United States v. Reid

• Decision Date: 01 January 1913
• Docket Number: 3.
• Citation: 210 F. 486
• Parties: UNITED STATES v. REID et al.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Delaware

210 F. 486

UNITED STATES v. REID et al.

No. 3.

United States District Court, D. Delaware.

December Term, 1913

John P Nields, U.S. Atty., of Wilmington, Del.

J Frank Ball, of Wilmington, Del., for defendants.

BRADFORD District Judge (charging jury).

The defendants in this case, John David Reid, Richard Williams Albin Anderson, Joseph Horsfall, John Edlin, Charles H. Lyons and William Joyce have been indicted for alleged violation of sections 292 and 293 of the criminal code of the United States. The indictment originally contained nine counts, of which only two, namely, the fifth and ninth are open for your consideration, the district attorney having abandoned the others. Section 292, so far as pertinent to this case under the two counts remaining open for your consideration, provides, in substance, that 'whoever, being of the crew of a vessel of the United States, on the high seas, * * * unlawfully confines the master or other commanding officer thereof' shall be punished as in that section set forth. Section 293, so far as pertinent to this case under the above mentioned two counts, provides, in substance, that 'whoever, being of the crew of a vessel of the United States, on the high seas, * * * unlawfully and with force, * * * usurps the command of such vessel from the master or other lawful officer in command thereof, or deprives him of authority and command on board, or * * * prevents him in the free and lawful exercise thereof, * * * is guilty of a revolt and mutiny,' and shall be punished as in that section set forth. The fifth count charges, in substance, that the defendants on the twenty-fifth day of October, 1913, on board of a vessel of the United States called Manga Reva, then bound on a voyage from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to San Francisco, California, while on the high seas, namely, on the Atlantic Ocean, the defendants being of the crew of the Manga Reva feloniously did unlawfully confine Henry C. Townsend, the master of the said vessel, and being the officer in command and on board thereof, and that after the commission of the above mentioned offense the defendants were, on the eleventh day of November, in the same year, first brought into the district of Delaware and then and there were apprehended.

The ninth count charges, in substance, that the defendants, on the twenty-fifth day of October, 1913, on board the said Manga Reva, then bound on the above mentioned voyage from Philadelphia to San Francisco, while on the high seas, as above mentioned, the defendants being of the crew and on board of the Manga Reva, feloniously did unlawfully and with force prevent Henry C. Townsend, the master of the said vessel, and on board thereof, in the free and lawful exercise of his authority and command as such master on board the said vessel; and that after the commission of the above mentioned offense the defendants were on the eleventh day of November, 1913, first brought into the district of Delaware and there were apprehended.

In order to warrant a conviction of the defendants, or any of them, under both or either of the counts of the indictment now remaining open, all of the essential ingredients of the offense or offenses therein charged must have been established to your satisfaction beyond a reasonable doubt. To justify a conviction under either of the counts it must appear to your satisfaction that the offense therein charged was committed on the vessel Manga Reva on the high seas, namely, the Atlantic Ocean, and further, that at the time of the commission of the alleged offense the Manga Reva was a vessel of the United States. The uncontradicted evidence is that the Manga Reva was at the time of the commission of the offenses so charged an American vessel, and further that she was at that time on the high seas, namely, on the Atlantic Ocean. It must also appear to your satisfaction, in order to justify a verdict of guilty against the defendants, or any of them, under both or either of the above mentioned two counts, that they or he were or was at the time of the commission of the alleged offense or offenses members or a member of the crew of the Manga Reva.

It appears from the uncontradicted evidence that all of the defendants signed the shipping articles, in due form of law in all respects, in Philadelphia before the commencement of the voyage in question and became members of the crew of the Manga Reva. It is necessary, also, in order to find a verdict of guilty against all or any of the defendants under the fifth count that you should be satisfied from the evidence that Henry C. Townsend was the master of the Manga Reva and the officer in command on board thereof, and that, while the said Townsend was master of the said vessel and in command thereof on board thereof, the defendants or some one or more of them feloniously did unlawfully confine the said Townsend. The evidence is uncontradicted that Townsend was in command of the vessel and on board of her when the mutiny occurred October 25, 1913, whereby the defendants, or some of them, did confine him.

It is necessary, also, in order to find a verdict of guilty against all or any of the defendants under the ninth count that you should be satisfied from the evidence that Henry C. Townsend was the master of the Manga Reva and on board thereof, and that the defendants or some one or more of them feloniously did unlawfully and with force prevent the said Townsend while master on board of the said vessel, in the free and lawful exercise of his authority and command as such master on board the said vessel. As before stated, the evidence is uncontradicted that Townsend was in command of the vessel and on board of her when the mutiny occurred October 25, 1913, whereby the defendants, or some one or more of them, did with force prevent him while so master and on board of the vessel in the free exercise of his authority and command as master so on board.

It is further necessary to justify a verdict of guilty against all or any of the defendants under both or either of the two counts remaining open for your consideration, that after the commission of the offense charged they or he were first brought into the district of Delaware, and then and there were or was apprehended. This appears from the uncontradicted evidence.

The law presumes that persons charged with crime are innocent until they are proved by competent evidence to be guilty. This presumption stands as their sufficient protection unless it has been overcome by the evidence in the case, taken as a whole, proving their guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. To justify a verdict of guilty the evidence in the case as a whole must be such as to exclude every reasonable hypothesis but that of the guilt of the defendants, or one or more of them, as charged in the indictment; and from this it, of course, follows that if the jury find that all the evidence in the case when taken together is as compatible with the theory of innocence as with the theory of guilt there should be an acquittal. The commission of a criminal offense can be proved by circumstantial evidence as well as by direct evidence, provided the circumstances proved, together with all reasonable inferences to be drawn from them, are such as to leave no reasonable doubt in the minds of the jury that the defendants, or one or more of them, are or is guilty. You are to take into consideration all the evidence in this case, both direct and circumstantial, documentary and oral, together with all reasonable inferences to be drawn from that evidence, in arriving at a conclusion.

A reasonable doubt is a doubt based on reason, and which is reasonable in view of all the evidence. It is not a whimsical, arbitrary or purely speculative doubt, nor a mere conjecture or guess. If after an impartial comparison and consideration of the evidence you can candidly say that you are not satisfied of the defendants' guilt you have a reasonable doubt; but if, after such impartial comparison and consideration of all the evidence you can truthfully say that you have a fixed conviction of the defendants' guilt, such as you would be willing to act upon in the more weighty and important matters relating to your own affairs, you have no reasonable doubt, and in that case should find a verdict of guilty. Absolute certainty is not required for such a verdict. Proof beyond a reasonable doubt as above defined is sufficient.

The law permits a defendant at his own...