It is quite true that juries, for rather obvious reasons, are more apt to acquit in murder cases than in others. In the first place, save where the defendant obviously belongs to the vicious criminal class, a jury finds it somewhat difficult to believe, unless overwhelming motive be shown, that he could have deliberately taken another’s life. Thus, with sound reason, they give great weight to the plea of self-defence which the accused urges upon them. He is generally the only witness. His story has to be disproved by circumstantial evidence, if indeed there be any. Frequently it stands alone as the only account of the homicide. Thus murder cases are almost always weaker than others, since the chief witness has been removed by death; while at the same time the nature of the punishment leads the jury unconsciously to require a higher degree of proof than in cases where the consequences are less abhorrent. All this is quite natural and inevitable. Moreover, homicide cases as a rule are better defended than others, a fact which undoubtedly affects the result. These considerations apply to all trials for homicide, notorious or otherwise, the results of which in New York County for the past ten years are set forth in the following table: +------+-------------+------------+-------------+------------+ | YEAR | CONVICTIONS | ACQUITTALS | CONVICTIONS | ACQUITTALS | | | | | PER CENT | PER CENT | +------+-------------+------------+-------------+------------+ | 1901 | 25 | 17 | 60 | 40 | | 1902 | 31 | 11 | 74 | 26 | | 1903 | 42 | 8 | 84 | 16 | | 1904 | 37 | 14 | 72 | 28 | | 1905 | 32 | 13 | 71 | 29 | | 1906 | 53 | 22 | 70 | 30 | | 1907 | 39 | 10 | 78 | 22 | | 1908 | 35 | 17 | 67 | 33 | | 1909 | 43 | 11 | 80 | 20 | | 1910 | 45 | 15 | 75 | 25 | +------+-------------+------------+-------------+------------+ | Total| 382 | 138 | Av. 73 | Av. 27 | +------+-------------+------------+-------------+------------+