The history of this case will go upon the…
source date: 1891
availability: public-domain

rock, when a sudden stoppage of the train caused him to fall between the cars; he was run over and horribly mangled, his skull being crushed, his left arm and right leg severed from his body. Death was instantaneous. A Celebrated Case Barney Kerr Acquitted. An Able Defense. The history of this case will go upon the records as one of the most intricate ever tried in the territory, where so many different cases having a like import, have been brought to a satisfactory conclusion. Barney Kerr, whatever may be the conviction in the popular mind, re- garding his guilt or innocence of the foul crime imputed to him, is now a free man. That his freedom is owing entirely to the tact of his emi- nent lawyers, in producing evidence, there can be no doubt. His counsel in the trying ordeal are entitled to all the praise, if praise there be, and to their ability, Barney Kerr owes his free- dom if not his life. Hon. John J. Bell, with his oratory and sound reasoning, convinced a jury of twelve intelligent men that his client could not from any reasoning process, be guilty, and by the exercise of his peculiar triple-plated elo- quence, carried conviction to the minds of all. Hon. G. D. Bantz, associate counsel with Mr. Bell, comes in also for his share of glory, as his logical deductions in the premises, laid the foundation for an acquittal. His spacious rea- soning, tracing from cause to effect, and the manner in which he handled the case from be- ginning to end, showed conclusively that he was a student of more than average application, and worked earnestly and conscientiously in behalf of his client.