THE DEATH PENALTY

New Zealand Times, Volume XLVI, Issue 10604, 1 June 1920, Page 5

THE DEATH PENALTY

AUCKLAND MURDER TRIAL WHAT THE LAW PROVIDES. The Crimes Act requires that a sentence of death shall no't be carried out until the pleasure of the GovernorGeneral with respect thereto is niado known. The sentence must be executed within seven days of the receipt by the sheriff of notice that the Governor-General will not interfere with such sentence.

It has long been the rule in England to allow a condemned man three weeks between the pronouncement of his sentence and his execution, in New Zealand no definite period is fixed, but in general, unless there is a delay in reviewing the case —when the depositions and report of the judge are forwarded to the Executive Council —three weeks is the ordinary period of life allowed to the criminal. ACCUSED'S BROTHER COLLAPSES. AFTER SENTENCE PASSED. In the course of the trial the accused's brother Charles, who had been a witness for the defence, was seized with a fit outside the court. After the jurv had given its verdict he suffered another attack. He was carried from the vestibule into tho open-air, where he recovered.

It. was roported in Auckland, says tho "Star," that a constable who approached Charles Gun as he came out of court was "knocked out" by throe men in the crowd, who, it was alleged, resented the officer's manner of addressing the accused's grief-stricken brother. The police," however, definitely deny that any such incident occurred, and their statement is borne out by the fact that there was a largo force "of constables in attendance, and that no sounds of any disturbance found their way into court.