Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1922-02-27
THE GUNNER VERDICT

In presenting to its readers the story OF the
GUNNER trial, held for the purpose Of fixing re-
spons1b1llty tor one of the most diabolical ,cr1r,es
ever committed, The Herald has sought 10 provide
All accurate record of the Developments from day
to day in order that there might bean intelligent
Of the facts brought out and a lair
conc option OF all the circumstances on which 4 YER
dict was TO be based. Capable men have been as
signed to this work, and we believe that their work
has been we'll done.
The circumstances Of this case, however. are
such that II has been impossible to do r,orc than
Indicate, IN a general way, some Of the very inpolt t.
ant textures which it was necessary to present 10
the J,'7y IN detail. Some of the facts are 50 horrible,
SO utterly repulslve, that to attempt to lj-e sent her.
to the reading public would have been 4 violation,
botn CT pubic policy and of common deca1,cv. Be-
cause al this, because Of the length ol4hc ira, and
ITS many Interruptions, and because it is impossible
IN any case to surround printed words with the At
nosphere OF a court room, on which much depends,
it has been impossible for newspaper readers to-
weigh and judge as jurors must weigh and Judge
IN order to reach a Just verdict.
The state had an exceedingly difficult task to
perform in that at the very outset it was confronted
with the duty OF fixing responsibility for a crime Il,
very commission of which was d violation Of all the
probabilities. If the writer Of a novel had, for the
purposes of his story, created such a set OF facts
and incorporated them in his plot, his work would
have been denounced as d piece Of wild and SENSE
less exaggeratlor1. : lt,Was>easy to show that it was
'Pi coCA .iiot oAy particular pSIoOlf WCulQ COM
NIT this crime, because it was improbable that such
a crime would be committed at all. Yet we have
the deplorable and indisputable fact that the crime
was committed. The state and the Jury had to ac-
cept the tact that the unbelievable, the next to i'm
possible thing had bean done.
This fact, which vastly increased the difficulties
OF the prosecution in certain directions. tended in
some measure to simplify it's work in others. If it
We're urged that eertain acts cliarged against the
we're too vile and brutal to have been COM
mltted by one with ordinary human instincts, aetu-
ated by ordinary human motives, the natural reply
was that the crime itself was unutterably vile and
brutal. and was necessarily committed by so1ue per-
son who had permitted brute passion to bring him
to the level Of the beast. It was neither NECESSARY
nor possible to reconcile fine acts Of a suspected
person with - possession of even the elementary.
instincts Of humanity.
The evidence in this case consisted of a multi
tude Of fragments, many Of them, taken separately,
being quite lnconelusive as to the guilt Of any par,
tlcular person. But fitted together, as they were
fitted carefully and skillfully by the states attorney,
they formed a convincing demonstration OF the guilt
Of the man n~.triai.}
Capital punishment is no longer legal II, this
state. To most people the idea OF. setting the ma
chinery OF the state for the deliberate killing of a
human being is revolving. Yet. there are circum-
stances under which even those Who are strongly
opposed to capital punishment in general would.
favor its revival. That feeling exists in the present
case, for any penalty short Of death seems utterly
pitiful in its inadequacy. a. WY
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