Weekly journal-miner., 1921-09-14
FREEDOM FUR
 PEARL FORD
 JURY VERDICT
CFrom Fridays Daily)

COnfmeHent or TWO months ana elSHt days in the county jail, as the ac- cused in a murder case. Her jury deliberated but short time and be- fore o'clock, had returned to court and returned her liberty.
 Hearing of the Ford-Roark case was remarkably short. By midafter- noon, despite a long noon recess, Judge Lamson was prepared to hear the arguments, for all of the testi- mony had been put in.
 "It looked like an accident to me.
 In those words, one of the wit nesses for the state, C. D. Scharing son, overturned the prosecution, in the opinion of those who merely looked on from the sidelines, and made it impossible to fix the guilt upon the big woman who was scuf- fling with Roark when the fatal shot was fired the morning of July I.
 Scharingson, a young miner from the Zonia, was one of the eye-wit- nesses. He said, and the story was that of Mrs. Ford herself, that both Roark and the defendant were grip ping the revolver when it exploded and Roark was shot through the body. Mrs. Ford called it struggle for life.
 Bootleg liquor and gauge shirt, serving the defendant as night shift, were outre matters brought into the brief case. According to the defense story, related chiefly by w. A. Kir- sey, Roark was dispensing whiskey at so much drink. Pressed by the state to describe her state of attire at the moment of the killing, the de- fendant under cross-examination, ad- mitted she was in bed and clad only in a gauge shirt Counsel for the de- fense in argument later, chided the state for having brought out this de tail, which was called "embar- rassing."
 An interesting point in the defense case was reached toward the last when Alice George, wife of the man sentenced to life imprisonment last Monday, was placed on the stand to testify that when Mrs. Ford was brought to the jail, she was suffering from a slight wound on the right forefinger According to Mrs. Fords earlier testimony, this wound result ed from the struggle over possession of the revolver.
 Mrs. Kitty Bishop was the first state witness. She described the en- try into the room where the shooting took place and told of alleged con versations. The state contended that the truth was contained in an alleged statement by Mrs. Ford that she shot the deleted man and would have re- peated the performance if the gun had not been rendered useless by what the army calls malfunction. The state also held that even if it were true as alleged, that Roark ad- mitted having shot himself, it might be he was merely trying to shield Mrs. Ford.
 R. C. Hermance added a new touch to the states case when he testified to alleged quarrels between Mrs. Ford and the deceased. According to his rapid fire quotations on the stand, he had heard the defendant say variously that "Why the hell don't you go. Take part of that money and go. I know what I'll do when I get ready" The defendant went after the deceased, this witness continued, for keeping late hours. Stay out and starve, damn you" she was said to have said.
 w. H. Britt, one of the defense witnesses, said he had heard Roark tell the defendant that if some one or other kept coming around there he would kill her and him too.
 Dr. Southworth testified as to Roark's alleged statement he had shot himself.
 Argument and instructions required but a short time, and the jury took a shorter to arrive at its verdict.