The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1919-06-23
SOVIET RUSSIA
 FREES MURDERER

Now York, June 2o-(special Cor respondence)-A Russian soldiers ac- count of the acquittal by a Bolshevik s'tbunal of a man who murdered his wife, as given out in the July Gen. slry by Manuel komroff, a former off, Eoiai of kerensky's government. now In this country. reveals to what an ex- iant barbarous crimes are condoned in So'Iet Russia. Manuel Komroff gives the story as the soldier witness re- ported 1t.
 There was q gunner in our regi- mont who was one of our crack shots. --sr the first year he had charge of a
 -ssnine gun. A fine fellow but his wife was flirting with other men, and he was of q Jealous nature and could not bear 1t. l would often hear him humble, Yes, I love her: but she will die-she will die She did. He killed her. It was when he had two weeks leave, and he was returning with a St. George Cross for bravery. When he came home he forgave her at first. I accidentally met them in O restaurant, eating supper, and they were the gayest couple you ever saw; but a black cloud must have crossed their horizon, for in the middle of the night he shot her through the heart. He was crack shot.
 Tt all came out in the trial. was one of the witnesses, and so was his wife's mother. She defended him. The Revolutionary court did not know tho laws, and the man who de- tended him was q friend and not a lawyer. Ills friend was very clever. In summing up he said: Here is q comrade before you charged with murder. If ever a man was guilty, he is. The objection l have is that you charge him with only one murder, his last. He has been murdering for over two years; and, what is more. he has been killing people in cold blood. Those he killed in cold blood were in dividually innocent. although collect lively, admit, they are pest. But my friend is not accused of these crimes at all. He is accused of killing the woman who betrayed his love, sold his home, and starved his baby: killing her not in cold blood, but in the heat of passion. For killing hundreds of people that he did not know he was awarded a cross of honor. but for killing a snake that was once a woman and his wife he Is brought here in the clutches of justice. My friend is guilty. and we will not at tempt to SqulTIn out or the cnaTSeS confronting him: but I must ask the court, I must insist, that the charge be corrected to read, Charged with murder of two thousand men and one prostitute
 Then the judge got up and spoke Comrades and friends he said, this is q strange case. and it pleases me greatly to see that professional law yers are not participating. A good lawyer would divert the issue to the psychology of momentary mania or to the unwritten law. To me the case is simple. Human life has become of little value: it is a pity. We. have en- listed this man, now prisoner to de- fend his country against invaders, and we must realize that he is forced to kill to do his duty. We have instruct cd him fin the art which he has prac- ticed these last two years. and now we ought not to object if he happens to kill someone fin a rage. This talk about crime against a society or na- ton differing from crime against a person is beyond me. I must confess I see little difference, excepting that in one case the prisoner has had our permission and sanction, while in the other no one asked him to do wrong. Both cases are bad but to say that one is worse than the other appears ridic- ulous.
 "Tn the conference we just held. 1t was suggested that this act and similar ones, should not be encourag- ed. and that to insure against this O minor penalty should be inflicted; but in view of the love the prisoner had for his wife. her loss Is natures pun ishment. with which we ought not to interfere. The prisoner is therefore freed and ordered to return to his regiment.