| Show MR ROGERS FOR DEFENSE Vigorous Address Giving a Comprehensive Compre-hensive View of the Case Lindsay Ilogers for the defense began be-gan when Mr Putnam finished speaking speak-ing In purt as follows You are not here gentlemen of the Jury acting as Amoral censors over the body jf < this defendant you are not here to determine whether it was n I breach of some rule of polite society that Mr Benbrook was In the private diningroom of a public restaurant with u young lady you are not here to try the iiiesllon of whether It was proper according la the rules I of social etiquette for that young ludy to be there with him n married man upon that evening you are not here to try IhlK man upon the question of whether I or not In the past he bus been a gam bier you arC nol here trying the question ques-tion of whether gambling Is 1 wrong In the sight of God whether It Is I prohibited prohib-ited by law but you are here on your oaths us jurors sUpply tryers of the guilt or Jnnocencp of this man upon a specific charge the ihurge of murder MI Rogers then read to the JUIY the definition of Ihe meaning of murder In Us various degrees as laid down by the I statutes celles said thai I the jury might bring In any one of fIve verdicts Including murder In the first and second sec-ond degrees voluntary and Involuntary I manslaughter or not guilty We say that this mun Benbrook lf either gullly of murder In lie first degree or he stand before God and his fellow men as innocent of tin crime of murder And so gentlemen that Is what you are lo try You are to try Ihls inari fairly impurllully upon the law and the evidence From testimony which bus Deen given by these witnesses for the State the County Attorney accepts that which Ills his theory which suits his purpose and of that which does not fit his theory and suit his purpose he says that the witness Is testifying falsely and cannot be believed He says that Koene has given false evidence that Miss Stromberg has given false evidence evi-dence their testimony being contradicted contra-dicted by the tesllmony of each other and lie testimony of the defendant NOT REQUIRED TO HUN AWAY Gentlemen of the Jury under the law John II Benbrook had L right toM to-M nd for a gun lie was not required by the law to run away from the Mur chanta carp on the evening of the 17th of July laNt That k < the law of Die I land Thut we helen Is the law In this case He hnd a right to stand his ground Ku had a light to arm und prolcet hlmaelf ugulnst unlawful I assault as-sault We believe It further to be time law that any el linen who IH I nol ut fault when attacked by another ulll < ziSuu hilly draw his l gUn nnd kill You I I arc to determine thIs ease to consider cmiC It In thu light of the surroundings ax I they appeared to the people there the I actors In this unfortunate and unfortunne depiora bio tinged I has been shown that Burton C Morris wan not armed but gentlemen didMr Benbronk know at that time that Mr Morris did not have a gun He its there with a young ludy n young woman if you please I She was not the wife the sister or the I daughter of Burton C Morris she wus not connected by jjond 1 hloot or marriage wllh bin two IH l hlr a minimny 1 and I three IK u crowd and who asked Bur 1 Ion C Morris lo como there What right hind Mr Morrtn to go Into that private diningroom of a public rontuu rant where lie wuo nOt bidden lo enter much less been sent for or invited to come Tie was not expecllng 10 go there because George Dwyor testified thai before he received the nole from Miss Slromberg he vsas standing I around apparently having nothing to do It wmi a oasr of1 Joaloun rago that I j entered Into his mind making his blood boll and lie rushed ioiVii to I the Mer clmnls cafe lie did nol have lo UBK I where to go th messenger boy sWeurs that ho did not tell him How I did be know that Miss Stromberg was In thatS room WHAT HAD ALBERT BEEN DOING What hud Albert C Morris been i doing nil day when he was absenting I himself from room u Why wax It that Albert Morris was going out of that room so much that afternoon Whom was he telephoning lo Dont I you believe that he knew who was In room Li Of course he did lie was time cousin the frrend und the first one who went to the assistance of Burton C Morris during time death struggc be c i I J 5 S 0GE5 f L I S tween the deceased and tIme defendant l We way that you have L right In find that Burton C Morris knew where ho was going because when he got Into that room the first thing he said waa You are the Ji have got to settle I with1 Who was the assailant Was I it this man sitting here surrounded by I his family and his relations or was it Burton S c Morris Mr I Uenbrook being either very much of L gentleman or realizing perhaps per-haps that If he remained In that room the assault or attack upon him would be renewed quiully leaves the room He did that which 1 do not believe nine I men out of i hundred would have done I Vo arc told that be had no right to have the gun that he had no right to arm himself because he was going to I lie In ambush to shoot down n victim and we arc told exactly how I this was done Mr Morris was I man of live feet nine Inches In height I assume that the the rim of this Jiat If he had It on would have conic below the lop uf Ills head an Inch If you will notice this hut t It bears the appearance that the bull went in on an angle the bullet which entered that wall went In oi an upward angle That bullet hole on the lowest point of measure was lIve tee five and twothirds inches from the floor so that If i Mr Morris wore this hat upon his head the ball after passing through the hat would had to have curved downward Now figures dont lie Doolan knewthat nnd that Is the il reason he didnt Want to have anything to do with them DESERTED DOOLAN Mr Rogers then attacked the prosecution prose-cution for the manner In which It had slighted the witness Doolan Crowns Doolan as he termed him and said that the boy was abandoned bj S the nrosrcutlon Mr i Rogers said that Doolan had gone on the stand and given giv-en false witness I ugalnsl u man who had never harmed him for what reason rea-son be knew not he was contradicted by every witness put on the stand And yet he said the Jury had been asked to convict Benbrook because the Stale would prove that Benbrook stood over Morris while lie was upon the lloor and Jlrod a shot from a revolver Into him > The speaker said that great stress was laid upon the t fact by theprosecu lon that Mr Benbrook could not tell In detail what he was doing and what his adversary was doing while they were engaged in the deadly struggle hut said that no man on earth who had ever hud u light could afterward tell what was going on And so while Benbrook knew that he did not fire at Morris until after the struggle began und knew that he dlilnot lire into I Mor miss body while mundlng over him he could not tHI just what happened while the two men were clinched In the death struggle Mr Rogers further argued that all that Kenbrook stood guilty of before the I Jury was that he had nol been coward eliough to run away but said that any mini would have cone Just as Benbrook did thai no man would brand himself as a niorul coward by running from a maim who Intruded hlm clf upon another ONLY THE LAW OF SELFDE FENSE In closing Mr 1 lingers said Decide this ease upon the question us to whether or I not he lay In ambush hid and shot downun innocent cltlcin with mal aforethought I with hatred una illwill I i 1 I he did then hang him whMi the la > v sayi IB the penalty for murder In the first degree and which would then be too good for him 1 on the other hand he Was there In the private diningroom minding Ills own business paying for what he got If a man rushes In upon him without Invitation Invi-tation without being bidden to come and violates the law assaults him 1C that man renews the allude renown the affray and If In defending himself be kills his assassin It Is I not murder It Is not manslaughter it Is 1 the law of selfdefense Gentlemen of the l Jury submit this ease to you asking you lo do only hint which IK fair f ask nothing from your hands on account of sympathy because the defendant stands hum in bis Innocence innorent we believe him to be AVu believe It Is your duty to return a verdict of not guilty J should be not only your duty to acquit this man but your pleasure |
