Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1921-12-05
JURY FAILS
Continued from Page One)

| NSShS''ASA ''o'' o9S S'Sy
attitude" He did not name the
| juror.
District Attorney Brady said that
Arbuckle had been given a fair and
honest trial. and complimented the
| jury who held out for conviction as
| having courage and determination
He was not in court when the jury
reported.
| Il had hoped the jury would reach
| an agreement" he said. Il conf
IDENTIFY expected a verdict of guilty
upon the evidence presented. In my
opinion the disagreement does not
! vindicate Roscoe Arbuckle. A vindi
cation could come only after quick
unanimous verdict. 1t was my duty
to present the facts to jury. This
| l have done though opposed by
wealth, power and influence
| The members OF the jury looked
! haggard and worn when they filed
| into the little court room. The fore
man, August Fritze. informed the
court: 1T is physically and morally
impossible for us to reach Il verdict"
| At the request of the court, he an
nounced the final ballot division.
/ Superior Judge Harold Louderback,
before whom the case was tried, then
told the jury he wanted TO determine
if further deliberation might result in
a verdict 1T is not my desire to force
any uncertain hardship on you" h.
said. But this case has taken three
weeks to try and has been conducted
a great expense. II you can come to a
verdict conscientiousIy, l desire YOU t.
do So
| He then asked each juror for an
opinion on the matter of continued
baloting and each answered emphat-
ically that it would be impossible to
reach a verdict.
The members OF the jury refused
to make statements of any kind before
leaving the building. After reporting
to the court they were escorted to n
! side street by deputy shcrifs and
taken to their homes in automobiles.
Fritze let it be known later however.
that he expected to make statement.
according to Gavin McNab. chief de-
| Tense counsel
While this, through the tachnicali-
ties of the law, is not legal acauit-
| tai, morally it is such" Arbucklc said
in discussing the jury's inability to
agree.
! Arbuckle was charged with having
inflicted a fatal injury on Miss Rape.
a motion picture actress. during a par
ty in his rooms in the Hotel St. Fran
els last September.
The undisputed and uncontradicted
| testimony established that my only
| connection with the sad affair was one
| of merciful service and the fact that
ordinary human kindness should have
brought upon me this tragedy mas
seemed cruel wrong" Arbuckle's
statement continued
II have sought to bring joy and
gladness and merriment into the
world and why this great misfortune
should have fallen upon me is a mys-
terry that only God can, and will some
day reveal
After stating that he rested his cas-.
'in divine justice and the confdenc.
of the fairness of the American poo
pie" Arbuckle concluded with the dec
laration that mo act of mine ever
has, and ] promise that no act of min
| ever shall. cause them to regret their
faith in me-
Arbuckles defense was that he was
assisting Miss Rape through a Pc
Rod of illness caused, according to de-
tense contention, by an internal dis
order at the time he is alleged by the
prosecution to have injured her. The
prosecution held that the injury re-
suited from an attempt by Arbucklc
to attack the witness.
There were two jurors who voted
for conviction, according to Fritze
His statement follows:
Il make this statement as a. duty
to the public.
There was a tacit understanding
that the members of the jury would
not make individual statements. 1
have learned since that number of
the jury have. however. done so and
L believe, as foreman. that it is we'll
for those interested in the admins
tration of Justice. that the citizens of
San Francisco, should have facts.
THE ten members of the jury who
voted in the last ballot for acauit-
tai, felt that they Voted on the evil
dence-fully considering it all. One
OF the two minority refused to con
slider the evidence from the begin
ming and said at the opening of the
proceedings that she would cast her
ballot and would not change it until
hell froze over. The other was
fuctuating, sometimes casting a
blank ballot-sometimes voting for
the defense and sometimes voting for
the prosecution.
considering all the evidence, 1t
seemed to us that the prosecutions
case was an insult to the intelligence
OF the jury. 1t asked us to substitute
conjecture for facts without showing
what had been done, and asked us to
guess what might have been done.
and asked us to guess what might
have been done and to guess only one
way.
Human liberty and American
rights should depend. not upon the