New Britain herald., 1925-04-06
REPORT NEW EVIDENCE AS BASIS FOR APPEAL
tcoatinued from First Pase.)

he would serve the sentence at the Wethersheld prison concurrently with the federal sentence he is now serving. but with the death sentence imposed, an entirely new situation has arose. One way in which the state couid be allowed to execute Chapman would be by tho granting of pardon by President Coolidge to the notorious criminal. releasing him from federal custody. Judge Groehl, Chapman's senior counsel during the trial, has made 1t known that if an attempt were made to grant such pardon, Chapman would refuse 1t, his right to do so being established by the Craig case in New York, the attorney claiming.
 Hugh D. Mclean, the Holyoke furniture dealer who testified during the trial that Chapman was in his store on the Saturday afternoon be- fore the murder, has notified Attor- ney Nathan o. Freedman, Chap mans junior counsel, that he has discovered notation on the books at his store regarding Chapman's visit there on that day under the name of George l.. Shelbourne." !" When he testified for the defense during the trial, Mclean was unable to state positively the day of the visit, but was pretty sure" it was Saturday. 1. Whether or not he can furnish proof Of the visit Is not expected to be of any value in getting a new trial for the convicted murderer. as 1t would have been entirely possible for Chapman to have gone to Holyoke as he claimed, States Attorney AL corn pointed out. MiLean testified that Chapman visited his store on that Saturday afternoon, arriving at about 2:15 o'clock, and leaving at 2:45 o'clock, taking an interurban car to Springfield. The trip takes about 20 minutes and that would have brought Chapman into Spring field in time for his departure in his machine with Shean shortly after 3. o'clock. as was claimed by the states.
 < The giving of the New York, New Haven & Hartford railroad timetable to the jury'after it had started its deliberation Is another incident that Is being discussed at length and many lawyers hold divided opinions on it. Some claim that it constitut- ed a trial error while others claim that the incident cannot be used as the basis for new trial as attor- neys for the defense did not offer objection to the granting of the jury request at the time.
 When the request for the time table was made, Judge Jennings re. sumed the bench and the court was convened, Samuel Chamberlain, the foreman of the jury making the re- quest. Judge Jennings said that he was agreeable to granting the re- quest and States Attorney Alcorr said he offered no objection. Judge Jennings then asked Attorney Freed man If the defense wished to object and Freedman, after conferring witt Chapman in the prisoners pen, an nounced that the defense was agree able to giving the timetable to the iuryA The court then ordered thu timetable marked as an exhibit and given to the jury. .s
 The fact that the defense at that time not only failed to offer an ob' jection but expressed itself as agree able to the procedure is said by many attorneys to eliminate the in cident from consideration of an ap- peal.
 With the completion of the Chap man trial, the attention of many i'm mediately centered on Watler E Shean, the confessed partner oi Chapman in the burglary of tho Davidson & Leventhal store who ii held on a charge of first degree mur- der at the county jail without bail Conjecturing as to what penalty hc will receive for his part in the affair was prevalent, but the only com ment that could be drawn from State's Attorney Alcorn was that tn public would be satisfied that justice was meted out after the 'Shean cast had been disposed of. -...... 1 During his argument to the Chap. man jury, Alcorn told them that Shean could not be convicted oi murder in any degree and this. state ment is taken to indicate that Shear will be put to plea 0 na charge .oi armed burglary for which the states attorney will recommend stiff sen tence. The statute can be interpret ed to make Shean liable to charge of first degree murder as an acces | sory before the fact because of hi: part in the burglary, but because Shean was on Church street in from of the Herald building and undel arrest at the time of the shooting the states attorney dpes not feel tha' the statute could be stretched tC meet the case. ~ t[ The sentence of Chapman on Sat
 urday was the first death sentence to be imposed in Hartford county foi six years, court officials said. ThC last hanging at Wethersfield was tha- of Emil Schutte of Haddam,. (NIid
 dlesex county) who was sent to thu gallows in October, 1922. Since tha time q new execution chamber hal 1 been built at the prison and if Chan