“If you vote for acquittal on the ground of insanity you may state that ground in your verdict.
“You must be guided, gentlemen, entirely on the evidence. Clamor, prejudice or sympathy must not prevail. You must be guided by your reason and your judgment.”
The case was given to the jury immediately upon the conclusion of the reading of the charge, and at 5:15 p.m., Wednesday, April 10, 1907, the jury was locked up to begin its deliberations.
CHAPTER XXV.
Deliberations of the Jury.
TWELVE MEN UNABLE TO REST OR SLEEP, HAVE HARD TIME—ANY ONE OF SIX VERDICTS COULD BE GIVEN, SAID LAWYERS—THAW GLOOMY—VISITED BY WIFE—MOTHER WORN OUT BY ANXIETY—JURORS HAVE PART OF EVIDENCE READ AND RETURN FOR MORE BALLOTING—EVELYN ALMOST MOBBED BY CROWD—VARIOUS RUMORS AFLOAT.
From the moment they left the court room, the jurors had a hard task before them. The situation was complex. According to legal experts there were six verdicts from which a logical choice could be made, as follows:
1. Murder in the first degree, the penalty for which is death.
2. Murder in the second degree, the penalty for which is life imprisonment.
3. Manslaughter in the first degree, the penalty for which is imprisonment for twenty years.