Arizona republican., 1917-05-19
Stays amd Stripes WU Fly Om West Front As So As Forre To Shape
CROFT FOUND GUILTY FIRST DEGREE MURDER
 SENTENCED FOR LIFE

A verdict of murder III the lHSl ue- gree and a recommendation ot q sen tence to imprisonment for lie was the announcement of the jury in the case of John Croft. charged with planning and directing the murder of stephen Hughes at his ranch near Tempe on inc night of December of last year. The verdict was arrived at before [ o'clock. the case having been submitted at half-past D.
 If is understood that the verdict would have been returned somewhat earlier but for a disposition to recon mend capital punishment, as could have been done under the instruction of the court. Though capital punish nent has been abolished in Arizona, the crime of which Croft was convicted was committed just six days before the law abolishing the death penalty Oe- came effective. Under a decision Of the supreme court with reference to mde- terminate sentences, sentence or death in this case could have been carried out
 So might all of the men in the peni- tentiary under sentence Of death at the time of the enactment of the anti capital punishment law, have been hanged, though perhaps under mis- apprehension of the effect of the law the sentences of all of them were for 
 mally commuted.
 Besides the officers of the court and the jury there were less than han dozen people in the court room when the verdict was announced. County Attorney Laney had just left his office when word came from the jury-room that a verdict had been arrived at and he could not be found. or any attache of his office. But that was not really necessary.
 Attorney Brumback, for the defend ant. was present and Croft himself was brought in. He wore a more serl- ous look than had clOuded his face at any time during the trial Doubtless there was vision of moose. lie was paler than usual and when the verdict was read he appeared to experience a measure of relief. No motion of any sort was offered in his behalf and Judge Stanford announced that sen tence would be pronounced on Monday morning.
 The case was resumed in the morn ing with the recall to the stand of l.. Anderson, the murderer of Hughes, to identify certain checks which had been subjects of testimony by various w.t. uesses since his last appearance.
 Checks Are Introduced
 The two most important of these checks were those received at the Hughes house after. the murder rom the University of Arizona for hay, one for s200 and the other for $40. These checks had been deposited to the credit of Croft in the Central bank of this city. Anderson said he had brought them to Croft, who was then stopping at the Hotel Adams.
 Regarding a check for $500 to which Anderson had forged the name oi Hughes and on which he had received the money from a bank in Tempe, An derson said he had committed that for gery under instructions by Croft, who was sick and needed money. He gave Croft $16O With the other checks con corning which Anderson testified, Croft had no visible connection.
 The only other witness introduced by the state was Deputy Sheriff E. J Warren, who with Marshal M. C. Browning of Tempe, brought>Groff and Anderson back from Fl Paso. Warren said that when he took the prisoners into a dining car and removed the handcuffs that they might eat, leaving their legs still shackled, he observed Croft kicking the feet of Anderson anc holding his fingers over his mouth as { sign of silence
 County Attorney Laney then an nounced that the state would rest. At torney Brumback gave notice of mo ton to instruct the jury to find for tho defendant and the jury was excused while the motion was being presented The attorney asked that the testlmonl of Sheriff Wilkey, Thomas J. Hughes and Detective A. J. Bruce regarding statement or confession made by Grof in the office of the county attorney b. stricken out on the ground that m foundation had been laid for it. HI a Clxad for the StrlKln. out of this testimony on the ground that previous to the making of tn statement, Croft had not been in farmed that anything he might sa would be used against him. He de clared that there was no evidence cor meeting the defendant with the killin of Hughes except the testimony of al accomplice Further than that, tn corpus delicti. he said had not bee established; there was no positive evi dence that Hughes was dead.
 The motion to instruct the jury wa denied and Croft went on the stand His testimony was sweeping denia of the statement of Anderson and c the testimony of Sheriff Wilkel Thomas Hughes and A. J. Bruce tha he had made confession in their pres ence in the office of the county attor ney He denied also the testimony c T. D. mules. belonging to the Hughes ranc from Croft. and also the testimony ( Earl S. Wiatt, paying and receivin teller of the Phoenix National banl that he had been identified at the ban by Moore and that a check of $155 payment for the mules had been pal by the witness.
 Where He Met Anderson
 Croft said that he had first met AT derson on the Kyrene ranch of w. Kingsbury last September. He sai he did not kill Hughes and did not pei suade or coerce Anderson into murder ing him. He denied that he had take a trip to Chandler with Anderson thrt weeks before the murder and that the or at any other time had he outlined plan for the killing of Hughes. He sa he had received no money or oth' property that belonged tG Hughes.
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