Jos. E. Gary.
If you think that some of them do not deserve the death penalty give them a life sentence, but do not disagree. Gentlemen, this is no pleasant task for me, but it is my duty; do yours.”
CHAPTER VI.
The instructions of the court.
In his instructions to the jury Judge Gary said: “The Court instructs the jury that whoever is guilty of murder shall suffer the punishment of death, or imprisonment in the penitentiary for his natural life, or for a term of not less than fourteen years. If the accused are found guilty by a jury they shall fix the punishment by their verdict.
“The Court instructs the jury as a matter of law that, in considering the case, the jury are not to go beyond the evidence to hunt up doubts, nor must they entertain such doubts as are merely chimerical or conjectural. A doubt to justify an acquittal must be reasonable, and must arise from a candid and impartial investigation of all the evidence in the case, and unless it is such that, were the same kind of doubt interposed in the graver transactions of life, it would cause a reasonable and prudent man to hesitate and pause, it is sufficient to authorize a verdict of not guilty. If, after considering all the evidence, you can say you have an abiding conviction of the truth of the charge, you are satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt.
“If it does so prove, then your duty to the State requires you to convict whosoever is found guilty. The case of each of the defendants should be considered with the same care and scrutiny as if he alone were on trial. If a conspiracy having violence and murder as its object is fully proved, then the acts and declarations of each one of the conspirators, before or after May 4, which are merely narrative as to what had been or would be done, and not made to aid in carrying into effect the object of the conspiracy, are only evidence against the person who made them. What are the facts and what is the truth the jury must determine from the evidence, and from that alone. If there are any unguarded expressions in any of the instructions which seem to assume the existence of any facts, or to be any intimation as to what is proved, all such expressions must be discouraged and the evidence only looked to, to determine the facts.
“The Court instructs the jury as a matter of law that an accessory is he who stands by and aids, abets, or assists, or who, not being present, aiding, abetting, or assisting, has advised, encouraged, aided or abetted the perpetration of that caimecrime. He who thus aids, abets, assists, advises or encourages shall be considered as a principal and punished accordingly. Every such accessory when a crime is committed within or without this state by his aid or procurement in this state, may be indicted and convicted at the same time as the principal, or before or after his conviction, and whether the principal is convicted or amenable to justice or not, and punished as principal.