The Brooklyn Daily Eagle - Saturday, May 25, 1895

London, May 25– The WIlde case was continued to-day. During the address of Justice Wills to the jury, the foreman asked whether, in view of the intimacy between Lord Alfred Douglas and Alfred Wood, one of the men whose name has been brought prominently into the case, a warrant for Lord Alfred’s arrest had ever been issued. The judge replied that he thought not.

The foreman then asked if it had ever been contemplated to issue a warrant for the arrest of Lord Alfred Douglas. To this the judge replied that he could not say, and the court adjourned for lunch.

When the court reassembled for business the judge said the suspicion that Lord Alfred Douglas would be spared, if guilty, simply because he was Lord Alfred Douglas, was a wild idea and a matter which they could not discuss. Th present inquiry was as to whether the man in the dock was guilty or not.

Justice Wills began summing up at 1:30 P. M. THe general tenor of his address to the jury was favorable to Wilde.

The jury retired at 3:30 P. M. and returned to the court room at 5:30. A verdict of guilty was announced.

Sentence was then imposed on Wilde, two years’ imprisonment at hard labor being the penalty inflicted upon him.

Alfred Taylor, Wilde’s associate, was also sentenced to-day to two years’ imprisonment.

The Daily Inter Ocean - Sunday, May 26, 1895

London, May 25. -- Oscar Wilde has been found guilty. The sentence imposed on Wilde is two years' imprisonment.

The verdict of the jury was received with great surprise. The jury returned to the court after an absence of two hours.

Alfred Taylor, Wilde's associate, was also sentenced to two years' imprisonment. Both the prisoners' terms are to be worked out at hard labor.

Oscar Wilde's trial having reached its final stage, the Old Bailey courtroom was filled with spectators almost as soon as the doors were opened today. Sir Frank Lockwood, the Solicitor General, resumed his address to the jury. The prisoner's intimacy with Lord Alfred Douglas and the exhibition of the younger man by the elder one at hotels and public places in and about London were severely commented upon by counsel.

Referring to the much-commented-upon letters which Wilde wrote to Lord Alfred Douglas, counsel said that the jury had been told they were too low to appreciate such poetry, and he thanked God it was so, as it showed they were above the level of beasts. Applause followed the remark, and the court had to call for order.

Sir Edward Clarke, leading counsel for Wilde, here interposed objections to such appeals as the one just made by Sir Frank Lockwood, which, counsel claimed, should not be allowed. Sir Frank Lockwood warned the jury to render a verdict which would prevent such a detestable and abominable vice to rear its head unblushingly in this country.

Justice Wills began summing up at 1:30 o'clock p.m. The general tenor of his address to the jury was favorable to Wilde. The jury retired at 3:30 o'clock p.m.

During the address of Justice Wills to the jury the foreman of the jury asked whether, in view of the intimacy between Lord Alfred Douglas and Alfred Wood, one of the men whose names has been brought prominently into the case, a warrant for Lord Alfred's arrest had ever been issued. The Judge replied that he thought not.

The foreman then asked if it had ever been contemplated to issue a warrant for the arrest of Lord Alfred Douglas. To this the Judge replied that he could not say, and the court adjourned for lunch.

When court assembled for business the Judge said that the suspicion that Lord Alfred Douglas would be spared if guilty simply because he was Lord Alfred Douglas was a wild idea and a matter which they could not discuss. The present inquiry was as to whether the man in the dock was guilty of immoral practices with certain persons.

The jury found Wilde guilty on all the counts of the indictment, including the charge with reference to persons unknown, who were also pronounced guilty. This probably refers to the Savoy Hotel evidence, to which place Wilde was accused of taking Charles Parker, a gentleman's servant, after treating the latter to a choice dinner in Kettner's restaurant. The announcement of the verdict caused a great sensation in the court, as it was the general opinion that Wilde would escape conviction.

After a short interval the Judge called Wilde and Taylor, who were convicted last week of immoral practices, to the bar and they were each sentenced to two years' imprisonment at hard labor.

While the jury was out, at the request of the representative of the Associated Press, Wilde's counsel procured the following signed statement from Wilde, who was waiting in the prisoners' row below the dock:

"The charges against me are entirely untrue. Youth in every form always fascinated me, because youth has naturally that temperament to which the artists try to attain. All works of art are produced in the moment of youth. I have no sense at all of social grades. I love society and the rich and well-born on account of their luxury, culture, the grace of their lives, the external accidents of comely life. But any one -- plowboy, fisherman, or street arab -- has an interest for me. Mere humanity is so wonderful. I do not ask of the young what they do. I don't care who they are. Their ignorance has its mode of wisdom; their lack of culture leaves them open to fresh and vivid impressions. "OSCAR WILDE."

The document from which the above statement is cabled to the Associated Press is written throughout in Wilde's own writing, which is extremely graceful and firm, on a sheet of foolscap paper, and it is signed with a flourish.

When the foreman of the jury delivered the verdict Wilde, who had entered the prisoners' dock a moment before, rose from the chair upon which he had been seated throughout the trial and stood with his arms on the rail of the dock. The silence which prevailed throughout the courtroom was really painful as Judge Wills ordered that Alfred Taylor should be summoned.

Then, in a voice trembling with emotion, the Justice said:

"I never had such a shocking case as this to deal with. Two men such as you are, by the very nature of your crime, lost to all sense of remorse for what you have done. To think that you, Taylor, should be the keeper of a male brothel, and that you, Wilde, a man of reputed culture, should be such a perverter of young men. There is no doubt but that the verdict is a just one, and I shall give you both the full penalty allowed by law, and I only regret that it is not more severe. You are both sentenced to hard labor for the term of two years."

Wilde did not look at the Judge while the sentence was being pronounced. His eyes roved around the courtroom, his face never changed color, and he looked like a man who had made up his mind to make the best of a bad situation. Taylor smiled when sentence was pronounced.

As Wilde turned in the dock, and prepared to go back to the prisoners' room, the crowd present cried "Shame, shame."

This shouting caused Justice Wills to rise and exclaim in a loud and determined voice: "Silence, silence."

During the time the jury was debating upon the verdict, Lord Douglas, of Hawick, strolled out of the courtroom and into the courtyard, where he walked about, nervously smoking a cigarette. His face still shows traces of his recent encounter with his father, his left eye being much discolored. During the final stages of the Wilde trial today, there was an immense crowd in front of the old Bailey, and the windows of all the neighboring houses were filled with highly interested spectators.

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