245

WEEKLY NEBRASKA STATE JOURNAL FRIDAY JUNE 5 1891

ALL RESTS WITH THE JURY

[WORD?] ARGUMENT IN THE SHEEDY CASE.

Mr. Strode Brings His Brilliant.
Earuest Plea for the Life of His
Client to a Thrilling Close.

And Mr. Lamberston Reviews the His-
tory of the Crime With Telling El-
equence and Vigo---litracing
Up the Jury.

A Passionate Outhburst of Consel.

Never in the history of the city has public interest in any event been so thoroughly demonstrated as was Thursday the interest in the Sheedy case.
Pepole began to arrive at the court house before 8 o'clock. hoping theraby to secure desirable seats ere court opened at 9. As the hour of opening approached long lines of pepole were to be seen pouring from every direction en route to the court house.
Every neighboring hitching post as brought into service for the lethering of horses and vehicles.
At 9 o'clock it was almost impossible to crowd one's was through the court room.
No regard was paid to the railing enclosing the large space usally alloted to the court and bar. Every foot of standing room in that large court chamber was filled, and more than filled. The ladies, who largely predominated, had invaded the very steps of the throne of justice, and Judge Field's platform was flanked on either side by banks of feminine faces and gay and fluttering readger. If there was a single inch of [word?] space in all that crowded room outside of the few feet square in front of the jury box, it was imposible to locate it by a veiw from the judicial dais,
Even the defendants were brought into uncomfortable proximity with the eager thronge. Whose chairs were crowded directly up against them. No such assemblge of beauthyy. fashion, wealth, integnce. Mixed with their various reverse has even been witnessed in a lincoln court of Justice, or anything nearly approching it.
while hundreds were turned away, not becouse the doors were closed, but because it was utterly impossible to push one's way in. There was a musical but deafening hum of conversation as the jostling. Pushing audience pushed into more or less uncomfortable positions.
content even with the poorest accommodation, glad even that there were permitted to stand up to see and hear the procedings. Such as audiance was well calculated to bring out every latent power of logic and eloquence from the brains and lips of the gifted consel, and most truly did it exert its full capabilities in that line. There were old ladies and old gentelmen there, whose wrinkled visgers and while locks had never adorned so impressive a scene. There were young men and youths who were arderning their views on the case. Young and fashionable and young girls. stood along in rows and veiwed with critical eyes.
the rattent of each other. Hundreds of marriel ladies were there looking out for best seats, fluttering their fans and holding themeselves in readiness to be ouched to tears. Their readiness in that direction was brought to frequent proof.
It was a little remarkable that with such multiude crowded and pressed into slight a space the order through out the day was, with one exception, beyond crticism or reproof. Only once was the court called upon to indulge an admonition. That vast audience was most thoroughly impressed with the gravity and solemnity of the sitution and the alliness of death reigned through most of the day, broken only by the impassoned pleadings of the counsel to the jury. The crowd in the afternoon to hear the closing argument of Mr. Lamberston was simply beyond description. So dense was it that one middle-aged lady standing up in the aisle fainted late in the afternoon and it as actully impossible to take her out. So intent was the crowd on hearing Judge Field's in instrution to the jury, then being delived, that few noted the incident and those in the immediate vicinity, with the assiatance of Bailiff Taylor, applied restoratives and in a few minutes had her so that she could sit up and renew her interst in the proceedings.
When Mrs. Sheedy came into court in the morning her sisters fairly carried her along the narrow passage made for her through the crowd. She was evidently very ill and weak. Her attorneys had consulted as to the advisability of bringing in a couch for her, but the [dr?]hearted, resolute little woman had insisted that she would be equal to the ordeal. As she came in it looked as if her attendants support was all that kept her from reeling and falling to the floor. During the pathetic argument of Mr. Strode she alternated between expression of absoulte exhaustion. During the afternoon session while lamberston was relentlessly picuring the evidences of her guilt and arraiging her in no tender terms and tones for the crime charged against her . her old calm and determined strength appeared to have returned. She resolutely faced the conunsel and jury. but no expression of feeling, of approval or disapproval, was seen to flit across her paliid face through all that terrible impeachemnt, and when she left the court room she walked erect and firm and a bearing that indicated the dauntless spirit that has marked her demeanor through the twenty-two days of the trail. Mrs. Morgan and Mrs. Dean joined in her tears at the mention of their mother, and were much more easily moved to tears than was she.
Monday McFarland wore the same dared, atolid experssion he has worn since the argument of the case began. He appoars to realize that there is absolutely no hope for him. The sympathetic appear made to the jury had had no refernce to him. He has had to gain all the consolation vocuchefed him in the arguments from the efforts of his consel to prove him a negro who was much abused in order to get him to confess and a monumental liar when he did so.
He has seen his counsel conternding that his confession could in no way impicate Mary Sheedy even though it consigend him to the gallows. And he realize the meaning of it all. He has had tthe finger of denucation pointed at him and again as the murderer of John Sheedy. but his sodden eyes evined no sign of fear or recognition. He sits surrounded by a group of colored women, but he never appears to be aware of their presence.
Mr. Strode's Last Urgent Apeal.
Every breath of sound in that crowded room vainshed when Mr. Strode stepped before the jury to resume the argument he had begun the previous evening. He recounted briefly the points he had made on opening ere he branched off into a correction of Mr. Hall's refernce to " the murder of King Clandius." In the latte connection he said that as he remembred having read the story, King Claudius was not murdered, but that it was his brother, King Hamlet.
Mr. Strode then recounted a well known case in Vermont where two brothers had confessed to having murdered a brother in-low, were convicted and were about to be executed years after the missing man's disappearance, when by more chance the latter was discovered living in New Jersey. He also refered to the case Winduagel, The Randolph street butcher, who at tempted sucide, to prove the reliability of cricumatantial evidence, conteding that his room-mate, Kyle would probably have been convicted of his murder, had her not recovered. He detailed these two cases with all the fervor he could command to impress the jury with a lack of fiath in confessions and ericumatutial evidence.
Then he took up Monday's confession, reiterating the statement with emphasis that it could not weigh, under the law, against his client. Mary Sheedy, and recounted all the inducenets that had been held out to Monday to induce him to confess, conteding that neither of the confession were voluntary and were therefore not adwissable in evidence.
In turning his attention to the work of detecives he refered to the alleged fact that a Pinkerton man had been brought here from Chicago in order that no stone would be left unturned to hound down
Mary Sheedy, in order that her portion of the Sheedy estate might go to the Sheedy heirs, He thought it very appropriate with the line of this proscution that Pinkerton man should be brought here for that purpose.
Mr. Hall, of counsel for the state, was a member of the law firm Marguett.
Deweese & Hall, who were attorneys for the B. & M. railroad in Nebraska. It would probably be remebered that these Pinkerton men had been called upon before to do work in Nebrasja, and for that company.
Mr. Hall was promptly upon his feet at this utterance and it was evident that he indignant:
" Now, your honor, I think there is no such testimony as that in this court, and I think that such a statement ought to be severely condemned by this court. Such a statement sincerning the C. B & Q. railroad is made with the hope of unfairly and unlawfully inflawfully infuencing this jury, some of whom may belong to the farmers alliance, and I want to brand it as cowardky, unmanly, unwarranted and unprofessional. "
The speaker for the first time since the opening of the case, evinced anger in his face, and his fervor increased as he proceeded until the court broke in with
" That will do Mr. Hall. Mr. Strode there is no such fact as that in evidence. "
" Your honor, Johnine Klausner testified that a Pinkerton detective was employed---"
"Yes, but there was nothing about their employemnt by the C. H. & Q."
" I will admit, your honor, that that was rather outside of the evidence. "
" I had hoped, Mr. Strode, that you would endeavor to be fair in your argument.
You have tried the case fairly so far, and dislike to see you mar it in your argument. [dr?] [dr?] from any further statements of that charnter."
Mr. Strode then called attention to the eminent counsel which had been employed to proscute his client, intinating that it was apparent thereby that he was being persecuted so that the Sheedy heirs would profit by it. He called attention to Mr. Lamberston's wide reputation as a public prosecuter, having been engaged in that line for many years in the United States. He told this services in liberating the city council from imorisonment in the Grandpa Burris case, and told of his apsoinment as prosecutor for the interstate comerce commission. He declared him to be eminent for his qualification in that line:
eulogized Mesers. Hall and Snell and said that when he thought of the cousel engaged in the prosecution he trembied for his client He warned the jury not be misled by the eloquence and sophistry of counsel to condemn his client.
Mr. Strode then called for the ring which had been introduced in evidence as one which Monday in his confession had said that Mrs. Sheedy had given him. Its production was the begining of a dramtic scene.
" Mr. Hall," said he, " called your atention to the fact that Monday McFarland's confession was corroborated by a ring found in a pawn shop. Now I ask you what evidence is there that Mrs. Sheedy ever owned such ring? there was no evidence that went to show that against Mrs. Sheedy, you cannot consider that confession against her. Yes, they stand here by the hour telling you of things that are in McFarland's confession. He says she placed that ring on his finger and the ring was identified as found at a pawn shop. What mark is there upon it? Nobody should say it was Marry Sheedy's ring or ever had been, and the pawn broker tell you that the ring had no mark upon it except the flueness of the gold of which it was made. That he put a tickt upon it. McGarland save in his confession this is the one Mary Sheedy gave him, yet there is not a sintilla of evidence that Mary Sheedy ever owned such a ring. I do not believe she ever owned such a ring. I do not believe such a ring ever had nay existence except in the imagination of Monday McFarland. I don't believe he ever got it of Mary Sheedy.
" Put that ring on your finger," said Mr. Strode, advancing with extended hand toward the prisoner.
In a moment Mr. Lamberston was upon his feet protesting :
" Your honor, we object to that. That would be getting evidence from Monday McFarland unfairly. Why didn't they put him on the stand if they wanted his evidence? We would have been glad tp have them do so. If they persist in this unfair attempt to secure evidence from him we shall content for the right to cross-examine him. "
" It occurred to me when I tried to place it on my finger that it is not Monday McFarland ring. It would scarcely go on my finger. Look at that man, look at his szie, and tell me if he has a finger that ring would go on? Yet they try to affect Mrs. Sheedy by saying Monday McFarland had a ring that she had placed upon his finger. "
He got warmer as he talked and seemed to have just made an important discovery.
" You have been playing some kind of jugglary on me. some trickery wish this ring. Then there this hair. Mr. Hall tells in his argument, why don't you prove this not Mary Sheedy's hair.
Doubless it may be a part of her hair.
McFarland was combing her hair and dressing her hair, she did not deny that. There is no evidence but what that had been done. And if that were true, how easy it was for him to have obtained some of her hair in combing it and dressing it. And he could have saved some of the combings if he wanted to. Whether he did or not. I don't know, This lock of her hair looks to me, darker than any hair I have ever seen on Mary Sheedy's head. I simply ask you to look at it. These detectives have been working up this testimony," and he laid the darker trees against Mrs. Sheedy's golden bangs while she sat resignedly with eyes upon the floor.
" We object to that, your honor, That would be putting her upon the stand, and when that is done we want the opprotunity to croes exxamine her."
" You can't sneak testimony in that way which you were afraid to introduce by the proper method, and when you charge that we have manfactured testimony I denoynce you as an infamoulair. "
" Go on, Mr. Lamberstton, you can't scare me, " calmly replied Mr. Strode.
" Gentlemen, that will do, " syernly admonished the court. " There is no ocasion for any such language as this.
Mr. Lamberston, I am suprised that you use such language in court. There is nothing courageous in calling a man ac hiar in court. and I want to say that you have committed an ungentlemanly and uprofessional act. "
The crowd brust into applauso at the severity of the court admonition, atested by the clapping of hands and murmurs of approval, This renewed the displeasure of the court, and Judge Field seriously and somewhat feelingly threatented to clear the court room if there was such another demonstration.
" This is to serious a trial to permit of any such expresions. Nothing that is saud there is intended for the benfit of the audenice, or for the approval or diapproval, and if this audience cannot remain quiet must be cleared from the room."
Thereupon Mr. Strode continued.
" Mr. Hail asks why we don't prove that this is not Mary Sheedy's hair. I simply ask you to look at it and look at her head. Do you say this is Mary Sheedy's hair? I am more conbinced than ever it is not. You have been placing in that negro's possession testmony by which you expect to convict this woman. I tell you that hair never came from Mary Sheedy's head. I ask you if you cannnot see the contrast even from where you sit. It never came from Mary Sheed's head. Mr. Lamberston, and you and your detective know it.
You know that you have trunped up here some injured testimony with which to try to effect this women. No man with an iota if discretion can look at it and any that ever came from Mary Sheedy's head. Now I simply ask you, do you believe that is Mary Sheedy's ring? In the face of the facts that have come to light, do you believe Mary Sheedy ever placed that ring on Monday McFarland's finger. You see how large a man he is. While I do not know whether it would go upo his finger or not, I venture the assertion, it will not go over the first joint. I say this some manufactured evidence of Jim Malone and the Pinkerton detectvies who are coming to the front in the winding up of this trail in my judgment."
Mr. Strode then went over all the evidence [dr?] [dr?] by piece as it presented itself most favrable for his client, and d welt at length to prove that there was postivevly no testimony that Sheedy had been poisoned. He also read a number of medical authorites to show that the symptoms of poisoning are shown much quicker than were the symptoms in this case and that death had never been so long delyaed in but once instance on recard.
His refernces to his client were frequent and most touching and pathetic, moving many of the ladies to tears and his concluding appeal was most impressively mad as follows:
AN APPEAL FOR MERCY.
" Adopting the sentiments of another. let me say : Taken this case. I surrender into you hand the issue of life and death. As long as you live a more important case than this you'll never be called to try. Consider it, therefore, well in all its bearings.
Justice, under the evidence and the law of this case, demands an acquital of them defends at your hands. when you have returned to your homes may be you be able to say that in justice we remembered mercy to these defendants. "
Being member that life is an awful and scared thing: Remember that death is terrible at any time and in any form. But when to the frightful mein of the grim monster, when to the cilled visage of ths spirit of the glass and soythe is added the hated, dreaded specter of the gihbet we turn shuddering from the accumated horor. God spare my client, and those who love ber from such a scence of [dr?]
She may have lived a somewhat careless life, she may have done many things to justify reflections upon her course of conduct: but she guilence of the crime charged in this information. You cannot find her guilty of the charge becouse of anything in her past life that may not have been as circumsatnce as it cought to have been. Human nature is weak. Thousands of women in our land have been driven by brutal men to live more sinful lives than she has lived.
They are to be pulled rather than condmened in many cases.
If life who made the earth and bung the sun and moon and stars on high to give light, and created man a joint heir of etermal wealth, and put within him an [dr?]
sperk of that clestial flame which surronds his throne could remember mercy in executing justiced when whole plan of divine goverment was assalted and deraying: when the purity of Edeuhad been defined by the presance and councel of the serpent why so can you and so can I. remember mercy towards this woman a prisoner at the bar.
who, when she was in her early womanhood, allowed John Sheedy to lead her from the paths of virtue and pure womenhood. But she become his wife, and her devotion to his has been shown, she has made every atoremnet in her power to make for whatever wrong there may have been in that. Let not anything that has been mad against the character of this woman by consel who proected her wigh in your minds unless supportted by the evidence. What has been shown does not show her guilty of the charge in the informtion in this case. [dr?] it, therefore, from your minds. Charity in the paramount virture all else is an sounding brass and [dr?] symbols. Charity sufferth long and is kind. Forbid not to come into your delibrations : and when your last hour comes, the memory that you allowed it to plead for this unfortunate woman will brighten your passage over the dark river and raise by your side as an intealing angel in that day when your trail as well as hers. shall be determind by a just but mercful [dr?]
It is asked that after death there shall be a [dr?] and that we shall mevt again. If that holy [dr?] is true that [dr?] where the only plea that will save you or me from a worse fate than can await these defendants, should you find then guilty, will be mercy.
Then, gentemen of the jury, let me ask you to restore my client to her identiy: restore her to the [dr?] THIS WHOLE PASSAGE IS VERY HARD TO READ...

That aged mother now has [dr?] THE PASSAGE IS VERY HARD TO READ AND WRITE.

FORTH COULUM NEEDS TO BE WRITTEN STARTING HERE.

THEN FIFTH COULUM.....
THEN THE SIXTH.....
THEN THE SEVENTH....