SENTENCED TO DEATH

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LIX, Issue 17918, 24 October 1932, Page 2

SENTENCED TO DEATH

ACCUSED MAN’S RETRIAL STRANGE CIRCUMSTANCES SYDNEY, Oct. 17. One of the minor sensations of last week was the retrial of Guy Kingsbury, who was originally indicted for shooting with intent to kill Sydney Devine, and was condemned to death, but on appeal succeeded in getting not only another trial, but another indictment. He is now charged with having maliciously wounded Devine with intent to do grievous bodily harm.

When the case Avas put before the jury, they could not agree on a verdict. They Avere therefore discharged, and Kingsbury avus remanded on bail, but he is certainly in a much stronger position than ho was before.

There were several interesting points about the rehearing. The evidence of Kingsbury’s son, a boy of 12, to the effect that Devine Avas the aggressor, evidently impressed the jury, and so, too, did Kingsbury’s disclaimer of any desire to interfere Avith any of the Devines, Avhorn he described as the sort of people Avho “shoot on sight.” But much the most interesting figure in Court was Constable Shroeder, now in uniform, once a plain-clothes man, who had to explain to judge and jury why he had been disrated. The facts Avere set out clearly enough by Mr. Justice James at the original trial, Avhen, in summing up, he said that either Shroeder was concocting evidence deliberately to convict Kingsbury, or the other police witness was committing perjury. The police authorities ordered an inquiry, and Inspector Carter's report apparently necessitated the reduction oi Shroeder to u lower grade in the service.

When Shroeder was cross-examined at this last trial, he said that he did not know Avhv ho had been disrated, and suggested that he had been the A'ictim of a political vendetta —quoting as his evidence, a Communist who is now awaiting trial as editor of "a seditious publication.” But it is quite certain that both judge and jury understood that his evidence was entirely to he disregarded, and this again told in Kingsbury’s favor.