The Wolf Point herald. (Wolf Point, Mont.) 1913-1940, 1928-02-10
HICKMAN SANE, JURY'S VERDICT;
WILL HANG FOR CHILD MURDER
COURT WILL PRONOUNCE
SENT ENCE ON FEB. f1TH
YOUTH is CALM

LOS ANGELES, Feb. Eight
men and four women, some elder
Iy, some middle-aged, the jury
/ holding the fate of William Ed
ward Hickman, confessed slayer
of Marion Parker, stripped his
cloak of asserted insanity from
him and branded him murderer.
Two verdicts were rendered in
As minutes in the sanity trial, one
| that Hickman was sane on the
murder charge and the other that
he was sane on the kidnapping
charge.
Judge j. j. Trabucco announced
that he would pass sentence on
the prisoner Saturday. Jerome
Walsh, Hickman's chief attorney,
said that he would give notice Of
appeal from the verdict at that
time.
The trial was the first under the
new California law on Hickman's
plea that he was not guilty on
both charges by reason of insan-
ity."
Hickman. having confessed his
crimes, and pleaded not guilty by
reason of insanity, and been found
sane by the jury the court assum-
ed that the next step was to pass
sentence, which will be done Sat
urday.
Under the law either the death
penalty by hanging, or life impris-
onment for the convicted man,
may be imposed.
The closing scenes of the trial,
which started Jan 25, moved
rapidly
The convicted man sat bolt up
right as the jury foreman read his
findings. He looked straight
ahead as he had looked the great
er part of every day during his
trial.
Maintaining his pose, Hickman,
with his guard at his side, walked
from the courtroom with a firm
step, back to his cell in the coun-
ty Jail
Philippe by Keys
During the final day of his trial,
Hickman heard in turn the thun-
derous philippe of District Attor-
ney Asa M. Keys denunciation,
the low-toned plea of his defense
made by his associate counsel,
Richard Cantillion, and the short
clipped business-like Instructions
of Judge Trabucco to the jury.
Keyes, a veteran in prosecution,
heaped contempt and scorn on
the prisoner, pictured him as a cal
culating, cold-blooded killer, actu-
ated by greed for money rotten
to the core, but sane"
Standing in front of the jury
box and addressing the elderly
and middleaged men and women
who sat in it, the prosecuting at
torney declared that "it was only
owing to the fact that we are civil
lied people that a mob did not
take this man from the officers of
the law, and if it were not that L
was an officer of the law l should
have wanted to be in the front
ranks of such mob to help put
rope around this mans neck.
This defendant has committed
the most atrocious crime on record
so far as ] can find out"
Sharp Contrast
In sharp contrast to the sonor-
Gus periods of the district attor-
ney, was the quiet, low-voiced plea
of Cantillon, who condemned the
prisoners confessed crime but
urged the jury to consider him in
sane in it's commission.
Cantillon recalled the evidence
that he asserted tended to show
the taint of insanity in the Hick-
man family and asked the jury to
believe that the strain was contin-
ued in the son.
Judge Trabucco took less than
20 minutes to instruct the jurors,
the key of his address being that
the sole issue was whether or not
the defendant was sane or insane
at the time of the crime.
He pointed out that the law re-
fuses to recognize plea of "un-
impulse" Further,
the jury was required to find Hick-
man sane if it had been shown
that he had or has lucid moments.
To be adjudged insane said
Judge Trabucco, his mind must
have been affected to the extent
that he did not know the differ
ence between right and wrong.
Turning to defense evidence,
lhe court instructed the jurors
hat a slight preponderance of
evidence would be sufficient to
warrant a verdict of insane.
Finally, the eight men and four
women in the box were told that
hey should reach their verdict
by pity or sympathy
or Hickman and unswayed by pre-
iudice against him.
Carl Hantz, Southside farmer,