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Show PLEAS TO JURY IN HARRIS CASE District Attorney Asks First Degree Murder Verdict Defense Says Killing Justifiable. NEPHI. Oct 3. Basinc his argu- ment on the concrete declaration lhat the killing of Jesse Cone, Trout Creek rancher. July 22 last, was the result of a preeoncehed conspiracy on the part of Mrs. Alice J, Harris and her 'wo sons, Eugene and Leland, District Aflorney A. O. Murdoek today asked tbe Jury for a verdict of murder in ihe i , first degree. District Attorney Murdoek began j his plea to ihe jurous in the Harris I Imurder cas aa soon ai court convened I jthis mornlne, and talked for three and; one-half hours. He was followed by i Judge D. N. Straup, for (hi defense,, 'who consumed ihe remainder of the day and part of the evening, in the! order given, the following attorneys are yet to be hear: County Attorney W A C. Bryan for the prosecution, T. ;H. Burton for the defense, K. O. Leath- erwood for the defense and Id M Warner for the prosecution. Declares Killing Deliberate. District Attorney Murdoek declared that the killing ol Cone was the result o( a preconceived conspiracy ami was deliberate and premeditated. In his endeavor to show that, he said thai tre 'Harris family coralled Cone's cattle dl ' rectly preceding the killing, in order to: i,ct him there. I When Cone, Sabey and the three : 'boys arrived on the fateful day, the at jtorney declared, there was not nine lor (Mrs Harris and her sons to fear l p ;on the arrival of Cone and his com jpanions. Mr. Murdoek continued, Tack ! i man walked out to the gate. Mrs I Harris said, according to the attorney,! I that Tackman was muddling things not carrying out the plan as agreed up- I on and she went out. She tried to i quarrel with Sabey, Mr. Murdoek declared, de-clared, but Sabey would not quarrel. Then, the attorney said, she walked over to where Cone was sitting on his i horse, hit him upon the leg and asked! I Cone why be struck her son, Eugene, Itbo preceding Sunday. Cone, not wanting to precipitate trouble, did not I answer and Mrs. Harris repeated her ! question, again striking him upon the! leg, whereupon Cone pushed her away.! Cor.c Shot. It was then Mr .Murdoek said, i hat j Mr Harris Jumped back and cried Shoot the dirty cur; shoot him,'' and Eugene Harris, who was awaiting the I Signal, fired at Cone, who fell from bis horse, and then shot Cone in the back, while he was lying dead upon tho ground. Mr. Murdoek then declared that the testimony Showed that Leland Harris was stationed at another point and that when Sabey turned toward Cone, he shol Sabey In ihe Bhoulder Both, shootings, Mr. Murdoek contending, being the result of a preconceived conspiracy. con-spiracy. Particularly as to Mrs Harris. th attorney contended that she was no worthy of belief, adding that .Miss I'lor abel Muir. Salt Lake newspaper woman, who calked with .Mrs. Harri shortly alter the shooting, had im-peached im-peached her testimony in a number of important particulars, to which attention atten-tion wav directed In this connection i lit was pointed out that Miss Muir j testified that Mrs. Harris declared j .substantially that the law of the shot-J gun was the only law in the country and she had availed herself of ii ; that1 Leland Harris had said that he would kill Cone after his arrival from France; and that Eugene Harris said j ho had killed the man who dared to j insult his mother Justifiable Straup Contends. Judge D. N. Straup, who followed District Attorney Murdoek in behalf of the defense, made a careful analysis of the testimony, as did Mr. Murdoek, and contended that the killing of Cone I W8JI justifiable under the. clrcunv i stances. I Judce Slraup declared lhat Cone, 'from the time he first met Mrs. Harris. I had always been abusive and insulting insult-ing to the woman. In this connection, .'miIl.- Slraup said. Cone said to Mrs. Harris the second da after her arrival at the ranch. "Don't get fresh with me, Bis, or I will make it disagreeable for you around here." Reference also was made by the at-1 torney to the action of Cone at the bars, when he went to the Harris ianch to demand his cattle on July -I,1 1JH7. In this connection Judge Slraup r.'diculed ihe testimony given by witnesses wit-nesses for the prosecution to the effect thai Eugene Harris took the rifle from ;his brother, Leland, and went around into an old ditch and kept Cone cov-jered cov-jered with the weapon. Attention also was called to the testimony showing lhat Cone at this lime pulled Mrs. Harris from the bars and abused her. Tackman Discredited. Reference was then made to the trouble between Cone and Eugene Harris on the range two days before tho killing, when, the attorney said, ('"tie knoi ki (I thi boy from his horsi In referring to Tackman. Judg-Straup Judg-Straup called the young man "star witness," "lily white angel" and "slick of the staff." He contended thai Tackman's testimony was tilled with contradictions and that he was not Worthy of belief. Reaching the day of the killing, Judge Straup declared that Cone and his four companions went to the Harris ranch for the purpose of "run ning a blufl " When Mrs. Harris remarked. re-marked. "I guess they are coming to raid us," Judge Straup said, Mrs. Harris did not intend to use the word ' "raid." Mrs. Harris, he added, went OUt to meet the men and she was mild and calm. Judce Straup then said that after she had pas-id Sabey and Tackman. Blrs Harris walked over to Cone, who was sitting on his horse, and asked him why he had struck Eugene Harris Che preceding Sunday. Cone did no ' answer until the question was repeated, re-peated, Judge Straub added, and he! then pulled ihe woman's nose and1 made a motiou as if to reach for his un. |
