The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1913-08-05

take place in Nicollet, his home coun-
| ty. On Jan. 31st, 1868, after an un-
usually lengthy trial, the Nicollet
county jury found Gut guilty of muir
der as charged in the indictment, and
on Feb. LIST Judge Austin sentenced
him to be hanged.
An appeal was taken to the SUI
preme court by the attorneys for Gut,
who had been retained by number of
the men engaged in the lynching, and
in the fall of 1868, Hon. Thomas Will
son, then chief justice of the supreme
court, afterwards representative in
congress from the first district, and
later counsel for the Omaha road, in
which position he passed away at a
ripe age, handed down the decision
which sent Gut to the gallows, and
which laid down rudiments of crimi-
nal. law which have so often been re-
ferred to by not only the Minnesota
courts, but courts of other states, and
text book writer's.
In the supreme court Cuts attor-
neys objected to the grand jury which
returned the indictment, but Justice
Wilson held that no challenge could
be taken for the panel on a special ven
ire, except for the causes allowed by
statute to the panel summoned on the
general venire. Cuts attorneys, OBJ
jecting to the adjourning of the court
from Brown to Redwood county, the
supreme court held this not repugnant
to the constitution, that the act per-
hitting the adjournment was not ex-
post facto, and that the title of the
law covered the subject matter.
Case Hard-pressed One
There were two indictments against
Gut, but the court held that this was
no reason for setting aside the first.
The selection of jurors, the filing of
the list and the drawing by the clerk,
were all held to be in perfect form,
Notwithstanding a slight error by
the sheriff in returning the list. This
informality was thought unworthy of
consideration for a new trial, and
when Cuts. attorney set up that he
had killed an alien enemy, the court
held that "to kill an alien enemy after
he has laid down his arms and is in
prison, is murder, and the rule is the
same where the enemy belongs to one
of the tribes of Indians" And also,
that the proclamation or order of a
state officer would not make such a
killing legal The fact that the per-
son killed had killed a friend of the
defendant, is not, in law, such pro-
vocation as will reduce the crime from
murder to manslaughter.
The question of insanity of Gut was
set up, but the court brushed that
aside, and when intoxication was al
legged, that was likewise given a SINH
lar blow. The lower court was held
not to have made any error, and final
ly when Cuts attorneys contended
that the date set for the execution
having passed their client was en-
titled to his release, Justice Wilson
stated that in capital case the time
of execution was not an essential part
of the judgment, and if, for any rea-
son, the governor did not issue his
warrant for execution Immediately on
the expiration of the time fixed by the
court, for the solitary confinement, he
could afterwards issue it.
The governor issued it shortly after
this celebrated decision, and within
the period fixed by the statute of Min
nesota of that time John Gut dropped
from the scaffold to expiate crime
for which he had been convicted, and
in which many others were involved
but not punished. And the second
floor of the old Roberts building,
which stood for years on Second street
of Redwood Falls, but which is now
no more, saw the return of the grand
jurors with the indictment which
charged Gut. and others with the
crime.