The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1920-11-25

torneys smiled at this suggestion and
declared that the governor would give
little consideration to such petition
following the verdict of Jury. 1t is
thought possible that the petition may
be sent. Some of the men urged that
the petition be held up until after Lang
had been sentenced by the court. I'M
doubtedly an early effort will be made
to secure the release of Lang by parole
or pardon if the motion for a new trial
is refused and Lang is sentenced to
prison.
Mrs. Lang Hears Verdict.
Mrs. Lang received the verdict quiet
ly. The news was broken to her by
close personal friends and her grief
was of such a nature that outsiders
did not intrude to ask her for state
ment in regard to the case. She was
not in court when the verdict was
rendered A great deal Of sympathy is
felt for the little woman who stuck by
her husband under the serious charges
brought against him.
Victory for Police Officers.
The verdict in the case was hailed
as more or less of vindication for the
members of the police department of
the city who had been bitterly assailed
in the case. At the police Office there
was a noticeable feeling of relief rath-
er than citation. Chief of Police Owen
O'Hare was not under fire in the case,
but it was evident that he was pleased
with the verdict He had contended
from the first that Lang was guilty and
that jury which heard the evidence
in the case would find him guilty"
1t is expected that Attorney Buck
master, who tried the case for Lang,
will file proceedings with the police
and fire commission on the statements
made by Lang and it is expected that
these charges will be given careful
hearing and the commission will de-
eide whether or not the police officers
were guilty Of using undue force in
securing the confession from Lang.
Was Most Spectacular Crime.
The crime for which Lang was con-
victed was one of the most spectacular
in the history of this section Of Wis
consin. Charles Pacini, one Of the
most prominent leaders of the moving
picture world in this section of the
country, was shot and fatally wounded
in the Arnold & Murdoch garage on
the night Of August 18th. Many stor-
les were told in regard to the crime
and many theories of how Pacini met
his death were advanced. Several ar
rests were made, but none Of the peo-
pie taken into custody gave to the po-
lice any clew as to the facts in the
shooting Of Pacini. The trail of al
legged slayers was followed in Chicago
and other cities.
Then Lang Confessed.
Then Lang confessed. The defend
ant had been arrested on charge of
burglary on the night of September
9th and on the morning of the 28th,
after a night Of questioning by the
police during which he declared that
he had been beaten by the officers, he
startled the officers and the whole city
by signing confession that he had
shot Pacini. The following morning
he went into the circuit court and
pleaded guilty to the charge but be-
fore sentence was imposed he told the
court that he did not kill Pacini and
that the confession had been beaten
out of him. Then followed the spec
tacular attacks upon the police depart
ment and the long trial.
Much Sympathy for Lang.
The fact that Lang was man of
weak mentality and that he was usual
ly filled with liquor seemed to make
him a matter of sympathy for many
people of the city and they espoused
his cause with great vigor.
At the trial scores of people of the
city sat through every court session
because Of their interest in Lang and
because they expected that the police
department would be put under fire
Few cases in the history of the courts
Of Kenoshs county have brought such
vigorous differences of opinion among
the people of the city.
Attorneys Work for Nothing.
An interesting feature of the case
was the fact that the law firm of Buck
master & Hammond accepted the de-
tense of Lang with the understanding
that they would do their work for
nothing. Attorney Buckmaster gave
weeks of his time to the case because
of his personal conviction that Lang
had been the victim of police third de-
gree methods. He repeatedly declared
that he had gone into the case for but
one reason and that was to see that
flair play was done. The attorneys
were not appointed by the court to
defend Lang and their work was given
without remuneration.
Hammering home the fact that it
was Frank Lang who was on trial and
not the police department of Kenosha,
Judge E. B. Belden in the circuit court
instructed the jury when he gave the
case to them to arrive at verdict just
after five o'clock Thursday evening.
The instructions of the court are
regarded as the most interesting fea-
ture of the case from the standpoint
of the lawyer and the court attendants
as it is considered that these instruc-
tions reflected more or less the idea
of the court of the creditable evidence
in the case.
The instructions given to the jury
} did not follow stereotyped lines, but
: took up especially problems which have