SENTENCED TO DEATH

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 983, 28 May 1930, Page 1

SENTENCED TO DEATH

Tense Scene Ends Drama

MUNN GUILTY OF WIFE-MURDER

Calmly Declares His Innocence

r® orthcote poisoning' drama, which, has occupied the stage of the Supreme Court for the past 14 days, closed with one of the tensest scenes witnessed in Auckland in many years.

Standing erect and tight-lipped, a striking figure, Arthur Thomas Munn started momentarily as the foreman's announcement branded him guilty of the murder of his wife.

Placing his hands on the railing of the dock, Munn, in clear tones, devoid of emotion, dramatically protested his innocence. The judge assumed the Black Cap, quietly pronounced the sentence of death, and Munn was led below.

Mr. Justice Herdman’s summing-up lasted an hour and 27 minutes. The jury deliberated upon its verdict three hours and 35 minutes, retiring at 4.47 p.m., and resuming their seats in the crowded courtroom at 8.22 p.m. As the foreman delivered the one word “Guilty” in a strong voice, his fellow-jurymen nodded assent. A pause, and the foreman said the jury wished to add this rider: “That the members of the jury put on record their appreciation of Dr. Dudding’s jiigh sense of public duty.”

“Arthur Thomas Munn”, said the registrar, "have you anything to say why the sentence of death should not be passed upon you?” Resting his hands upon the railing of the dock. Munn, his eyes riveted upon the judge, delivered his final plea without a tremor in his voice, or hesitancy:—

“Your Honour, I have only to say that X am innocent of the crime of which I have been convicted. My innocent acts have been slightly altered so that they have been made to appear against me. lam in the unfortunate position that I know most about my wife’s illness, and through my acts being mis-stated they have appeared as acts against me.” DEATH SENTENCE PASSED A stentorian call for “Silence!” while the death sentence was pronounced was succeeded by an expectant hush. Assuming the “black cap,” a square of cloth on his wig, Mr. Justice Herdman pronounced Munn’s fate. “Arthur Thomas Munn, you have been convicted of murder. The sentence of the court is that you be taken to the place whence you came, and thence to the place of lawful execution, and there you will be hanged by the neck until you are dead.” A moment Munn stood watching the judge. A warder touched him on the arm, and he turned and walked down to the cells below the dock. After cries of “Silence!” his Honour turned to the jury, and In a low voice thanked the jurors for their services, stating the trial had been a long and arduous one, and excused them from jury service for five years. , A report of the Judge's summing up n given on Page 12.

AWED COURT CROWDS

drama when sentence PRONOUNCED MUNN’S IRON BEHAVIOUR Awed and perhaps humbled crowds heard the solemn ritual attending the sentence of death Passed on Arthur Thomas Munn ! n the Supreme Court last even,n 0- They heard the steady avowal of Innocence from the lips of the guilty man, and clung to the significance of every one of the stern words of the formula accompanying a verdict in a murder case. FEW minutes before the court reassembled for the dramatic last moments, the public in the galleries p® been shuffling and chattering. ernaps they were hiding their know* i«Sf e &rim march of justice naer a show of unconcern. Yet crowds, talking and moving in a court emptied of its legal figures and police surely sensed the impending orama. t ? onie of these watchers; had re«ined their places in the galleries ince the jury retired at 4.47 p.m. onVu 11 ’ at 8 - 15 o’clock, the hush fell ar* , e cr owds, a hush which was rW UalIy oppressive. Through the - nac ? ut of wll *ch the jurymen had a passed to make their judgment, paced

the crier of the court. He conversed in low tones with senior officials. The jury had reached a decision, and the crowds, uninitiated perhaps in judicial procedure, Instantly sensed the meaning of these actions. The crier walked toward the barristers’ robing-room. The moments until the jurymen filed to their benches simply flew. The atmosphere of the court became intense, fraught with the deepest possibilities in the imaginings of all those people. Mr. Justice Herdman took his place above the assembled court. PREGNANT SILENCE The silence was pregnant when Munn was escorted up the stairway into the dock. No sound was heard, although it was patently clear, from the faces of tlie jurymen, that the verdict was one of guilty. One or two jurymen kept their eyes averted from Munn; others stared stolidly in front. Munn stood erect. No inkling of his thoughts was given in his expression. Steadfastly he awaited the fateful questioning of the foreman of the jury. The questioning came. “Gentlemen of the jury, have you agreed upon your verdict?” The words of the registrar of the court, spoken briskly, rapped through the stilled court. “We have,” came the answer of the foreman. “How find ye, guilty or not guilty?” "Guilty.” The single word rang in the ears of everyone in the court. All eyes turned to Munn. His figure swayed slightly, but his expression did not alter as the word which meant the termination of his life reached him. He looked straight ahead, his attention riveted on the judge. Gasps and smothered exclamations could be heard from the galleries. The women in the upper benches gazed down wide-eyed at the erect, unflinching form of the guilty man. MUNN’S LAST WORDS

The foreman of the jury could be heard speaking again. All attention was on Munn and the jury’s appreciation of Dr. Dudding’s high sense of public duty, intoned by the gravevoiced foreman, seemed to come from a tremendous distance.

“Oyez, oyez!” The crier’s voice rang through the room with the clarity of a gong. “Oyez.” Then the registrar asked: “Arthur Thomas Munn, have you anything to say why the judgment of death should not be passed upon you?”

Munn braced himself. He placed his hands on the barrier of the dock and. without hesitation, addressed himself to his Honour, mechanically, it seemed, with no tremor in his voice. He protested his innocence simply and deliberately. Followed moments of tbe most profound silence. Mr. Justice Herdman was preparing to don the black cap prior to passing the sentence of death. It was on his head in a moment, a square of black cloth in appearance. Then the portentous words of the death sentence were being uttered. TENSION OVER It was over. The few moments which meant the passing of the greatest punishment on Munn and the crumbling of his hopes had seemed an age. Munn was still looking fixedly at the judge, the knuckles of his hands showing white as he gripped the dock, when the warder touched his arm. Without faltering, Munn turned about and passed down the stairway, out of the sight of the prying crowds. In tlie upper gallery a woman crossed herself. One or two of the women were deeply affected and left the Court with bowed heads. Tbe reaction bad come. Yhe tension was broken. Many hurried from the room, relieved that the terrific strain was ended. Others stood m groups, discussing the sentence in low tones.