SEVEN YEARS' SENTENCE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLVIII, Issue 14854, 4 December 1911, Page 9

SEVEN YEARS' SENTENCE.

rvn OF KINGSLAND CASE. W7? < . ':. •-■ '•■■■•■ ' ' • ./ ' (i LESSER CRIMINALS EACH ONE lifer- : ' 'year. ?T MALE ACCUSED ACQUITTED. ;;; STRONG comments by JUDGE. • Thb trial of the accomplices in the . o"sh«»ghnc«y case was concluded at the ' Auckland Supremo Court on Saturday ££2t before His Honor Mr. Justice ■ SLtDM. • Martha Jane O'Shaughnessy , S already been found guilty of.the.man. I slaughter of a young woman, Elsie HoiIS as the result of an illegal operation. RlKr husband,. James -Edward 0 ShaughI nLy, and two young married women, - Mir Hi*«cll and ; Charlotte Campbell, ; ver ; charged with being accessories after .Li fact and with conspiring to defeat the Sd»ofi«ticc. Mr. R. A Singer ap- ■ Lred on behalf of O'Shaughnessy and SSbell. and Mr. W. E. Hackett. for !v- Hasscll- The hearing of the evidence |f and the addresses of counsel had been com- j m pleted on the previous day, and on Satur- j V s ": day morning His Honor summed up. J * - The jury retired at. 11.20 a.m., and re.turned at" 0.25 p.m. They brought in a verdict of not guilty against 0 ShaughII nessy, and against, the two women, CampI boll and Hassell. a verdict of guilty on the count charging them with conspir- * ing 0 prevent, pervert, obstruct, and dell; feat the ends of justice. O'Shaughnessy mk was -accordingly discharged. Asked if p they had anything to say before the passaging of sentence, the accused made no reWk ply, their demeanour being considerably 1 j more serious than it had been at any time Hf previously during tho trial. ~...' m& An objection by Mr. Hackett, that it, ;^ : was.not competent for the jury to bring pirn a verdict of guilty of conspiracy against §11 onlv two of tho accused, was overruled by ■'the judge. * Mr. Hackett pleaded for leniency for Hassell, who, ho said, was a married <:-;-.,' woman, with two small children. His Honor reminded counsel that tho Ust evidence of Hassell they had had was vf that' she was in a disorderly house. So far as her children were concerned, she Pi might as well be in gaol as in such a B%]place.. .'.. '.. ;: ',. , -■''..' Mr. Hackett pointed out that there was '"150.evidence of her. ever having been in * ' such a house until after the present trouble ; A; arose", and her habits might very well have I been affected by the mental stress thereby : ''" r . occasioned. There was no suggestion that what - she had done for Mrs. O'Shaughr nessy, had been done for any reward or monetary ... advantage, but she had probably been . actuated by a false sense of : loyalty to her friend." " Her story to the -" police was more probably a drunken refl- }*■ ection of. what, had taken place than a '*•• fiction deliberately invented in order to "•'':' defeat the ends of justice. . '• " Addressing tho Court on behalf of "-/ Campbell, 'Mr. Singer, said that the jury had found ' the prisoners guilty on the l" lightest count of the indictment. Camp- ■'• bell was a young woman with three children.. Sho had gained nothing by standing by Mrs. O'Shaughnessy, and it was undoubtedlywhat his" friend had termed a ;I '"false conception of loyalty " which had i.\ led her into trouble.

■•" "In" passing, sentence. His Honor said that he must take a serious view of the "" * case. It was quite evident that the -**«■ prisoners had deliberately done their best 1:•'- to defeat justice. Their action had put .'.'.' the -police to an enormous amount of *'. trouble and expense. The law could not i tolerate such interference with the course ,: . of* justice; He : (His Honor) recognised >;,.. that.they were young, women with children, end (hat their loyalty to Mrs. O'Shnughncisy had ' prompted their ac- • tions. "But "that amounted to little. They y: had since, iotind their way to a disreputable house, and it could not he . said that

their children would have much of a chance 'ii ihey continued to behave in this maimer. ' It would be better for loth of thrrn to be placed under discip- ""'•: 1 Hue":for -a. time, Although he did not intend to impose a long sentence, still it mu3t be a substantial one. Both pris- ■ oners would be sentenced to 12 months' ■'imprisonment. . On' being sentenced, Campbell screamed, " and her cries could be heard for some minutes after she had been taken below to -. the cells. Hassell was more calm, but wept a little. • ' -a .: His Honor thanked the jury for their fie:; careful* attention to a tedious,; difficult, and thankless task. He was satisfied - • that the prisoners had been ; guilty, at least on the count on which the verdict f.£.;' was returned. ■'.■ .■. '■.■■' ORIME FOB PECUNIARY GAIN. ><''/• THE ■ QUESTION OF APPEAL.

'•' Whan Martha Jane O'Shaughnessy was '-?■ put forward for sentence, the long strain ■i.; of, the trial showed itself in her careworn . expression. Speaking on her behalf, Mr. I .Singer reminded the Court that the jury figS had recommended her to mercy. For the last five months she had been in gaol, and "-had suffered a" great deal of anguish and •>«" suspense. Her health was not good, and m -■■ her condition was serious. She was 48 ffil years of age Counsel asked Hie Honor to -,f« extend what leniency the law allowed. His Honor said it was his duty to im- '".• pose a heavy, sentence, but he could say m with confidence that had it not.been for BilK? recommendation of the jury the- sen*K' tence would have been very much heavier. The evidence adduced as to the character of the house, and the letters found there, . • '-* showed clearly that for some time— ,f could not say how long— prisoner taxi been an habitual, professional abortionist. , '.' Her reputation " on that point was quite , 'V clear. There were circumstances whicn •'; convinced him that she hud devoted herM self to a lawless career, and had frequently ; x r r encaged in nefarious practices such as that •'•: which had been sheeted home to her in ■ the present case. Now, iu " this case, » ' human life had been sacrificed through her t! , criminal act.' The jury had taken a lenient 1 view of the case. They would have been If 'justified in* finding a verdict/ of murder, but he did not doubt they-had taken a safer course in finding her guilty of manslaughter. The death of, the girl had not only been caused >by negligence of the R fo«est kind, but it was an act of mandaughter, done while the prisoner was committing a crime for pecuniary ■ gain. His .. Honor had shown leniency to a member of a family who had committed each ft crime for charity's sake, but he could only ■ regard the prisoner as a sordid person, $ capable of performing a criminal act for < tarn.' The sentence of, the Court-giving m all due weight to the jury's recommenda- .' tion—would be seven years imprisonment. !-■' The prisoner was not visibly affected as she left the dock. >' : ' Mr. Singer again mentioned the matter 1 of points raised for the consideration of I ■** Court of Appeal. Hi* Honor said he "■•'" ttouW consider the case, and if there was *■ any point on wnich there could possibly ■ be any doubt, he would adopt the usual "if course, and state a case for the Court ot MS. Appeal. Counsel would receive notice in ■'■;. r* due course.