Evening star., 1928-03-09
WISE FINED $3.50
+. IN LVERS KILLING
D. c. Man Changes Plea to
Guilty of Assault and Bat
! terry at Martinsburg.
Lnnniai Nisnat,h To The Star.

ereeial nsnatch to The Star.
MARTINSBuRG. w. Va, March p
Spencer Wise of Washington. charged
young business man of this city, here
list November in disagreement in
hetal corridor following a dice game.
changed his not guilty plea to plea Of
guilty. Of assault and battery and was
fined $3.50 and costs.
sThe change in plea abruptly halted
the trial, which started "Wednesday
rsornins. All of the States evidence
was not in Clyde E, Smith had teSt'-
fed. as had the widow OF LiVerS. hef
rSother. who lives in the Livers nome.
IN. II. G. Tonkin. called to examine
liners after the fight. and DR.. Lynn II.
Rrur,hack Of HaserstoWn, who at
tA16ed I,ivers and was present at the
ennercency operation III Baltimore.
hyrNothetical question. designed 10 get
fror, DR.. Brumback his opinion as 10
whether a blow sustained in the hotei
On the morning Of November ~ last
could have caused death more than "a
hours later was ready for supmiSSlon'
when z. E, Brandenburg of Washing
to,, one of counsel for Wise. asked per-
mission of Judge Rodgers to. have his
chent change his plea.
@He explained that Wise had been Sc
vcrelv punished mentally and paySi-
eallv' that he and his relatives in WASH
tncton had suffered untold grief ana
torment. and that he thought the les
son had been learned.
State Gives Consent.
Prosecuting Attorney H. e Hannis
cancurreo in the request for change
In the plea. explaining that the State
could not hope for more than an invol-
rntary rnanslaughter charge, under
which the assault and battery penalty
nfssht be imposed. Judge Rodgers as
sented. declaring that nothing more
than the involuntary manslaughter ver-
dict could be asked, that he would oe
required 10 set that as limit for the
fury i! the latter were disposed TO con-
yict. and he then imposed the fine. He
added that the court could and would
consider nothing but the assault and
hafterv aspects OF the case. in view OF
the new plea. and that all other charges
Of homicide were automatically with
drawn Judge Rodgers expressed the
hope that Wise had learned lesson.
6eprecating the entire affair but adding
that his knowledge Of both the State
and defense cases made Ii plain TO him
that nothing more than an involuntary
rlSnS!augnter CONVICTION COutd De Sc
cured under the evidence. in which case
the assault and battery penalty might
have been imposed: and that he would
have been compelled TO direct such an
involuntary manslaughter verdict by.
the jury as the most severe possible
charge If the jury had been inclined to
convict at all.
Accident Defense Hint.
Wednesday morning by questions to
the widow OF Livers the defense en-
dearored 10 bring out the height Of the
bed on which he was seen in physical
pain the day before his death. from the
floor. and she was asked whether he
might not have fallen. The court de-
clined to let her answer. but the i'm
preston given was that the defense. II
forced to go through the entire trial.
woald take the position that an acci-
dental fall at the home from the bed
% The foor might have caused the frac-
ture on the right side OF the head from
which Lvers died.
Evidence introduced showed Wise