New Britain herald., 1929-11-07
PANTAGES JURORS
 ALLEGE COERCION
Three Women Involve Radio Preacher -AMdaYitS on File

Los Angeles, Nov. (P(-Affida- wits by three women jurors that fear of radio utterances by Rev. F. P. Shuler and alleged coercion by a fellow juror had influenced them to return a verdict of guilty against Alexander Pantages were on file
 with District Attorney Buron Fitts today.
 The affidayits were filed yester- day in connection with the vaude- ville magnate's plea for a new trial; to be heard next Saturday. Pantages was convicted of attack ing Eupice Pringle. 17, a dancer, and is liable to. sentence of from one to 50 years in San Quentin pen itentiary.
 The women jurors. whose state ments were included among seven affidaVits produced by counsel for Pantages, are Mrs. Christina D. Ul- ! rich Mrs. William Ingles and Mrs. Lotta C. Steiner, They said they were influenced also in switching their early votes for acquittal by the inclusion of the words with clem- 5ency' in the verdict, under the i'm pression that such a notation would make it mandatory that Superior Judge Charles Fricke pronounce a sentence of only one year in the Los Angeles county jail.
 The women also stated they knew that Garland Biffle. defense wit ness. had been arrested for alleged perjury before deliberation began. and that discussion of the incident ; among members of the panel in fuenced their decisions
 Feared Radio "EXposc"
 Mrs. 1ngles' affidavit said Juror William Voltage threatened to tell
 Bob Shuler how this affiant acted and voted unless she joined with
 him in a verdict of guilty. and fur thcr stated that he would sec that Shuler made a statement over the radio in reference to it.
 Mrs. ulrich supported Mrs. Ingles in another affidavit. asserting that Nl'Ict iloC olliS ilcti lllitdltlltu lO tell Shuler but also to inform the grand jury and the board of super
 Nisors.
 The women asserted that had they known that inclusion in the verdict 1 Of the words with clemency" would not make lighter the sentence of from one to 50 years in prison pre- scribed by law. they would not ! have voted guilty.
 i BiHlcs File Affidavits. Affidavits also were filed by Rifle
 and his wife, both of whom tcsti- fed for Pantases, and by Attorneys
 w. l. Gilbert and Joseph Ford Of the defense counsel Biffle said his arrest on perjury charges as he left the witness stand so unncrved him and Mrs. Biffle that they could not
 give further straightforward testi- mony.
 [ District Attorney Fits said he
 had previous knowledge Of the
 statements of the women jurors, and that. Nellage. had denied that he had made threats as outlined in the affidavits.N
 i Tt seems rather strange to me-
 Fits said, that since the verdict
 was returned three jurors have had sudden change of heart. The jury
 returned it's verdict in open court, each member was boiled and all stated that this was their verdict. It lis the law of California that a jury cannot impeach it's verdict" 1 Influenced by Radio Talk l Gilbert and Ford. in their affida- wits, said the. trial was affected ad- versely for their client by radio comments made by Dr. Shuler
 against the juror in the Mrs. Lois
 Pantages case who Shulcr claimed was in favor of acquittal."
 pr. Shuler subsequently, was ad-
 judged in contempt of court and
 fined s75 for the alleged statement
 Mrs. Pantases. the theater mans
 wife, was found guilty Of man.
 slaughter in connection with the
 death of a Japanese gardener after a motor accident involving her au-
 tomobile, and is awaiting sentence.