Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1957-12-17

everything to gain and nothing
TO lose.
Green was under death sent
ence. having been found guilty
OF the 1858 arson-murder Of
Miss Betty Brown. an 82-year-
old spinster in q rooming house
fire.
Some Government sources
said that. at first glance. II
appears Green must 60 totally
free. But Solicitor General j.
Lee Rankin stated the Justice
Department has come to no
conclusion vet.
Green figures to be In jail
at least Is more days. That Is
the period Of time the Gov
eminent has In which 70 flle
a petition for rehearing In the
Supreme Court.
Double Jeopardy Issue
Heart Of the decision was
an Interpretation Of q Fifth
Amendment proviso which de-
clares that no person shall
"a. be subject for the same
offense to be twice put In jeop-
ardy Of life and limb"
The court was sharply di-
vided, not only on the ruling
itself. but on the question Of
whether the decision sets aside
q principle Of so years stand
ing in q case known as Trona
VS.. United States.
In that case two men were
accused Of first degree murder
and were tried in q Philippines
Court.
Since the Philippines then
were under American domina-
ton, the trial contained most
OF the American Constitu-
tional safeguards. The men
were acquitted of murder but
convicted on the lesser charge
of assault. They appealed the
assault conviction and when
their case was reconsidered.
they were found guilty OF
murder. The Supreme Court
Of that day affirmed the find
ing, 5 to I.
Indicates CONFIRMATION
Yesterdays majority opinion.
written by Justice Black. APP
peared to contravene the Trono
holding.
Green had been tried on .
charge Of first-degree murder.
Under District law anyone who
kills another in preparation Of
arson Is guilty Of iirst-degree
murder with the death penalty
mandatory.
But the trial judge erred and
instructed the jury In the ele-
ments Of second degree MUIR
der. Green was sentenced 70
serve O total Of s TO 20 years.
He has finished . Swear term
imposed for the arson.
Chose 70 Gamble
Green appealed for Q new
trial on the murder charge. His
counsel argued that the verdict
should have been first-degree
murder or acquittal. since there
was no evidence that would
sustain q second degree YER
dict. The u. s. Court Of APP
peals for the District Of Column
bia. splitting 2 to /. agreed
with this view and granted the
appeal. But they warned Green
that he was taking q desperate
gamble and that q new jury
might convict him Of first-de-
gree murder.
But Green declared that al
his age. with time running out,
he would prefer to gamble with
death In the chair than to pass
his remaining years in jail.
The appellate courts fore
shadowings came true. Green
was convicted. at the new trial,
of first-degre murder and sen
fenced to execution. The full
nine-man bench Of the United
States Court Of Appeals, split
ting 6 TO 3. affirmed.
The Courts Ruling
But yesterday the Supreme
Court majority held:
/. That when the jury found
Green guilty of second-degret
murder. it by implication al
least, found him innocent Of
first-degree Staying. Thus his
second trial was invalid be-
cause he was being tried Sec
ond time for an offense Of
which he had been acquitted.
2. The jury had full oppor-
tunity to return q first-degree
verdict. It did not do so. The
trial ended and Green's jeo-
pardy for first-degree murder
came TO an end when the jury
was discharged 80 that he
could not be retired for that
offense."
Interpreting q Government
contention that Green. by APP
pealing, in effect waived his
immunity from retrial. the
court said" he must be
willing to barter his Constitu-
tional protection against q
second prosecution for an Of
Tense punishable by death a.
the price of q successful appeal
from an erroneous conviction
of another offense for which
he had been sentenced TO i've
TO 20 years imprisonment" The
decision declared "the Law
should not and in our judgment
does not. place the defendant
In such an incredible dilemma
Comment ON Trono Case
OF the Trono opinion. the
majority stated that the Phil
ippines was then "a territory
Just recently conquered with
long established legal proceed
ures that were alien to the COM
mon law" The majority opin-