THE "FAIR" MURDERESS,

Grey River Argus, Volume XII, Issue 1343, 18 November 1872, Page 2

THE "FAIR" MURDERESS,

The murderess Laura Fair has been, acquitted. The history of the Pair case' is briefly thus :— On the 3rd of November, . 1870, Mrs Laura D. Fair' shot and killed Alexander P. Crittetiden .on the Oakland boat. The parties were well known in the city prison and then in the county gaol. A grand jury indicted her for ;; . murder. She was arraigned, pleaded not guilty, and her trial was fixed for/ March, 27th, 1871. On that day the trial com-' . menced. The prosecution was represented by District Attorney H. H. Byrne and Alexander Campbell, the prisoner's counsel were Elisha Cook and L.. Quint.'.: Much trouble was experienced in finding a jury, but one was finally empannelled, and the taking of the testimony was begun. • The trial' occupied the entire attentiSn of the Fifteenth District Court from the 27fch March till the 26th of April. In the course of the trial the prosecution, against the objections of defendant's counsel, put in issue 'the character of the prisoner. An exception was taken in the ruling of the Court admitting testimony on that point. The defence also claimed that under the law they had the right to the closing argu- ' ment. This was denied by the Court, and defendant's counsel took ' an exception. After the verdict of the jury 6f " Guilty of murder in the first degreej"a motion was made by defendant's counsel for a new, trial. The motion was denied, and the Court sentenced the prisoner to death. An appeal was taken, and an order procured from the Supreme Qourt -:" staying the execution. The appeal was argued, and the Supreme Court reversed the judgment, and ordered a' new trial on the points above stated, holding 'that by ;no principle of law could the prosecution V ever assail the character of a prisoner un- ' less the defence first puts it in issue, and that under the law, the defence in, such cases is entitled to the closing argument. Mr Cook, who was suffering terribly ■ during most of the, trial, died of the disA ease which afflicted him then, and shortly afterwards Harry Byrne also died. Mrs Fair employed N"; Greene Custis of Sacramento, and he became the associate ofMr Quint in her defence, and District-/ Attorney Murphy came to the side of Mr • Campbell, in, the prosecution. Three" weeks ago Monday, the second trial commenced in the Fifteenth District Court, ■Judge Reardon • presiding in place -of Judge Dwinelie, who. was disqualified from sitting in the case by reason of ill-; ness. Panel after' panel of jurors wereexhausted, and not till 990 men hadbeen summoned and examined was a juryfoir th§ present trial obtained. The Uue'oHhe prosecution and defence was in some respects different from that pursued on the former ' trial. No proof was introduced as to the relations between Mrs F.air and Mr Crittenden, beyond the evidence offered by counsel that thos,e relations weca those Jof, friendship and intimacy. The character of the prisoner was not put in issue, and none of the extensive correspondency be,* tween , the, parties, read in evidence on the former trial, was introduced or even alluded to by the witnesses. . The trial . was, consequently, much shorter and less laborious than ithe first one. The only issue in the present trial was whether at the time of the homicide the prisoner jm sane or insane. On this point the^jlq attending physipia,n§ s.wqra. positively, that, iii their, "opinion, she was insane at the time ; and, on the other handj eight .; or nine physicians, including some who rank first in their; profession, testified that, .assuming all the testimony to ba": true, they were of the opinion that aha was sane at the time. It is reported that the jury at first stood nine for acquittal and three for conviction, that they soon changed to ten to two, then. eleven to one, and that one stood for conviction the morning of the 3rd October, . V