BREAKING GAOL

Greymouth Evening Star, 11 August 1920, Page 3

BREAKING GAOL

PRISONER’S ALLEGATIONS

(Per Press Association.)

AUCKLAND, August 9, An allegation that he had been “officially assisted” to escape from Mt. Eden gaol was made in the "Supreme Court by Daniel Murray, when he was tried before Mr. Justice Stringer on charges of escaping from prison on January 10th, and stealing from a house clothing valued at .£l6. The prisoner, who was .not represented by counsel, adopted an attitude of defiant bravado and frequently had to be rebuked by the judge. The charges were heard separately, and on each cc-' casiou Murray exhausted his right of challenge of jurymen, and lie objected when the Crown ordered more than six jurymen to stand aside. His Honour informed him that the •Crown could order any number to stand aside. An adjournment was asked for by the prisoner on the ground that lie wanted to subpoena the ControllerGeneral of Prisons. His Honour; What do you want him for ?—I wish to know if he is in Court. His Honour: I do not know, and if I did know f should not tell you. Murray : I wish him to give evidence that I was officially assisted to escape from goal. His Honour: What nonsense! I will not grant you an adjournment on that plea. Murray; It is no nonsense. His Honour: Well, it appears to be an absurdity, and it is I who decide •he matter.

Evidence was then given as to the accused making his escape by means of a rope of blankets weighted (frith an iron stone-breaking chisel. It was stated that the prisoner must have climbed Tip the rope from the courtyard in a , corner where the sentry could not see ; him and swung over the outside wall. When he was arrested three months 1 later he was wearing a suit of clothes I missed from a home in the vicinity of the gaol. Murray did not give evidence, but ( obtained leave to call a prisoner named William Brewer. Murray : What sentence are you doing? Brewer: I am not doing any sentence. I was arrested twelve months ago and put in gaol without a trial. A civilian who was an ex-warder arrested me without warrant. His Honour : What has this got to do with the case? Murray: 1 want to show I was driven from Mt. Eden by the treatment 1 got. His Honour refused to hear any more evidence from Brewer, who was led away shouting that he was entitled to trial under the Habeas Corpus Act. It was a British Act and he was eulitled to trial Murray joined in and said: “I am going to expose things in this Court if I have to murder someone to do it.” When asked if he had any more evidence, Murray said apparently it was no good calling a witness. His Honour; Yes, if it is relevant to whether you escaped or not. Murray : No, I will turn it up. Prisoner then made a long address in which he complained bitterly of the law relating to habitual criminals. He contended that he had been wrongfully declared an habitual criminal in 1912 when he was 18 years old. This haa “murdered” him. His Honour: For a “murdered” man you have been pretty lively since 1912. The Judge then read out prisoner’s convictions since that time. He imposed a sentence of two years’ imprisonment to be concurrent with a sentence of two years’ hard labour the prisoner is at present serving for theft from a dwelling. He again declared him an habitual criminal.