The Alaska citizen., 1916-04-10
JUDGE BUNNELL
 IMPOSES FIRST
 RAPE SENTENCE
WOODBRIDGE GIVEN SIX YEARS IN ITENTIARY-TWO
 OTHERS SENTENCED

1 'IlCt court. Ana upon that OCCa- sion three men. whose cases have gone through all of the legal pro ceedings. including motions for new trials usually presented by attor- neys for defendants. were sentenced ] by Judge Charles E. Bunnell w ! H. Woodbridge was given six years 1 for an attempt to commit rape; 1 C. Myers was given an aggregate sentence of five years for obtaining money and goods under false pre-. lenses, while Carl Johanson was given eight months in the federal jail for larceny
 When the Woodbridge matter came up Judge Bunnell asked the defend ant in the proceedings if he had anything to say And Woodbridge have, judge. I am not guilty of the crime of which was convicted, but realize that the court has its duty 10 perform and I am ready and willing to listen to what the court has to say" Bion A. Dodge. attorney for Woodbridge, then stated that he had nothing to say.
 Picking up the compiled laws of Alaska, Judge Bunnell read the sec tion which applies to attempts to commit crime when there is no special provision of law covering such crime, and which provides that sentence in such cases can be just half what they would be under con. yictiOn for the crime itself Several other legal points were also men toned by the judge, who then took up the compiled laws and turned to the sections which provide punish ment fol the crime of rape and which show such punishment to be from three to 20 years in the peni- tentiary He then said that the at tempt of which Woodbridge stood convicted would be punishable with from IS months to 1G years in the penitentiary.
 Continuing, the court said, in ef- feet: Tt is hardly necessary to go ever the evidence in the case The jury found you guilty and I think you are guilty. I will even go fur ther and say that l think you are lucky that the jury found you guilty on the second count and not guilty on the first count. am not dis posed to recite all of the elements of the case from innuendo to some most deliberate attempts to pre- vent the administration of justice to share in the opinion, that the methods used would be all right against anybody except you" (Judge Bunnell was undoubtedly referring to the efforts of the defense to prove that Woodbridge was being railroaded by the federal officials in that a trap was laid to catch him by representatives of the marshals office, although he made no state meHt of fact).
 You are a man of some ability and have had some advantages. In spite of the fact that you say you are not guilty. several developments at the trial concerning your associa tions with this family (Herrington) tended to prove you guilty. Some evidence was introduced to show that you carried whiskey to the woman, (Mrs. Herrington), and don't think you would have gone down there simply to give those potatoes to the family as an act of charity"
 May I say word here?' aues- toned the defendant. Certainly" said Judge Bunnell "Your honor never meant that I went there on charitable act. I went there to sell them potatoes; to sell them on time, as I knew the family to be hard up"
 Another question Is, what to do in your case?" continued the court
 Some might think that conviction on such a charge alone, would be sufficient punishment That might be true. Others might think that the court should take your family into consideration when passing sen tence That might also be true. I do not intend to impose the maxi mum sentence upon you, neither do intend to give you the minimum"
 Continuing, the court spoke of the danger to society of stealthy criminals. He said people gener ally had some respect for the thief who attended to his nefarious busi ness in the open and at the point of a gun, but that they had little or no respect for the man who would enter a house and steal S20 from a girl earning S150 per week. And then the sentence was passed. When Woodbridge broke in upon the judges talk and denied that he had attempted to be charitable toward the Herringtons. his voice shook with emotion. Otherwise, he took the sentence calmly walking