White Pine news weekly mining review. [volume] (East Ely, Nev.) 1910-1920, 1913-03-23
K'G|LL SHOOTING CASE
NOT TO Be RESUBM|TTED
CONTINUED from page One-J

done. NeGafHn realized this. and Or
dered his men 10 shoot over their
heads. One or more men under Nc
Cain disobeyed his orders and shot
into the crowd OF strikers The per
sons Who shot into the strikers we're
guilty Of cold-bloOded murder. They
we're men Of deprayed hearts Who
place no value on human lives. The
evidence also shows that some OF the
men under MeGafn shot over the
strikers. So Il Is a fae1 that some
OF the men charged are guilty Of
murder and some are not guilty. The
guilty ones should be punished. and
the innocent ones should be 6iseharg-
Cd.
70 evidence has been offered as
10 which Of the twenty men under
Nc Cain fred the fatal shots. The
prosecution seems 10 90 On the
theory that a crime having been
committed and the state being IN
able TO prove Who i vas that fred
the fatal shots. the innocent must be
punished in order 70 be certain and
punish The guilty. This 5 not il ae-
cord with reason. justice. common
sense or Law. There Is Absolutely
nothing which viii justify the hang
ing or electrocuting an innocent man
n order that q guilty one may be
caught When the abstract question
IS put 10 him, no man who values the
good opinion Of his neighbors viii
say thar an innocent nan must be
hung or shot in order that the guilty
may be caught. Such an act would
De barbaric and fndish. Yet. under
the evidence here, this is practically
what the prosecution Is seeking 10
do. The grand jury which consider
ed this case vas largely selected
among ranchers and men outside Of
the Ely mining district because OF the
very fact that they were free from
local influences. and II must have
been the fact that the evidence be-
fore them failed TO show who the in
~diyiduals we're who did the killing.
which lead them to discharge the de-
pendants, knowing that because some
one had committed a crime, a blsn-
ket indictment could not be returned
against the guilty and innocent alike
TO be sure and get the guilty ones.
Every precaution known to the Law
is exercised to protect the innocent
from punishment. Every man charg-
ed with a crime is presumed to be in
nocent until he is proven gully, and
he must be found guilty beyond a
reasonable doubt by twelve men.
One of the twelve can prevent a con-
yiction. No innocent man viii ever
be convicted in this court for the
purpose of catching a guilty one, or
for any other purpose. II is enough
for a man I o have TO suffer for his
own sins. Adhering to this idea
there is no reason why the case
should be submitted to another grand
jury unless there is evidence showing
which of the twenty men under Me-
Calm were the guilty parties. II the
state cannot show which of the men
il was who did the fatal shooting all
of the defendants must be discharged
If the state has discovered evidence
since the hearing in this matter
showing which of the men did the
shooting the court will permit a re-
opening the ease for the reception OF
such evidence, but if no such evil
dence has been discovered, and nc
showing that there is a likelihood OF
discovering such evidence is made
the motto n to re-submit will be
denied.
In conclusion, / desire to say thai
when the motion to re-submit was
first called to my attention | was Of
the opinion that misconduct had
been praeticed before the grand jury
liustifying a re-submission; but after
reading carefully the affidavit
mentioned, and giving the entire case
careful consideration have changed
my mind and am o afraid or asham.
ed to say so.
BEN w. COLEMAN,
District Judge.