Arizona republican., 1917-10-21
UNbALANCEDAT
 TIME SHOOTING,
 bUTTSDEFENSE

Whether Mrs. Ethel Butts was men tally unbalanced at the time she shot and killed her sister-inla law. Mrs. Amanda Butts, will be an issue raised in the murder trial of the pretty girl wife of Floyd Butts, now being heard in Judge Stanfords court. That self defense will be additional defense was gleaned from the trend of questions put to the veniremen by F. Louis Zim- merman, counsel for the defendant. After a lengthy examination twelve men were chosen with but one chal- lenge, a juror who announced he had fixed convictions. The men who will hand down a verdict in the case are $. c. Cheatham, L. w. Vance, C. H. Sweat, Henry Thompson, George L. Wilky, Karl s. Weiser, John Foster, George F. Millet, L. w. Holl, Charles Spain, Roy Matthews, Charles Schouse.
 Already Mrs Butts has been christ ened the 'lovely defendant and she is unquestionably the prettiest young woman who has ever had to face a Maricopa county jury She is espe- cially appealing because of the tiny baby she holds in her arms, the little boy born in the Crittendon Home while his young mother awaited trial on a homicide charge Floyd, Jr., has in herited his mothers large eyes, and although but two months old, he looks around the court room in wonder at the strange surroundings.
 That his coming may have been re- sponsible for the crime was intimated by MT Zimmerman. who asked each juror this question: Do you believe that a woman about to become a
  tally unbalanced than at any other time?" and again he asked: Would you consider in making up a verdict her condition at that time?" Do you believe in protection of the hOme-the protection of wife and children from slander," was another of Zimmerman's queries
 Do you believe it is just as import ant to protect the women of the county as well as the mem" asked l.. M. Laney. county attorney. Will you view the case scientifically and pass on the facts and the facts alone-abide by the law" the state questioned
 The jury never for a moment lost sight of the fact that the defendant was a woman, from either the county attorney or Mir Zimmerman.
 The questions came one after the
 
 that it had taken 20 minutes to ex- anime one juror and that if it took the same length of time for each one i: would take several days at least before the task was completed. Regardless of the importance of the case it should not take so long," said Judge Stanford in urging the lawyers to hasten the matter.
 The jury was selected at 1 o'clock, at which time the court continued the case until Monday morning at 930 1 o'clock
 Before the jury was drawn Zimmer- 1 man asked for a dismissal on the 1 ground that Judge Stanford did not have jurisdiction in the case since he 1 had transferred the matter to Judge 1 Baughn when he left the city for his vacation last August. The order was 1 denied
 After hearing the application of the defense for a commission to take the deposition of 0. D. Smith of Gaston, Ala. claimed to be a material witness ! in the case, which he denied, the court announced the examination of the ve- niremen was in order
 Mrs. Butts sat between her husband and mother throughout the day while short distance from the family group
 
 | dicated to the spectator not familiar with the case that one of the three was l the defendant. Mrs Butts was ap- i parently the least concerned-she sat | quietly, paying little heed to anything i save the baby in her arms. Her step | father and mother, Mr. and Mrs. | Wyatt Hanks, have come from Baird Texas, to be with her during the try l ing trial days. There are scores of 1 other Texans here who will appear as 1 witnesses. Some are relatives, others 1 friends of the defendant.
 Mrs. Butts was arrested on April 23 l charged with the murder of her sister l inlaw. The shooting occurred at a i ranch south of town where the hus- 1 bands of the two women were em- 1 ployed. At the preliminary hearing in l Justice De SOuZa's court it developed i that the brothers had quarreled on the i fatal day and that words had been ex- l changed by the women as well. The | counsel for defense offered no tes- timony and the defendant was held to i answer. The county attorneys office |, having failed to file the information in I the superior court in the time pre- i scribed by law. Zimmerman asked for dismissal, which was granted, and Mrs ] Butts was Immediately re-arrested. She was arraigned in Justice Wheeier's l court and Zimmerman instituted habeas corpus proceedings on which 1 the supreme court has not handed | down it's decision