I’m going to ask you to listen with your hearts. Dwight Winthrop knew that from the cradle on, through all her years, Jan Ashe listened to one man, only one, her father. Dwight Winthrop knew this too, that she placed no moral value on this ugly thing until the result and the punshment threatened the rest of her life. You who have sons should pray that they might have the nobility and kindness of this young man. And you who have daughters must believe with him that she was not to blame. It was through her father that she met this gambler, this beast. Her father endorsed this unholy friendship, and when this man threatened the rest of her life, this father wasn’t there to protect his daughter. All this Dwight Winthrop knew. All this was caught in the whirlpool of his love. The poor boy went insane. And he’s not guilty of cold, deliberate murder. There’s only one breast that you can surely pin the responsibility of this crime on. Only one! Stephen Ashe is guilty and nobody else. Stephen Ashe. Your honor. I …
