Evening star., 1927-04-11
CHARGE IN RULE
CASE IS REDUCED
Rockville Court UphoIdS Plea
Youth Cannot Twice Be
Tried for Murder.
By s.att Correspondent Of The Star.

by SIAN correspondent or me Star.
ROCKVILLE, Md, April 1.-THE
second trial of Richard Henry Rule
22-year-old Washington youth accused
Of firing the shot that resulted in the
death of William J. Barbee, 19 years
old, also Of Washington, on Halloween
night last year, which started this
morning. will be based on a charge OF
manslaughter instead of murder.
Shortly after court convened and
before the routine procedure of select.
ing a jury was started, Barnard
Welsh and Thomas L. Dawson, counsel
for the accused youth, raised the point
that since the jury in the first trial
found Rule guilty only of manslaugh
ter instead of murder he could not
again be placed on trial on the murder
charge.
After celebrating over the point
the three judges sitting on the bench
Chief Judge Hammond Urner, Judge
Robert B. Peter and Judge Glenn Fl
Worthington, sustained the point.
Jury Is Completed
A jury was completed shortly be
fore noon after the defense had exer
cised 19 challenges and the State had
challenged nine prospective jurors.
Former States Attorney Cissell
who is assisting States Attorney Pc
ter, made the opening statement for
the prosecution, outlining briefly what
occurred at the shack on the Coles
vile pike the night Barbee was IA
Italy wounded. Mr.. Cissell told the
jury it's task is an important one, be
cause whenever a case attracts public
attention it becomes an example oi
how justice is administered.
In concluding his statement outlin
ing the case which the State expects
to present, Mr.. Cissell said the events
of that Halloween night might be
described "as a tragedy Of youth" but
that he believed the evidence would
show the shooting of Barbee was not
justifiable.
Attorney Welsh of defense counse
made the opening statement for the
accused youth, explaining to the jury
at the outset the difference between {
charge OF murder and a charge o
manslaughter. AS soon as the jury
| had been sworn the court informed
the iurymen that while the indict
ment charges Rule with murder. the
charge which is in reality the basi:
of this trial is manslaughter, the jury
in the first case having failed to fine
Rule guilty of murder by returning I
| ;cA ,p t,e.Io hn
tation OF testimony is expected to be
gin this afternoon.
The shooting Of young Barbee, Who
was a son Of former Headquarter,
Detective Barbee Of Washington, oc
CURED late on the night of October
80 on the Colesville Pike. about foul
miles from Silver Spring, in front o
a shack which had been used as ;
camp and club by a group of boys in
! Guiding Rule.
Rule and several companions Wer'
| at the camp that evening for a Hal
| loween outing, and some of them Wer'
! In costume
| Young Barbee was not a nembe
of that party, but was one OF a groul
| of young men from Washington who
! according to testimony at the frs
l trial, were on their way to a dane
| at Burnt Mills, Md, and who are sait
to have stopped at the camp of Rul
| and his companions to ask for direC
tions
Testimony at the first trial re
volved around an argument that en-
sued between the two groups. Their
were conflicting accounts given at tn
former trial as TO who started the al
! gument.
Claimed He Was Struck.