Double Jeopardy (17 page)

“Your Honor, under Article I, Section 6 of the Constitution of this State which says, in part: 'No person shall be subject to be twice put in jeopardy for the same offence,' I demand that the Court instruct the jury to return a verdict of Not Guilty for the Defendant. According to the law, the deceased was killed by the Defendant once already; and he was convicted and sentenced and paid the penalty for the crime by a prison term which lasted from 1919 up until the present year.

“The Defendant committed a legal murder. Or, have it this way, if you like. The Defendant, instead of committing the crime and paying the penalty, paid the penalty and then committed the crime. He cannot be tried on those charges again. In conclusion, I do not ask for clemency for the Defendant. I ask Justice!”

As I write this final portion of my story, which I trust has explained those features which the press have distorted, I cannot refrain from smiling a little. His Honor wore such a woebegone look of bewilderment when my lawyer passed the certificates to the stenographer with a dramatic flourish!

“Let me see those papers, please,” the judge demanded. The stenographer quickly handed them up to him. His Honor changed his glasses and as he read them through, an unusual stillness pervaded the room. Really, I believe that of all the people who were crowded into the court, I was the only person who was not holding his breath.

Finally, after what appeared to be an eternity, the judge looked up. He cleared his throat several times, fiddled with his glasses, and then looked over toward the prosecution's table.

“Well, Mr. District Attorney,” he said with a puzzled frown wrinkling his forehead, “what have you to say to that?”

As yet there has been no decision forthcoming. I know that the prosecution is tearing its collective hair, trying to find some way to get a conviction. My own lawyer is completely at ease. He left this morning for a few weeks of fishing in Maine, promising me that if decision is reserved too long, he'll apply for a writ of
habeas corpus.

But I am not impatient to be free. There still remains the problem of where to go.