The Point Roberts Murder Acquittal
A jury clears Charles Mitchell in the killing of John Harris after testimony reveals a violent standoff over a shotgun.
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 jury's verdict in the murder trial of Charles Mitchell for killing John Harris at Point Roberts on January 11, 1883, was returned late Wednesday night: 'Not guilty.' General opinion favored acquittal. Evidence showed Harris was a desperate man who threatened Mitchell's life and arrived at Mitchell's home armed with a shotgun for the purpose of settling a feud. One barrel discharged during a struggle, after which Mitchell wrenched the weapon away and used it to club Harris to death. Prosecuting Attorney Bradshaw performed his duty faithfully, yet the jury concluded it was a matter of self-defense.
“The evidence showed Harris to have been a desperate man, to have threatened Mitchell's life, and that he went to Mitchell's house armed with a shotgun.”
The case captures the rough-and-tumble justice system of the 1880s Puget Sound, where personal feuds often ended in violence and juries were frequently sympathetic to the 'defending' party in frontier altercations.
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