State v. Buttry

On June 8, 1938, the appellant, Paul Buttry, shot and killed Hugh Warren, at Hoquiam, Washington. At the end of a long trial, in which the testimony of more than sixty witnesses was taken, Buttry was convicted of first degree murder, and sentence of death imposed. Some of the twenty-one errors assigned on appeal are of such a nature as to necessitate a comprehensive review of the evidence.

Sometime about nine o’clock on the evening of June 8th, Buttry entered the Chittwood tavern, in Hoquiam, and sat down at the long counter, or bar, which runs lengthwise of the room. His seat was about three…