Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1922-04-13
FATTY ARBUCKLE
IS EXONE RATED
IN THIRD TRIAL
Verdict of AcquittaI Returned
in Case of Movie Clown;
Receives the Word With
Sigh of Relief. 4

7 t1 IEt uedlH VI AhAepo a.
! Rape. motion picture actress. Inc
jury was out six minutes.
/ The two alternate jurors, one
man and the other a woman, were
excused. Both flatly refused to ex-
press an opinion.
The defendant was deeply af-
fected. The verdict was received
, bv him with a great sigh of relief.
There was no demonstration. the
court having warned against it.
! Mrs. Minta Durfee Arbuckle, the
defendants wife cried quietly. Both
she and Arbuckle shook hands with
1.-THE jurors.
The quick return of the jury was
a surprise.
Edward Brown. whose presence
on the jury was objected to by the
prosecution, was foreman. There
/ was a slight delay when the jury
returned due to the absence of the
district attorney.
Expected An Acquittal.
Christian Void, one of the alter
mates, said after the verdict that he
short deliberation.
he NtluItI was ny
the deliberation taking less than a
minute. The additional time was
consumed by details.
The jurors and spectators crowd
ed around Arbuckle and his coun-
sci and finally bore him off to the
Jury room to congratulate him fur
Ither.
"Arbuckle has no immediate
plans" Gavin McNab, his chief
counsel said. 1T was a splendid
victory"
"The jury did it's duty, was the
comment of Milton Y, U'Ren as
sistant district attorney.
Kisses McNab.
Mrs. Arbuckie expressed her
thanks to McNab by giving him a
resounding kiss. The jurors held
an informal reception with Ar
buckle in the jury room while
newspaper photographers, armed
with flashlights, took many pic
lures.
The third trial of the manslaugh-
ter charge against Roscoe {.
(Fatty) Arbuckle, began March
and was marked by the appearance
of approximately seventy witnesses
and the calling of two of the de-
fense witnesses before the county
grand jury in connection with theii
testimony. The trial was longer
than either OF the previous hear
ings of the case, consuming nearly
five weeks.
AS in the previous hearings;
much emphasis was placed on eX-
pert medical testimony regarding
the exact condition of Miss Rappe's
bladder before and after death.
The testimony was based on an
autopsy finding that Miss Rappe
came to her death through a rup-
ture of the organ. The prosecution
presented a report by a commission
of three pathologists. appointed at
the first trial, tending to show that,
while the organ appeared to have
been slightly inflamed this irreg-
ularity did not pre-dispose 1t to
rupture. The defense evidence
along this line tended to show that
Miss Rappe came to her death as
the result of a sudden crisis in
chronic illness. which led to the
rupture.
Witnesses SubpOenacd.
The witnesses subpoenaed to ap-
pear before the grand jury were
Mrs. Virginia Warren. nurse, and
Mrs. Helen Madeline Whitehurst,
both of Chicago. Mrs Warren,
new witness, testified that she at
tended Miss Rape in Chicago on
one occasion when the girl gave
birth to baby. Mrs. Whitehurst
repudiated deposition which she
admitted signing in Chicago to the
effect that she had seen Miss Rappe
i'll on a number of occasions at the
girls home. She expressed the be-
lief that the deposition was altered
after she had signed it, and 1t was
into evidence as an al
tered document.
AS in the second trial fourteen
jurors heard the case, two of the
number being alternates. Four of
the regular jurors and one alter
hate were women.
Court Room Packed.
Both sides waived the reading OF
written instructions in the courts
final charge to the jury. The court
room was packed throughout the
final session.
By coincidence the case went to
the jury at approximately the same
time as in the two former hearings
which ended in disagreements.
The day was occupied largely by
the concluding argument of Gavin
chief counsel for the de-
fense and Leo Friedman, youthful
assistant district attorney. McNab |
charged that the district attorney
"processed" witnesses to railroad"
Arbuckle to the penitentiary. An
swering this Friedman said that |
had the prosecution undertaken to |
frame the case" there would have |
been no chance for a defense.
Arbuckle Nervous.
Arbuckle was nervous through |
out Friedman's argument. He !
to his counsel at times |
when Friedman appeared to make |
n particularly telling point.
In his charge. Judge Harold |
the trial judge, de. |
fined manslaughter. He distinguish
ed it from unavoidable homicide. |
which, he said, was not subject to
legal action.
He also defined medical exper.
testimony, around which both |
and defense built their
cases to great extent.
"The fact that an Indictment has |
been returned against the defend
ant is no evidence Of his guilt" the
court said.
A group Of Jurors headed by
Brown issued a statement which
said:
"Acquittal is not enough for
Roscoe C. Arbuckle. We feel that
n great injustice has been done
him.
"He acted in a manly manner
and told n straightforward story"
Jury's Statement.
The statement issued by the Jury
was signed by all the Jurors. in
cluding the two alternates. 1t fol-
lows:
"Acquittal is not enough for
Roscoe Arbuckle.
1--WE feel that a great injustice /,
has been done him. We feel also
that 1t was only our plain duty to
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