Iowa Old Press

Evening Sentinel, LeMars, Iowa, October 27, 1885

SENTENCED.
Henry Winters Sentenced—The Case Appealed—Bond Given, Etc.

The district court room was thronged Monday afternoon with people anxious to learn the final results in the Winter murder trial. The defendant was present and showed little or no signs of emotion when the court passed sentence. As a large degree of interest is felt in this case, we give the following points in Judge Lewis’ able and voluminous instructions to the jury.

THE INDICTMENT, read as follows:
The defendant, Henry Winter, is charged with murder in the first degree, of one Hugh Moist, by willfully, deliberately and premeditatedly, and with malice aforethought, shooting, killing and murdering the said Hugh Moist, in Plymouth county, Iowa, on or about the 15th day of September, 1884. The defendant’s plea was not guilty.

The instructions of the count go on to show the various minor offenses included in the indictment, and what constitutes each and adds—He is guilty of some offense charged in the indictment unless the shooting was done in self-defense, or his plea of insanity is established, in which case he was not guilty.
The court then declines insanity and explains what may neb accepted as evidence of the same, he also covers the ground of self-defense, etc., and defines each at much length.

Of manslaughter he says: If you have not found the defendant guilty of any offense greater than manslaughter then you come to consider whether he is guilty of this offense. If the evidence shows beyond reasonable doubt that on the 15th day of September, 1884, in this county and state, the defendant shot and killed Hugh Moist, and that at the time he was in that condition of mind in which the law would hold him responsible or regard him as sane, and that he was not then acting in self-defense, but that defendant shot Moist in a sudden heat of passion, but did not do it with malice aforethought, then the defendant is guilty of manslaughter.”
The minor offenses were explained and the jury given ten forms of verdicts—No. 1 being for murder in the first degree and No. 10 acquittal. No. 5 was returned, that for manslaughter.

THE SENTENCE.
The motion made Monday afternoon for a new trial was denied by the court, who sentenced Winter to hard labor in the penitentiary for seven years and to pay a $100 fine. The case has been appealed to the supreme court, and pending its action the defendant gave a $10,000 bond, and is now at liberty.
His bondsmen were John and Dietrich Winter, brothers of the defendant, Christ and John Fissel, and Erhard and Phillip Held, who each qualified in the sum of $4,000.

(transcribed by L.Z., Aug 2022]