Guiteau's Trial

On Sjaturday morning Judge JDavidge opened the argument on the legal points submitted. The jury were excused for the day, but most of them preferred to remain and hear the argument. Guiteau told his counsel he would not take part in the legal argument but would make any comment on it he chose, and interjected remarks on the argumenta ot counsel all day. His comments on points enabled Davidge to say: "Ile not ojily knows the difference between right and wrong, but he understands fully the law of the case." Col. Reed opened for the delense, conceding the killing, but clenying that it was done with malice, whicli, he held, was a question for the jury. He argued that if the jury had a reasonable doubt of the prisoner's sanity, he must be acqttitted. Mr. Davidge contended that the court must say what was legal insanity. Scoville complained of the arrangement to give the prosecution both the opening and closing argument; and criticised the recent decisión of Judge Davis, in ííew York, which had been cited by counsel, as going out of the way to make a decisión which might be made use of as a precedent in this trial. "Yes," said Guiteau, "and the jury in the case went out of their way to rebuke Judge Davis." Before Scoville concluded, court adjourned to Monday. JANTJAEY TEN. Judge Porter for the prosecution aaid that the assaasination was coolly, deliberately, planned and cowardly executed, Guiteau responded, "that s a lie." "If it is a lie,"said the Judge, "it is one that has beensworn to by the prisoner himself." Guiteau interrupted the judge at almost every sentence, while Porter retorted, denouncing the crime in all its heniousness, and quoted the decisions of various courts of the Uuited States in favor of the prosecución. The following is a specimen of the way in which he stemmed the tide of difüculty: "Your honor knows," that four days after Guiteau conceived this awful crime of murdering President Garñeld, accordiug to his owu testimony, he gave Mr. Blaine one more chance in regard to the Taris consulship. When he was again refused he threatened that if Mr. Blaine wa3 not removed the administration would come to grief." "ïhat's absolutely false,"cried Guiteau. "The prisoner presumes to deliver his own charge to the jury," said Folter. "He has already had too much to do with this trial, but if he presumes further he will exceed the bounds of all endurable effrontery." "Ah," snarled the prisoiwr, "you were appointed by President Arthur under a misapprehension. You had better get a paper of tobáceo and go home." "I was appointed," said Porter, "under the misapprehension that the law was stronger than Guiteau, but l flud that the prisoner thinks he is stronger than the law." "God Almighty is stronger than is the law," retorted Guiteau. '-The prisoner will go presently to a higher court than this, and had better reserve his remarks ing the Judge who shall then judge bim until he goes into that presence. He will feel soon what he has never feit before, a divine interposition in the form of a hangman's rope." Judge Portex sneered at the assertion of Mr. Scoville that the antiquated argument of the prosecution could not stand in the light of those of the defense, which purported to be the outgrowth of an enlightened age, an age of Guiteaus, when a hungry politician kills a President from pique. "A politicion," continued Mr. Porter, "who had such a belief in the gullibility and depravity of mankind that he supposed that he was doing men like Gen. Grant and Mr. Conkling, the greatest parliamentarian and one of the foremost statesmen of his time, and even President. Arthur, a service for which he would receive a, reward. Why, if Gen. Grant, Mr. Conkling, or President Arthur had been tanding at the door of the Ualtimore and Potomac railroad depot on the morning of the shooting, had they seen the assassin creeping upon his victira, revolver in hand, aiming at his back, an iron hand would have descended wbich would have paralyzed the asaassiu and saved the President." Judge Cox decided that jurisdiction is complete in the place where the wound is given which results in death. As to the test of insanity, the cases in this country favor the right and wrong test, and that if the jury believed from the evidence that the prisoner knew what he was doing at the time he did it was contrary to law, then no claim of insanity would remove his ty for the act, unless in consequence of insane delusion he was laboring under such want of reason as ab that time o be incapable of understandiug the aw of the land. On the question of irresistible impulse, no ruling was necessary, as it would only confuse the ury. The prisoner's action in court was no evidence of any special mental derangemeat. The prisoner had always claimed his act to be one of inspiration and patriotism. The court would not instruct the jury on these claims, but if the jury had any reasonable doubt on any one point he would instruct them on that, and on the element s of insanity, and if after all these instructions they still had reasonable doubt then they should acquit. The opinión took two hours in delivery. J. W. Guiteau pronounced it fair and honest, and he was satisfled with its law. Scoville wants two days more to argüe. Davidge will use four hours for the prosecution. Guiteau wants two hours. The court said it would sit until 4 p. m. hereafter. JANILARY 13. Mr. Davidge opened the argument before the jury. He traced the process of reasoning by which the prisoner reached the convietion that "But one life interposed between himself aud possibJy great beneflts." Not often, in the record of heinous crimes do we have such plain and pointed evidence as to the first conception of the crime. In this case the suggestion came to the wretch in the night as he was lying in his bed. This thought or suggestion came to Min on the 18tü. of May. Still thinking that he might obtain oïïce he sought to sèp Kis aancig clean He made another effort' on the 28th of He then arguedthe.t the prisoner had that degree of mtelligence, legal knowiêdge imd. mcral sonse wliich rendered him reaponaibla for his act Tüe prisoner had witto K9e toe Lai;ai weak:aess of Mr. Seoville'jïine of deiense and repudiaiqd it, in his own behalf íliat he v?as no imbscilebuta sane man whose intellect and wil! had baen matea aurmg tüe ppeciíied p9riod of time, rendering hira irresponsible for íhis particular crime. He then reviewed che circuinstances of the crime and the victim and tho criminal. "If I wers Lo 3um up the moral and intellectual qualitios oi! this raan I should say that fie had tho ding oL a vulfcure ccmbined wilh the heari; of a wolf." In speaking of Guiteau's plan ha remaiked upon bis greater fear of a mob than of the law, and exclaimed, "We must say to üur shaine that bis estímate bad a : foundation. It rested," he added, "with the jury to show the world whetber Guitcau's opinión was well founded. If he had feared the law as be feared the mob our martyred head and ehief would be alive to-day." Mr. Davidge revi e wed the mental status of the Guitean family, bis connection with tlie Oneida cominuuity, and closed with a forcible appeal for justice. Then followod an unseemly demonstration by the audienee over Guiteau's demand to make the closing argument. The court decided that Scoville might read over (uiteau's speech and int'orm it in the morning if there was anything1 in it he desired to Luwe go beioro the jury. Ooi. C. H. Reed addressed the jury for the piïsoner on Saturday, the 44th day of the trial. His efforfc is well spoken of. The main point of his argument was to show that Guiteau was and is insane. Said he had no doubt but that if he was sent to the Insane asyluin he would turn out a driveling idiot in a short time. To sustain his points he noticed the absence of motive for committing the crime, his claim to inspiration, the opinions of his family for a long time past, his business career, and his connection with the Oneida eommumty. In closing he said : "I assert that the convictiou of this man to the gallows aud his execution would be au infamy beyond description - an iudelible stain upon American jurisprudence and American juñes. Think of the scene if you condemn hiin to the gallows. Though not present in body to see the sight you cannotbutbe there in miad. If such a day shall ever come (and I do not believe it ever can come under this evidence) think oL this man brought out from hia cell with the same palé face, and the same weary wandering eyes, the officers of law gathering round him, pinioning him, binding him witli cords so that his muscles stand out, covering him with the black bood, shutting out the light of day from him and leading him to the scaffold." Mis. Scoville sat all day in a mournfu] attitude, with her hand covering her face most of the time to conceal her tears, while her little daughter stood by her side and by earesses sought to win her frorn her grief. JANUARY SIXTEEN. Mr. Scoville occupied the day in an appeal to the jury. He first returned thanks to rnany eminent lawyers who had aided him with their counsel; called on the jury to divest themselves of einotion and sentiment, and forget that the late President was one of themselves. He had trom the first held that Guiteau was insane, and insanity was the only issue in the case. He accused the lawyers of the prosecution with the doctors of the President and the experts, of a conspiracy to hang the prisoner, and said that American journalisrn had disgracefully anticipated the verdict. Judge Davis' charge to the Coleman case had been used to inlluence the verdict. The prosecution lmd failed to show that Guiteau was a bad man. The buiden of Scoville's argument waa that the prosecution had laboied to bring against Guiteau an avalanche of little things in order to build up a charge. They had failed to bring against him a single thing done before July 2, for which lie shonld hang his head, except adultery. "Yes," said Guiteau, "and l'll venture to say there is not now in the court room oiae innocent person on that core."