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The Murder of Anna Wiese | ||
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EVENING TIMES REPUBLICAN |
SATURDAY, APRIL 21, 1894 | |
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HEADLINES APRIL 21, 1894 THE BENNETT-WIESE JURY DISCHARGED The Bennett-Wiese case has ended as was expected, without a verdict, but the discharge of the jury came from the alarming sickness of Juror Henry Desch, exhausted by a long vigil and struggle of forty hours in the jury room following the hard and wearing trial. The ordeals through which accused people used to be put survive in modern courts of justice for jurors. Jurors are allowed food and fire now, but have to be tortured through long days and sleepless nights into finding a verdict if possible. There is seemingly no help for this. The cost and burden of these great cases are such that juries must be made to end the matter if they can. The interest of the community, of justice and of defendants require that trials must be brought to a conclusion if practicable. Judge Hindman is not to be blamed for holding the jury as he did. Indeed no one is open to censure in the matter, but it is most unfortunate that this great and expensive trial should end in a manner so unsatisfactory and with everything to be gone over again. ONE PHASE OF THE BENNETT CASE A number of people who followed the evidence in the Bennett case closely and impartially concluded at last that the defendant was guilty but not of murder in the first or perhaps even second degree. They were fairly well satisfied with the belief that Mrs. Bennett did the killing alone or with help but doubted whether she attacked Anna Wiese for the purpose of murder. It seemed to them if she intended murder she would have selected other weapons than a pocket knife and a small, half rotten club. Then, too, the half-dozen ineffective knife thrusts were just such as a woman might inflict by striking in a feminine fashion with a forearm movement and intending injury rather than murder. Many circumstances indicate a woman-like hair pulling and face scratching fight at the beginning with the killing an outcome of the affray not intended at first. If so, what was the grade of the crime? How is the killing affected by the intent? Judge Hindman in his admirably clear instructions told the jury that the malicious intent necessary to constitute murder in the first or second degree could be implied when the killing was done "by using a dangerous or deadly weapon in such manner as would naturally and necessarily result in death, even without specific intent to kill." But might it not make a great difference whether the weapon was used by a man or woman? Might not the same weapon be a deadly one as wielded by a man but not by a woman? The first knife thrusts at Anna Wiese were not deadly. They would not have inflicted any fatal injury. They were just the awkward and ineffective stabs or cuts a woman might make. But the fatal thrust in the neck was different. That was fatal either because it struck a peculiarly dangerous place or artery, or because it was inflicted with greater power and more deadly intent than the other stabs or cuts. Was that last stab struck by some stronger person coming to the help of the one who made the first cuts or was it by the same person roused to greater fury and deadly intent than at first? If the latter, was such intent sufficiently developed to make the killing one with malice aforethought? Considering the complications and character of the testimony in this remarkable case it is not strange the jury had such trouble trying to reach an agreement. Neither people nor juror are likely to agree about this case without further evidence one way or the other. WEDNESDAY, APRIL 21, 1894 Continued with the Following Headlines: AN EVENTFUL ENDING Sudden and Sensational Termination of the Wiese Murder Case Today Juror Henry Desch Seized With Violent Convulsions and Hemorrhage Taken Suddenly Ill While at Breakfast - The Jury Discharged Stood Nine for Acquittal and Three for Conviction Since Yesterday No Hope of an Agreement, However, and the Case is Continued CASE ABRUPTLY ENDED Sensational Development in the Bennett Murder Trial - Jury Disagrees and is Discharged - Juror Desch in Convulsions The celebrated murder trial is at an end. The jury failed to agree and was discharged shortly after 8 o'clock this morning. The first ballot, taken soon after being sent out and before the various exhibits were examined, stood seven for acquittal and five for conviction. The next ballot was a tie and the jury stood evenly divided until last evening, and a ballot, taken just before going out to breakfast this morning, showed the jury was 9 for acquittal and 3 for conviction. A STARTLING INCIDENT Nothing is more true than the maxim that it is the unexpected that happens. It was strikingly exemplified this morning. A disagreement in the Bennett murder case was no surprise to anybody. That was expected. When it was learned early this morning that the jury was still out a disagreement was believed to be inevitable. But the manner in which it came about was the surprising, the sensational feature of the case. It was a denouement entirely unlooked for. |
When the bailiffs escorted the jurymen to their breakfast at the hotel this morning they were apparently in excellent condition, although they had been out over forty hours, including two entire nights, and had slept but little. While sitting at the table, and soon after they began their repast, Juror Henry Desch suddenly complained of being ill and stopped eating. Bailiff Willits immediately escorted him back to the jury room and he grew worse so rapidly that Mr. Willits was obliged to assist him. Bailiff Smelser soon followed with the remainder of the panel and when they reached the jury room, Mr. Desch was in violent convulsions, of such an extremely painful character that his screams could be heard nearly two blocks away. The jurors, and bailiffs were panic stricken for the moment. Soon realizing, however, that the stricken juryman was in a precarious condition, and in urgent need of prompt medical aid, one of the bailiffs was dispatched for a physician. When the latter arrived, he examined Mr. Desch and found him suffering from a very severe attack of bowel difficulty and at once administered a potion to alleviate the extreme pain, but it was some time before the medicine had any effect, and the patients' convulsions were so violent that it required several men to hold him and keep him under control. Within a half hour he grew easier and was taken home in a hack, but was still suffering greatly, and it was feared for awhile that the attack would prove fatal. He was considerably better this afternoon, however. It was learned today that Mr. Desch is subject to attacks of this character, and that he was not feeling very well when first drawn on the jury. Once or twice since he has expressed the fear that he would not be able to hold out to the end of the trial, but his fellow jurors say he was the liveliest man on the panel and seemed to be in better spirits than any of them when they started for breakfast this morning. He had not slept any to speak of, however, since the jury retired. Judge Hindman was promptly notified of Juryman Desch's sudden illness. He summoned the defendant to appear in court and also asked that the jury appear and make its report. But, finding that Juror Desch could not be moved, the judge called the opposing counsel, consulted with them to unite upon a verdict. The judge therefore went up to the jury room and formally released the panel, subsequently making the following entry upon the court record: "One of the jurors being taken sick and the court and plaintiff and defendant being satisfied they cannot agree, by agreement of parties, the jury was discharged and the cause continued." The next term of court convenes in August, and Judge Weaver will preside.
HOW DEFENDANT RECEIVED THE RESULT When Mrs. Bennett appeared in the court room this morning to hear the result of the trial she was outwardly calm and collected, but her countenance betrayed evidences of mental agitation and more than the usual efforts at self-restraint were apparent. It was an evident relief to her to even learn that the jury could not agree and when she was assured that three-fourths of the jurymen finally favored her acquittal her anxiety and apprehension seemed to be largely dissipated, although, the dread of another trial weighs upon her heavily, and it is doubtful if she will be in a condition to endure a similar ordeal. Mr. and Mrs. Bennett went home today, evidently glad to turn their backs upon the vivid scenes and exciting events of the past three weeks, even if but for a respite of a few months. TALKS WITH JURORS John Hogencamp was foreman of the Bennett jury. It is understood he was one of the number who favored conviction from first to last. He says that the first vote was seven to five in defendant's favor, that subsequently it was six and six until yesterday when a test vote showed seven for conviction and five for acquittal. About dark last evening, however, enough went over to make it nine to three in favor of acquittal, and the jury remained at this status until the end came. One of the jurors said this morning that one of the three who stood out persistently for conviction finally offered to vote for acquittal providing the other two would, but that this was neither his nor their sentiment and that they could not have united upon a verdict had they remained out a week. The grade of crime, in case of conviction, cut no figure in the test votes, as that was a question they expected to consider afterward. DESCH'S CONDITION IMPROVED Dr. Mighell said late this afternoon that Mr. Desch was resting comparatively easy and thinks he will pull through. He is subject to such attacks, but the doctor says this was the severest he ever knew him to have. The attack was attended with copious hemorrhage of the bowels. The primary cause of the convulsions is thought to be an old rupture, and the illness was augmented by a deranged condition of the bowels and the strain and loss of sleep incident to the trial.
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