Show THE JUDGE AND HIE JURY The last words of the judge to the jury in the trial of Howutn SiEscnu were generally gener-ally denounced at the time of their utterance utter-ance During the week which has elapsed since the verdict this opinion far from being abandoned has become more general and more fixed Upon a careful review of the case we are unable to rind any justification justifi-cation for the extreme utterances of the trial judge which were in effect that during dur-ing a long experience at the bar he had of mur never seen a more pronounced case der than the one before the court A review of the evidence shows to our judgment a number of facts either of which alone demonstrates the rebuke re-buke to have been as illconsidered as it was unjust In an experience of over twenty years the learned judge must have seen I cases of homicide in courts of law where the murderer was shown to have stricken down his victim wholly without excuse perhaps during the commission of a felony He must have been present during trials where numbers of eyewitnesses were brought forward to prove the crime He must have seen cases where the de fense of insanity was not interposed or if made was too artificial for credence He must have had experience in cases where selfdefense vas not attempted to be proven where the culprit became a fugitive fugi-tive from justice and where his character was atrocious Were similar facts features of the case of HOWAKD SiKXCEKi On the contrary if he I committed the offense he did it upon the first sight of the man who had wrought upon him a permanent injury which had well nigh cost him his life Xo witness testified to having seen him commit the offense in short it was far from being proven beyond a reasonable doubt that the accused was the slayer of I Sergeant PIKE The defense of insanity was pleaded and was advocated by a number num-ber of the leading surgeons of the city It was shown and was uncontradicted that PIKI immediately before he was shot made a motion as if to reach for a pistol The offense was committed thirty years ago During that loug period HOWAKD S iiN cams has not been a fugitive from justice jus-tice but has been living in various parts of the territory his conduct as a citizen has been beyond reproach a grand jury has examined the charge made against him in connection with this matter and failed to indict Despite these mitigating and exculpating facts shown in the evidence the judge said that if that was not a case of murder I he had never seen one The public disagree with the judge and regard his closing remarks re-marks as an unjust aspersion upon jury and defendant |