IMPARTIAL JURIES AND NEWSPAPER LIES.
After some desultory remarks about the record and the necessity of laying it before the court, and another reference to breaking open safes and desks, General Butler said: “There is no doubt that the prisoners were entitled to a trial by an impartial jury—a stupid jury, if you please—because I don’t think a man who reads newspapers is any more competent to try a case—rather worse if he pays any attention to their lies.” As enunciated by chief justices of the Supreme Court an impartial juror, he said, is one who “stands in freedom of mind, without bias or prejudice, and is indifferent.” The petitioners were not tried by such a jury and are entitled to protection under the federal constitution.
“If” he said, “the court is to give me jurors as prejudiced as some of those in this case I had better go to a land of Hottentots, for they would not allow me to be stolen and taken back into Illinois.” General Butler’s allusion is to the kidnapingkidnapping of Ker, referred to by counsel on the other side in defending their search and seizure.
In reply to Mr. Grinnell’s statement that the records would show that the defense were more ready to take the last juror (Sanford) than the State was, General Butler said that they were compelled to accept the last juror. Their peremptory challenges were exhausted and they could do nothing else. Under these circumstances they talked to him and coaxed him, and tried to get him into a state of mind as favorable to their side as they could. That was what the parts of the record referred to by Mr. Grinnell would show, and nothing more.