murdering his wife’s sister by blowing up her house while she was
inside.
“That is right,” he said.
Hoping to place the blame for the killings on Ernest, Hale’s
lawyer recited the names of Mollie’s murdered family members,
one after the other. “Has your wife now any surviving relatives
outside of the two children she has by you?”
“She has not.”
There was a hush in the courtroom as Mollie looked on; her
gaze could no longer be avoided. After only eight days of
testimony, both parties rested. One of the prosecutors said in his
closing statement, “The time now has come for you men to stand
for law and order and decency, time to uncrown this King. You
should say by your verdict as courageous men, decent men, that
they shall hang by the neck until they are dead.” The judge advised
the jury members that they must set aside sympathies or
prejudices for either side. He warned, “There never has been a
country on this earth that has fallen except when that point was
reached...where the citizens would say, ‘We cannot get justice in
our courts.’ ” On the evening of October 28, the jury began
deliberating. By the next morning, word spread that the jurors had
reached a decision, and the courtroom filled with the familiar
participants.
The judge asked the foreman if indeed the jury had reached a
verdict. “Yes, sir,” he replied, and handed him a sheet of paper. The
judge looked at it for a moment, then passed it on to the clerk. The
courtroom was so quiet that the ticking of a clock on the wall
could be heard. A reporter later observed, “Hale’s face expressed a
guarded eagerness; Ramsey’s was a mask.” Standing in front of the
still room, the clerk read out that the jury found John Ramsey and
William K. Hale guilty of first-degree murder.