot her.
She gave what she said was a de-
tailed description of the struggle.
The jury acquitted her.
A part of the prosecutions case
al e a1 of tutn ttaI
letters, written by Grace, in which
he described putting his wife on the
train for Newman on the afternoon
of March g. Grace, before his trial
told the police he had written the
letters before March 5, at Mrs
Grace's suggestion. The prosecu-
ton insisted that the letters were
part of a plot to make it appear that
Grace was shot after his wife had
left Atlanta, whereas, so they con.
tended, she had shot him early that
day and then locked him in his bed
room so that he did not go with heI
to the train at all.
The defense contended in the
trial that Mrs. Grace was not con-
neoted by the evidence in any way
with the writing of the "alibi' let
ters
Grace was not allowed to testify
as the Georgia law says husband and
wife cannot give evidence against
each other.
Card From Wife's Shopping Place
Grace received at Newman, Ga. {
postcard from Savannah, on which
was written.
lCoroluded ON PAGE TWo.)