Jurymen Say He is Not Guilty of the Murder of Deltena Davis.
Months of Imprisonment at Last Come to an End.
Scene in Court When Verdict was Given---Welcome Home by His Mother.
James Albert Trefethen is once more a free man.
At 5.13 yesterday afternoon the 12 good men and true, who had sworn that they would “well and truly try the issue between the commonwealth and the prisoner at the bar,” handed down the issue paper declaring Trefethen “not Guilty,” and restoring him once more to home, and friends and freedom.
A lifetime was crowded into the few moments between the ringing of the jury bell, the return to court of the jurors and the announcement of the verdict.
The hubbub, which a few moments before had filled the court room, gave way to an awful silence, when it was known that a verdict had been reached, and every eye was fixed on the doorway through which the jury would soon enter.
Trefethen, who had been brought in a few moments before and placed in the dock, sat with his left leg thrown carelessly over his right knee, his head erect, and his gaze fixed on the entrance from the jury room.
After a few moments of trying uncertainty, a silence in which the dropping of a pin would have been a loud noise, the staff in the hand of Deputy Sheriff Fairbairn was seen through the glass of the door as he advanced in front of the jurors along the corridor.
“Here they come,” was the exclamation in suppressed tones.
As the jurors entered and took their seats every face in the court room was turned toward them.
“The court,” announced Sheriff Cushing, as he brought the end of his staff down on the carpeted floor with a sharp stroke, and Judge Sherman, followed closely by his colleagues Dunbar and Braley.
Mounted the Bench.
In solemn tones clerk Hurd requested the jurors to answer to their names, and ordered the sheriff to make a count.
“Mr Foreman, have the jury agreed upon their verdict?” said the clerk.
In clear and firm tones came the response from foreman Tingley: “We Have.”
Every eye sought Trefethen as the deep voice of the clerk called out, “James Albert Trefethen, hold up your right hand.”
Up in the air went the prisoner’s hand. He stepped forward to the rail, on which he laid his left hand, and looked the foreman square in the eye in obedience to the command of the clerk. “Prisoner look upon the jury.”
Every ear was strained to catch the response to the next question, “Mr Foreman, what say you to this indictment? Is the prisoner at the bar, James Albert Trefethen, guilty or not guilty?”
The suspense of years seemed crowded into the few seconds before the foreman answered.
“Not guilty,” he proclaimed in a firm voice.
A great shout went up from the hundreds of spectators in the court room, and the efforts of the court officers were powerless to suppress the demonstration.
Even the stern command of Judge Sherman to maintain order fell flat on the ears of cheering people.
“Not guilty,” not guilty,” “Trefethen is free,” traveled from mouth to mouth and reached the crowd, which had gathered outside the courthouse; there the cheers were even louder than they had been inside the court house, and the residents of the neighborhood came rushing to the scene to learn the news.
When the brief announcement of the foreman told Trefethen that he was once more a free man his self-control, iron will and nerve gave way.
He gasped for breath and his lips worked as if in convulsion. Then he sank into his chair, placed his head between his hands and sobbed
As Though His Heart Would Break.
His counsel rushed to his side and grasped his hand, first Mr Coggan, then Mr Schofield, and lastly, his senior counsel, ex Gov Long.
Trefethen shook hands with each of his counsel.
Although for a long time his lips refused to perform their office, the smile which forced its way between the tears spoke far more eloquently than any mere words could have spoken.
Gradually, however, he recovered his composure, and when, a few moments later, the clerk ordered that the prisoner be discharged, the spectators again cheered lustily, and Trefethen seemed himself again.
He stooped beneath the rail and entered the bar inclosure, where, on the adjournment of the court, he held a reception for fully 15 minutes. Women and men together crowded around him and congratulated him on his acquittal.
One by one the jurors came and shook Trefethen by the hand, while he murmured his gratitude for the vindication he had received at their hands.
AS Trefethen grasped THE GLOBE representative by the hand he exclaimed, “I am grateful to you all, gentlemen, for the kindness with which you have treated me during my imprisonment and the efforts you have made to secure me fair play.
“I am too full for utterance tonight, but when I have seen my counsel and talked with them, I shall then be heard from, and the world will know the other side.
“My side has never been known, and I was placed in the worst light in which it was possible to place me? But I am not going to rest under the imputations which have been cast on me.
“I do not blame police officers for doing their duty, but in my case
They Went Too Far.”
As Trefethen was leaving the enclosure he again grasped the writer by the hand, exclaiming, “I have seen you here during both trials, and you have some idea of the agony I have endured.”
“But no,” he quickly added, “To understand it a man must go through it, and one such experience is enough in a lifetime.”
Somebody suggested to Trefethen this his mother would be anxious until she heard the news, and he quickly replied, with a nervous start:
“That is so; poor mother will be troubled till she hears that I am free.
“Joe”-to his brother-“hurry home as fast as you can and tell her the news.”
But Joe had caught the enthusiasm of the crowd, and he too lingered until Trefethen was ready to accompany him to their home in Everett.
Trefethen then started across the street to the house of correction, in order to get some clothing which was there. Accompanied by deputies Fiske and Tidsbury, who have been his escort all along, he had to force his way through a cheering multitude.
When Trefethen had secured his belongings he entered a carriage in front of the jail and with his brother Joseph and some friends started for his home. His progress along 3d st was like a triumphal march.
The very air was charged with expectancy from the time the court opened in the morning and the attorney general resumed his address to the jury.
His argument, which had occupied six hours and 30 minutes, ended at 12.40.
Trefethen was then asked if there was anything he desired to say to the jury. In clear accents, and a voice in which there was not a quiver, he replied simply:
“Gentlemen, I am an innocent man.”
Judge Dunbar then read from manuscript a charge which on all sides was conceded to be strictly impartial.
He explained the law in the clearest possible manner, and made no comment whatever on the
Evidence on Either Side.
His closing sentence was an admonition to the jurors to do their duty, and an assurance that the consciousness of duty done would be a sufficient reward for any feeling of uneasiness which it might occasion.
The charge, which was interrupted by the noon adjournment, was concluded at 2.43. It occupied 58 minutes.
The jury retired at 2.45, after having been informed by the court that they were only to consider the first count in the indictment against Trefethen. The other three counts had fallen before the onslaught of Trefethen’s counsel.
The jury bell rang at 5.05, announcing that a verdict had been reached, and the prisoner was immediately sent for.
The jurors had then been absent two hours and 20 minutes. It is impossible to tell how many ballots were taken before the jury came to an agreement, as they reached a conclusion before leaving the jury room that they would accord no information as to what transpired during their absence from court.
Trefethen remarked to his escort, when he emerged from the jail on his way to court after the jury had agreed on a verdict, that it had rained a little since he entered an hour before. In no way did he manifest any anxiety as to the result.
Atty Gen Pillsbury, when asked after the adjournment of the court if he cared to express any opinion on the result, declared that he had nothing whatever to say.
JUST WHAT WAS SAID.
Judge Sherman Could Not Keep Order When the Verdict was Given.
The jury returned to their seats at 5.12 and the court came in immediately afterward. The jury was polled.
The clerk - Mr Foreman, have the jury agreed upon their verdict?
The foreman – We have.
The clerk - James Albert Trefethen, hold up your right hand. Mr Foreman, look upon the prisoner: prisoner, look upon the foreman. Mr Foreman, what say you as to this indictment? Is the prisoner at the bar, James Albert Trefethen, guilty or not guilty?
The foreman – Not guilty. (Applause among the spectators.)
Sherman, J – Mr Sheriff, put out any persons creating a disturbance.
The sheriff – Every person in the court room sit down.
Sherman, J – Take out anybody that makes any disturbance. (Several persons were removed from the court room by the officers.)
The clerk – Harken to your verdict as the court have recorded it. The jury upon their oaths do say that the defendant, James Albert Trefethen, is not guilty as