People v. Yeaton

The defendant, a young girl about fifteen years old, was convicted of the crime of an attempt to commit arson. When the prosecution had closed its case in chief, the only evidence against the defendant was circumstantial; and it was of such a character that the jury might well have considered it insufficient to warrant a verdict of guilty. The defendant then took the stand as a witness for herself. She testified to some circumstances connected with her residence as a servant with Mrs. Ludwig (whose house she was charged with the attempt to burn); and denied that she had anything to do with…