“My lawyer said it wouldn’t be right to put me on trial without a chance to defend myself, that I couldn’t get away yesterday to look up witnesses, and I had a right to a reasonable time; that he wanted at least four weeks to prepare the case. This seemed to make the judge mad. He said there wa’n’t no excuse for any delay, but as this was such a clear case he wanted to give me every chance he could, so he would continue till next Monday. Then I was took back to the jail, and my lawyer met me over there and I told him ever’ place I went the day I done it, and ever’one I saw, and all about her, and what she’d done to make me mad, and he said he’d go out himself and look it up, and do what he could, but he was ‘fraid there wa’n’t no chance. The papers had said so much and the citizens had got up a Crime Committee, and ever’one who was tried either went to the penitentiary or got hung. “Ever’day the lawyer would come and ask me something ‘bout the case, and tell me what he’d found out. He said he couldn’t get any witnesses to say anything; that the man where I got the beefsteak was ‘fraid to come and testify; that someone had been there from the State’s Attorney’s office and most scart him to death, and he was ‘fraid of gettin’ into trouble and gettin’ mixed up with it himself, and anyway he didn’t see as he’d do the case any good if he came. He said he couldn’t find anything that helped him a bit. He’d been to the house, but the poker and everything that would do any good had been taken by the state, and he didn’t know which way to turn. He kep’ comin’ back to my insanity, and asked me if any of my parents or grand-parents, or uncles or aunts or cousins, or anyone else was crazy. I told him I didn’t know anything ‘bout them but I didn’t think it was any use to try that. I knew what I was doin’, all right. Then he told me if I had a hundred dollars he could get a good doctor to swear I was crazy; but I hadn’t any hundred dollars of course, and besides I never thought ‘twould do much good. So I told him that he wa’n’t to blame for it, and to just do the best he could, and I’d be satisfied whichever way it went. I didn’t expect much myself anyhow. He said he’d have me plead guilty and the judge would most likely give me a life-sentence, only since this crusade against crime the judges dassent do that; there was so much said about it in the newspapers, and they was all ‘fraid of what the papers said. He told me that he didn’t believe it was anything more than second-degree murder anyhow, but there wa’n’t any chance now, the way public opinion was.