Page:The "Trial" of Ferrer - A Clerical Judicial Murder (IA 2916970.0001.001.umich.edu).pdf/43

at the time when the press of Europe was protesting against the transfer of the trial to a military tribunal: "In regard to guarantecs, the ordinary procedure is followed; the mili- tary law offers the same guarantées as the Penal Code for an adequate defense of the accused; the rules regarding the testing of the evidence are observed in a similar fashion"!!I After hearing the defense the judges retircd to deliber- ate before pronouncing sentence. They first had to listen to the Assessor, whose office is to instruct the judges in the points of law, explaining to them especially the meaning of the legal texts applicable to the case. this, the Assessor, Don Enrique Gesta y Garcia, delivered a new accusation, in order, as he himself said, "to rebate the defense," which was entirely out of his functions and against the spirit of legal procedure, since the judges had' retired to deliberate and the counsel for the defense was absent. During his speech he made several points against Ferrer which are important to note, as they in reality ac- quit him. He made a great point, for instance, of the fact (true or untrue) that Ferrer was disavowed by the ad- vanced elements, that he was expel! ad from the People's House by Ardid ; that his proposals were ignored by Igles- ias and his followers, and even by the Mayor and the Pres- ident of the Republican Committee of the little village of Masnou. Ferrer was the leader of the revolution which was mistress of Barcelona and half of Catalonia during a whole week? He admitted Instead of doing Does that square with the accusation that his own words that "in regard to the prin- cipal point in debate, the leadership of the rebellion," there is only "one single witness," Colldefrons. And he tries vainly with poor reasons to prove that "not because it comes from one single witness, does this testimonial fail to constitute a proof ness is deduced from his own words." 'The Assessor, a as the veracity of the wit-