pearance than when he was brought out to plead to the indictments. He conversed in a low tone with his attorneys and brother, who sat by his side, and seemed perfectly calm and ing the said box and its contents to have been so constructed and arranged as aforesaid, nor that the said box contained the said tube, loaded and charged as aforesaid, nor that the said box contained the gunpowder, leaden bullets and leaden slugs aforesaid, placed as aforesaid between the said iron tube and the sides of the said box, or any other deadly or hurtful instrument or substance whatsoever, afterwards, on the day and year aforesaid, at the city and county aforesaid, by the procurement of the said William Arrison, did receive the said box, and did then and there attempt to open the same, and instantly upon the said attempt of him, the said Isaac Allison, to open the said box, on the day and year aforesaid, contained within the said powder, bullets, and slugs, as aforesaid, and the gunpowder as aforesaid, so contained as aforesaid, between the said iron tube and the sides of the said box, were thereby exploded, and thereby as well the said tube as the said box was then and there broken into pieces, and the fragments of the said tube together with the bullets and slugs aforesaid, as well those within the said tube as those contained as aforesaid between the said tube and the sides of the said box, were then and there driven and shot forth; by means whereof, and by force of the explosion of the gunpowder contained within said tube, and by force of the explosion of the gunpowder contained, as aforesaid within said tube and between said tube and the sides of the said box, driven and shot forth as aforesaid, did then and there strike and penetrate the inside of the right thigh of the said Isaac Allison, immediately below the groin, then and there giving to the said Isaac Allison, in and upon the inside of the right thigh of him, the said Isaac Allison, immediately below the groin, sixteen mortal wounds, each of the depth of five inches, and of the breadth of one inch, and also, by means whereof, and by force of the explosion of the gunpowder aforesaid, one fragment of the said iron tube did then and there strike and mortally wound and lacerate the abdomen and bowels of him, the said Isaac Allison for the space of six inches in length and breadth, and four inches in depth of which said mortal wounds and laceration he, the said Isaac Allison, from the said twenty-sixth day of June, in the year aforesaid, until the twenty-seventh day of June, in the same year at the city and county aforesaid, languished, and languishing did live; on which said twenty-seventh day of June, in the year aforesaid, at the city and county aforesaid, he, the said Isaac Allison, of the mortal wounds and laceration aforesaid died. And so the jurors aforesaid, upon their oaths aforesaid, do say that the said William Arrison, him, the said Isaac Allison, in manner and form aforesaid, at the city and county aforesaid purposely and of deliberate and premeditated malice, did kill and murder, contrary to the form of the statute in such case made and provided, and against the peace and dignity of the State of Ohio. composed during the impanneling of the jury, and listened attentively to the testimony of the first witness. A. J. Pruden,12 Prosecuting Attorney, and T. A. O'Connor,13 Assistant Prosecutor, for the State. W. M. Dickson,14 Thomas M. Key,15 William Johnson16 and Mr. French for the Prisoner. 12 PRUDEN, ANDREW J. (1818-1900.) Born in Cincinnati. One of seven children of Ebenezer and Mary (Leonard) Pruden, both of whom were natives of New Jersey. They came to Cincinnati by way of coach and flat-boat in 1808. Here Ebenezer Pruden followed the trade of brick mason, and much of his superior work is to be found in some of the finest old buildings of the city. He died in 1863, aged 87. The son after attending Woodward College, studied law with David Van Matre and was admitted to the Cincinnati Bar 1841. Member City Council 1846-1850. Prosecuting Attorney Hamilton county, 1850-1855-Police Judge 1855-1859. From that time to his death he practiced law in Cincinnati. "For years he was a leading member of the Presbyterian Church. In politics he was a strong Democrat but he never permitted his political sentiment to sway his judicial opinion. During his service in the City Council he was instrumental in securing the change from soft limestone to the boulder system of grading of the city streets, and he was one of the promoters of the building of the House of Refuge, the Hamilton County Infirmary and other public works. Judge Pruden is recalled by his fellow jurists as a man of great learning and judicial ability; by his fellow citizens as one of the most progressive and useful men of his day; and by his family and friends as an example of upright living and as an object of the tenderest memories."Greve. 13 O'CONNOR, TIMOTHY A. Born Cincinnati, Ohio. Educated at Springdale Academy and St. Xavier College. Studied law and entered upon the practice at Cincinnati. In 1852 he was appointed Assistant Prosecuting Attorney under Mr. Pruden, and served for a term in that office. In 1857 was elected Prosecuting Attorney, and in 1872 was elected a judge of the Superior Court of Cincinnati, and served for more than five years in that position. Was regarded as an able lawyer, and was especially so in criminal cases. He died in 1888. DICKSON, WILLIAM M. (1827-1889.) Born Scott county, Indiana, Graduated Miama University, 1846. In 1848 attended law school of Harvard University. In 1849 commenced practice of law at Cincinnati, and shortly thereafter was elected first prosecutor of the Cincinnati Police Court. In 1859 was appointed a judge of the Common Pleas Court of Hamilton county, Ohio, which office he filled with distinction. Resuming the practice of the law after the expiration of his term of office he speedily took a front rank in his profession. Presidential Elector for Abraham Lincoln, 1860. During the war he organized the first colored regiment, and was the confidential friend of Lincoln, Stanton, and Chase; spent a large part of After a number of challenges, the following jury was selected: Wm. D. Hill, T. B. Weatherbee, Andrew J. Titus, Paul Hughes, Henry Rogers, Samuel Tomlinson, Hezekiah Bohman, Wm. Peirson, Jeremiah Musser, Samuel Patterson, William Lingo, Christian Zeigler, (Cincinnati).17 THE COURT instructed the jury, saying they would not be at liberty to converse with each other during the trial upon the case or to converse with any other persons; it would be contempt of court; and if any one approached them upon this subject, immediately report the same to the Court. THE WITNESSES FOR THE STATE. Mr. Pruden. Call Dr. J. W. Baker. Mr. Johnson. I would like the prosecutor to state in some form the manner in which he intends to conduct the case. Don't you intend to announce now what is charged against the defendant? Mr. Pruden. No, sir; I expect to prove everything in the indictment. Mr. Johnson. We are desirous his time at Washington, and had much to do in framing the Amnesty Proclamation at the close of the war. Was a frequent contributor to the press, and the writer of many pamphlets. Was killed October 15, 1889, by an accident on Mt. Auburn inclined plane railway. 15 KEY, THOMAS M. The only judge of the Commercial Court of Cincinnati, organized February 4, 1848. A Kentuckian by birth, who came to Cincinnati in early life. He was very eccentric, although an able man. During the war he was associated with General McClellan as Judge Advocate General on the latter's staff. The stories told of his military service are numerous and amusing. 16 JOHNSON, WILLIAM. "Moved to Cincinnati in 1839, after having taken some part in politics as a member of the State Legislature, and as Prosecuting Attorney of Carroll county. The first year of his residence here (1840) was taken up with the campaign for General Harrison, during which he made a great reputation as a stump orator. In the following year he was appointed United States Surveyor General, a position he held for four years. After this he was elected judge of the old Superior Court of Cincinnati. In 1850 he was nominated as the Whig candidate for Governor but was unsuccessful. After this he returned to the practice, where he was very successful, especially before juries. He was a man of most remarkable peculiarities of manners and dress, and very original in his style of oratory, and made a marked impression on all who heard him. In 1861 he removed to Washington, where he was appointed by President Lincoln on the Commission to revise the Statutes of the United States. He died in 1892 at the age of 88 years." Greve Hist. of Cincinnati. 17 All the jurors except Zeigler were farmers from the county. of hearing the prosecutor's announcement of the train of facts that he expects to prove in the ease. We are entirely in the dark as to the proof, and think it no more than fair that Mr. Pruden should state what he expects to prove. Mr. Pruden. I examined the jurors as to their convictions upon the guilt or innocence of the prisoner, and did not then see fit to occupy the time of the court in giving a narrative of the case. Mr. Johnson read from section 10 of the Constitution of Ohio as to the manner of criminal trials. He said in some states the prisoner had a right to the plan of the prosecution, and all the facts of the crime alleged against him and the list of witnesses. He cited the practice of Massachusetts and Illinois, where the defense was furnished with a full and complete statement of the circumstances expected to be proved, and the list of witnesses, as was done in the case of Webster. We have no law in Ohio for this; but think it not right that the prisoner should be denied the poor privilege of knowing what was expected to be proved against him. Mr. Pruden contended that the Constitution had been fully complied with. It had not been his practice to give a narrative of the case; he had stated the nature of the case, and did not see the propriety of making a statement in full. The prosecution is also in the dark; but few witnesses were examined before the grand jury, and out of the forty subpoenaed on the trial, I have not examined more than five. I do not desire to take any advan tage of the prisoner, or to do anything improperly. Mr. Johnson said he referred only to the practice of other countries, and only asked that the prosecutor give an outline of the case. The COURT said that it was simply a matter of courtesy between the attorneys; he thought, however, that an outline should be presented to the jury in cases of this kind. Mr. Key asked that the prosecution make a general statement, not a detailed one, to the jury of the nature of the case. Mr. Pruden. Out of courtesy to the gentlemen, I will make a statement. The prisoner, Wm. Arrison, was indicted in July last. It is charged that, on the 26th day of June last, he prepared a certain wooden box containing an iron tube; that it was loaded with leaden bullets and slugs, and so made that when any person attempted to open it it would kill them; that he sent this box to Isaac Allison, at the Marine Hospital, on the corner of Longworth street and Western row. It was directed to Isaac Allison; he opened it, when it exploded, throwing some eight or ten slugs in his right thigh, and a portion of the shell in his bowels, wounding him, of which wounds he died. We expect to show that the prisoner was at the hospital a short time previous to the 26th of June; that some difficulty occurred between him and Allison, when he was knocked down; that he went away and threatened to kill Allison, and prepared himself with a pistol, but afterward he got the box made. We expect to show where he got the box made, where he bought the powder, and where he got the card directed. We expect to show that he went away. We expect to show that he changed his name and was only caught by the interposition of Divine Providence. Mr. Johnson asked that the witnesses for both state and defense be requested to retire to a private room, which was ordered by the COURT. Dr. John W. Baker. Am acquainted with prisoner; knew the deceased at the Cincinnati College of Medicine and Surgery, Longworth street and Western Row. He was steward there, and prisoner attended lectures; was house surgeon, but in February, being sick, I went to the country, and prisoner took my place. He had a difficulty with deceased while I was absent. After my return they had a quarrel in my room; do not know what it was about; prisoner left the college in June. On the evening of twenty-sixth June, about 9, while sitting on the pavement in front of the hospital, Charles Jackson handed me a box. It was about ten inches long, and four or five square, wrapped in paper, and tied with a cord. There was a card under the cord, but did not see if there was any writing on it. Took the box upstairs, and meeting Mrs. Allison on the stairs, I handed it to her, saying, "I suppose this is a present for you." She went into her room with it. Met my brother in the hall, and five minutes later, heard a loud explosion; shook the building; there was smoke and the smell of gunpowder; heard screams of Mrs. Allison and saw my brother it carrying her from the room; her clothes were on fire; stayed with her for over half an hour, then went up-stairs, and saw Mr. Allison lying in bed in an adjoining room; he had an incision in the abdomen about three inches in length and onehalf inch in breadth; the intestines were protruding; a number of bullets or large shots were in the thigh, which we extracted. He died that night about 12 at the Marine Hospital. The house was very much wrecked by the explosion. To Mr. Dickson. The difficulty between the two occurred a month before the explosion; they spoke after that, though not very friendly; thought the quarrel I saw a momentary ebullition of passion; did not expect anything serious. Don't know that my brother borrowed money from Arrison; Arrison was a regular student; he was a peaceful, quiet man. Don't recollect that the faculty reported Arrison and Dr. Cummings as of equal standing when they were applicants for a position in the hospital. Was present when Allison died; he was in great agony. He knew he could live but a few minutes. Did not know Allison was expecting a package. Was with Mrs. Allison when she died, the next day about three. Did not hear her attribute the deed to anyone. Some ladies were with her. Handed the box to Mrs. Allison because Jackson me to do so. told |