Black, Jack, 1871-1932; Criminals -- Canada -- Biography; Criminals -- United States -- Biography
A woman wearing a thick veil was called. I could not distinguish her
features. In a few words she told of shooting a man at her window. She
saw but one man, the one she shot. She was excused and hastily left the
courtroom.
My landlord was called, and testified that I was the roommate of the
dead burglar; that I was not in the room the night he was killed, and
when I appeared the following night I had on a different, a new suit.
The officers testified that they arrested me in the room and that I had
refused to make any statement. The prosecutor stood up.
“Officer, when you accused this defendant of being an accomplice of the
dead man, did he deny it?”
“No, sir, he did not.”
The prosecutor looked wise, and sat down with a satisfied air—as if I
had been found guilty.
“Anything more?” asked the judge.
The prosecutor got up again. “It’s as plain as the nose on your face,
Your Honor. The dead man and this chap went out to rob that house. When
the other fellow was shot, this chap tried to help him away, but he was
too far gone. Then, what did he do?
“Your Honor,” he said, ominously pointing a finger at me, “he robbed his
dead companion. The dead man’s pockets were turned inside out. But in
his haste this man overlooked this—this telltale blood-soaked receipt,”
and he waved it about with great effect.
The judge frowned at me. The courtroom chair warmers craned necks in my
direction.
“What about that new suit he has on?” continued the prosecutor. “He
either bought it or stole it since the shooting. Why? Because the suit
he wore that night had blood on it. Blood, Your Honor, blood,” he
finished hoarsely.
I looked down at my shoes, wondering if the wizard was going to point
out the dark spots on them that I hadn’t succeeded in scrubbing off
entirely.
“Anything for the defense?” inquired the judge.
“We waive our defense,” said the “stir-steerer.” He left the room, and
luckily I never saw him.
“Defendant held to await the action of the grand jury.”
I was led away.
It was a relief to get into the county jail, away from the bedbugs. It
was clean. I was put in a cell with a fine old Mormon farmer, charged
with polygamy—unlawful cohabitation, to use the legal phrase. He was
well supplied with tobacco and food, from friends outside, which he
shared with me. We were confined to the cells all the time, and I made
no acquaintances while there. I did not try. I was much discouraged at
this turn of things against me, but was still hopeful of getting out and
returning to my father.
“You’ve been indicted by the grand jury,” said the jailer one morning,
some three weeks later, “and to-day you go up to the ‘big house.’”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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