The Masterton Murder-
Dunedin Star.) Wellington, August 13. The finding of the jury in the Masterton murder trial has occasioned much comment. The public of Masterton were especially taken by surprise at the verdict, and the Star, after stoutly maintaining the sanity of Sommerville, says that the finding will bo regarded by those who respect the law as a simple outrage. Both the Wellington papers speak strongly on the matter. The Fast, after saying that the jury were fairly befogged and bamboozled by a farrago of quasiscientific and theoretical rubbish, adds ; •‘By the aid of clever council, expert scientific evidence, and a Wellington jury, Sommerville has escaped capital conviction, but the majority of sensible people will probably continue to believe that the accused was perhaps one of the sanest men connected with the trial. If Sommerville is really sane, we do not know that he has gained much by confinement for life in a lunatic asylum being substituted for the scaffold.”
Permanent link to this item
https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CROMARG18950820.2.17
Bibliographic details
Cromwell Argus, Volume XXVII, Issue 1373, 20 August 1895, Page 3
Word Count
161The Masterton Murder- Cromwell Argus, Volume XXVII, Issue 1373, 20 August 1895, Page 3
Using This Item
No known copyright (New Zealand)
To the best of the National Library of New Zealand’s knowledge, under New Zealand law, there is no copyright in this item in New Zealand.
You can copy this item, share it, and post it on a blog or website. It can be modified, remixed and built upon. It can be used commercially. If reproducing this item, it is helpful to include the source.
For further information please refer to the Copyright guide.