The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1913-11-11

dent claimed to be the exact situation
at the time of the shooting.
Judge Gibson extended his right arm.
which was grasped midway between the
elbow and wrist by Judge Daley with
his left hand. Judge Gibson, standing
with his right side toward Daley and
leaning backward, held at his left hip
the revolver, with which it is admitted
Foster shot Prouty, demonstrating ef
fectively, he claimed TO the jury, that
not only was the weapon over three /
feet from Prouty's head, but that the I
angle at which the revolver was held +
gave the angle at which the doctor s I
declared the bullet entered PrOuty S /
head As to Prouty's cap being on the I
lawn near the roadway and Prouty s I
body falling 50 that the head was at the |
further side of the wheel track, he +
claimed that Prouty' attitude of at |
tempting to pull Foster after him
toward the stone wall would have ac-
counted when Prouty was shot, for the
cap falling off and the man staggering
backward to fall where the body was
found.
He declared that Prouty had pur-
posely delayed at Warren 5 mill in or
der that his return to his home by Eos
ter s place would be under cover of
darkness, for the purpose of killing
Foster. The attorney characterized
Foster as an educated Christian gen
tleman'' and an unpopular reformer, =
submitting to the jury, as he said, that
any man who attempted reform in Hall
fax would be unpopular.
In conclusion, he said that they did
not ask for sympathy-the respondent
he said, had expressly requested that he
make no plea for sympathy or mercy
he did ask that they find that there was
a reasonable doubt that Foster had kill
ed Prouty other than in self defense
Court then took a recess until 9
o clock this morning
Attorney General Brown began the
closing argument for the state immedi-
atelv on the opening Of court today and
concluded about 1880 clock He
ridiculed the story of the defense as to
1 the troublesome character of Ossie
Prouty, declaring that Prouty was not
q man Of war and had not been shown
/ to be such BY the witnesses for the
defense. He said il would be neces-
sary to believe that Mrs. Cumming, Fos
ter ! housekeeper, had no desire to do
anything other than favor Foster inso-
far as her limited ability would permit.
Then he stepped to the civil engi-
neer 5 plan of the premises and took up
/ Foster s story of how the respondent
came ont of the hatchwav and stepped
over the wall adjoining the house and
Of how Prouty grabbed him by the
wrist few feet from that wall and
started to drag him toward the wall on
the opposite side of the road The
attorney general said that if Proutv
had been looking for a stone with which
70 ..smash Fosters head. Is the re-
spondent testified, there were enough
stones in that nearest wall to have
killed the whole town Of Halifax
Taking M Mrs Cumming 5 story of
what She saw from the door-that She
saw Foster near the roadway and that
Proutv jumped from his wagon and
they had 4 fight there-the attorney
general showed that there was nothing
in her testimony to show that Prouty
hauled Foster across the lawn In
these essentials the stories of Mrs
Cumming and Foster were ut wide va
Rance.
On the proposition that Foster never
/. replied IN kind to Prouty 5 epithets
, bat always turned the other cheek, Mr.
Brown pointed out that Mrs. Cumming
! testified that after Prouty passed thu
! Foster place the afternoon Of Oct. II
she asked Foster why he was AWAY,
sassing Prouty. He also called at
tention to the fact that Foster admit
ted that Mrs. Cumming asked him som,
such question.
The attorney general said he prob
, ably had faced some 200 iuries in hi
! career as an attorney, but that he ha,
come to Newfane in Windham count,
, to learn from counsel for an accuse,
: man (referring to a statement IN Judg
> Gibson 5 argument) that man wa
/ as justified in shooting down anothe
! under conditions like these as he woul,
be in grinding the head of a rattle
! snake under his heel.
. In concluding his argument, Nh
/ Brown asked the jury to judge Fostc
= on the laws of Vermont and not on til
: alleged God-given right to take huma
! life in alleged self defense.