II

From Mr. Justice Beddingfield’s summing-up:

“…You must be perfectly¹ satisfied that this woman did, in fact, administer a dangerous dose ofmorphia to Mary Gerrard on July 27th. If you are not satisfied, you must acquit² the prisoner.

“The Prosecution³ has stated that the only person who had the opportunity to administer poisonto Mary Gerrard was the accused. The Defence has sought to prove that there were otheralternatives. There is the theory that Mary Gerrard committed suicide, but the only evidence insupport of that theory is the fact that Mary Gerrard made a will shortly before she died. There isnot the slightest proof that she was depressed⁴ or unhappy or in a state of mind likely to lead her totake her own life. It has also been suggested that the morphine might have been introduced into thesandwiches by someone entering the pantry during the time that Elinor Carlisle was at the Lodge⁵.

In that case, the poison was intended for Elinor Carlisle, and Mary Gerrard’s death was a mistake.

The third alternative suggested by the Defence is that another person had an equal opportunity toadminister morphine, and that in the latter case the poison was introduced into the tea and not intothe sandwiches. In support of that theory the Defence has called the witness Littledale, who hassworn that the scrap⁶ of paper found in the pantry was part of a label on a tube containing tablets ofapomorphine hydrochloride, a very powerful emetic⁷. You have had an example of both types oflabels submitted to you. In my view, the police were guilty of gross carelessness in not checkingthe original fragment more closely and in jumping to the conclusion that it was a morphine label.

“The witness Hopkins has stated that she pricked⁸ her wrist on a rose tree at the Lodge. Thewitness Wargrave has examined that tree, and it has no thorns on it. You have to decide whatcaused the mark on Nurse Hopkins’ wrist and why she should tell a lie about it….

“If the Prosecution has convinced you that the accused and no other committed the crime, thenyou must find the accused guilty.

“If the alternative theory suggested by the Defence is possible and consistent with the evidence,the accused must be acquitted⁹.

“I will ask you to consider the verdict with courage and diligence, weighing only the evidencethat has been put before you.”

 

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