A Convicted Killer's Last Chance at the King County Bar
Defense attorney Melvin G. Wylie attacks the murder conviction of Holmes for the killing of William Russell, while Prosecutor Miller fights to keep the verdict.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
The motion for a new trial in the Holmes murder case was argued yesterday in the superior court before Judge Moore, sitting in place of Judge Humes. Melvin G. Wylie, attorney for the prisoner, spoke for a review of the trial of the accused and cited the points on which the motion for a new trial was based. Prosecuting Attorney Miller objected to the motion on general principles and replied in argument. Judge Moore took the matter under advisement.
Holmes was arrested on March 24 for the killing of William Russell and found guilty of murder in the first degree. At trial, the defense contended that the killing was in self-defense.
“Another effort to save the murderer's neck.”
The machinery of a capital-era murder trial—motions, crowded calendars, a judge borrowed from another department—still defines how Seattle handles violent crime. The story also reminds us that a conviction was not the end; appeals and retrials could stretch a case for months.
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