The Times Advocate, 2006-06-07, Page 3Wednesday, June 7, 2006
Exeter Times–Advocate
3
Carroll sent to gallows
at DonnellyTrial play
By Pat Bolen
TIMES -ADVOCATE STAFF
LUCAN — "I sentence you to be
hanged by the neck until you are
dead," were the words spoken by
Judge Douglas Armour to accused
James Carroll Saturday night in
Lucan at the production of "The
Donnelly Trial" at the Lucan Arena.
The sentence followed a guilty ver-
dict found by the jury after listening
to testimony from witnesses for the
crown and defence.
But Sunday afternoon's produc-
tion saw Carroll go free after a ver-
dict of not guilty with a different
jury.
It is the second year for "The
Donnelly Trial," which premiers at
the old London Middlesex
Courthouse at 399 Dundas Street
Thursday and runs until June 29.
It was brought to Lucan by the
Lucan Area Heritage and Museum
committee, and is directed by Jeff
Culbert and produced by Grant
Doty, brother of the late Christopher
Doty who produced the original play
and committed suicide in February.
The trial is based on the charge of
murder against Carroll for the
killing of Johannah Donnelly and
saw crown prosecutor Aemilius
Irving, played by Dean Hall,
attempting to penetrate the wall of
denials thrown up by the members
of the Vigilance Committee.
Opening his case, Irving asked
"how did it happen in a civilized
society?"
Defence lawyer William Meredith,
played by Tim Culbert, said the
charges against Carroll were based
on hearsay and that William
Donnelly was not to be believed
"since he has a reputation for bias
and disregarding the truth."
As the trial progressed, it saw
increasingly emotional and testy
exchanges of testimony between
witnesses and both crown and
defence lawyers.
At the heart of the Crown case
was the eye -witness testimony of
12 -year-old Johnny O'Connor,
played by Scott Morasch, as the only
survivor of the murders at the
Donnelly farmhouse.
O'Connor testified he was asleep
in the master bedroom of the farm-
house when he awoke to see Carroll
in the bedroom.
O'Connor, who said he hid under-
neath the bed during the attack,
provided graphic details of the
events, describing Tom Donnelly
being chased outside and hearing
"the hammering of sticks...they
broke his skull open with a spade
and killed Tom."
Much of the defence's case rested
on the question of how much
O'Connor could see from under-
neath the bed, with Meredith
repeatedly asking witnesses
whether there had been a curtain
around the bed which would have
prevented O'Connor from seeing the
events.
Family members including Jennie
Currie, played by Eva Blahurt,
denied there was a curtain around
Correction
In last week's newspaper, the
Times -Advocate was given incor-
rect information in a police brief
with the heading "Mischief to
Ranch House." The brief read that
the front glass door of the Ranch
House had been shattered, which
was incorrect. The T—A regrets the
error.
the bed saying it had been taken
away previously.
Emotions in the courtroom
reached an even higher level when
William Donnelly, played by Simon
Goodwin, took the stand. Donnelly
testified being at his parents farm
Feb. 2 and hearing his mother say
"hope has left me."
Donnelly, who said he had "a fore-
boding," said he was well acquaint-
ed with Carroll, who he said "had
been dragging us around the coun-
try."
Donnelly testified he was sleeping
at his farm Feb. 4 at 2:24 a.m, and
heard men outside. He said John
Donnelly went outside and was shot
several times, dying minutes later.
William said, "It was me they
wanted. They thought I was shot."
The case reached a fever pitch
with the testimony of John Kennedy,
played by Johnny Bobesich, as a
member of the Vigilance Committee
and brother-in-law of William
Donnelly.
During questioning by the defence,
Kennedy spoke carefully at first,
saying only that the reputation of
William Donnelly was bad.
"I've nothing against William, I've
known him to go back on his word."
But Kennedy grew increasingly
angry and finally exploded in an
emotional outburst, saying, "they're
a gang of thieves...those who killed
the Donnellys should be given solid
gold medals and special seats in
heaven."
Following the testimony, the
lawyers presented their summa-
tions, with Meredith saying the case
of the prosecution was based on the
inconsistent statements of O'Connor
and that the reward of $4,000
offered by the crown had tainted his
testimony.
Irving said, "It is against the laws
of this country for anyone to take
the law into his own hand...the boy
was present and saw the butchery."
He added "If lawless people take
law into their own hands, justice
must be dealt out."
Armour told the jury the crime
"was an outrage of the most savage
atrocity...all present at the scene are
equally guilty."
Armour said that if Carroll was
there, jurors should have no hesita-
tion in finding him guilty. It was an
argument with which the jury
quickly agreed, sending Carroll to
his fate.
Oklahoma kicks off 35th season
By Nina Van Lieshout
TIMES -ADVOCATE STAFF
GRAND BEND —
"Oklahoma" hit the stage
Friday night as the opener of
the 35th anniversary season
at the Huron Country
Playhouse.
"Oklahoma," a musical and
broadway classic set in the
Oklahoma Territory in the
early 1900s was the first col-
laboration between Richard
Rodgers and Oliver
Hammerstein II.
Alex Mustakas, artistic
director of Drayton
Entertainment, directed the
production.
It is a story which sur-
rounds a romance between
Curly McLain, a cowboy, and
Laurie Williams, a farm girl
who play out their love story
among local farmers, cow-
boys and others who provide
much laughter for the audi-
ence.
The playhouse with a
capacity of 660 was packed
Friday, even bringing out
some familiar faces like
Huron Bruce MP Paul
Steckle and South Huron
Mayor Rob Morley.
"Oklahoma's" stage, a
basic but versatile rustic set
created by Jean Claude
Oliver was the perfect back
drop for all of the characters
who shone with enthusiasm
throughout the two and a
half hour show.
Every single character
that took the stage were not
only talented musically but
talented actors too.
One character in particu-
lar, a peddler,
Ali Hakim
played by Keith
Savage received
applause upon
his arrival mak-
ing it obvious
that he was well
known among
the stage.
Savage is the
recipient of the
2006 Terry
Doyle Award.
His character
has an on -again
but more of an
off -again
romance with
Ado Annie
Carnes, played
SPIN
THE
WHEEL
Save and Win!
,Saturday & Sunday
June 10th & 11th
SPANNER
Merry sags
OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK
11/4 Miles South of Grand Bend on Hwy. #21
238-2818
by Cara Leslie, a friend of
Williams the farm girl.
Scenes shared
between these
two are the
highlights of the
production.
They are hilar-
ious, keeping
the crowd
laughing con-
stantly.
All the char-
acters are to
be commended
for their hard
work of contin-
uing this clas-
sic perfor-
mance the
way it
should be.
Music direc-
tor John Karr
and choreogra-
pher David
Connolly
deserve much
credit — both
were bril-
liant.
Oklahoma
is incredibly
entertaining
with the
exception of
a few scenes
which could have been
shortened and one death
scene that I found poorly
acted out.
Otherwise this show is a
must see for all.
"Oklahoma" runs until
June 17. About 3,500 tick-
ets have already been
sold this season at the
Huron Country
Playhouse and through-
out Drayton
Entertainment's six
venues over
135,000 tickets
4 have been sold.
4,4
"Oklahoma"
kicked off the
Huron Country
Playhouse's 35th
anniversary sea-
son June 2. Mark
Uhre plays a
cowboy, Curly
McLain, who is
madly in love
with Laurey
Williams, a farm
girl played by
Mairi Babb.
(photo/submitted)
Dr. Geoff Hann
Accepting New Patients
Chiropractor -Acupuncture -Orthotics
105 Main St., Exeter 235-1535
www.DrHann.ca
Floor ,("ii)
Designs
111
190 Thames Rd. E.,
Exeter, Ontario NOM 1S3
Tel: (519) 235-1652
Toll Free: 1-866-285-5516
Fax: (519) 235-2543
• Hardwoods • Laminates
• Ceramics • Carpets • Vinyls
MANVINGT411640 FRESH IDEAS IN ON
VINYL FLOORING
I( SUMMER
SIZZLER SALE
I1
• FREE ESTI ATES
• CERTIFIED
PROFESSIONAL
INSTALLATIONS
1
noV
SALE ENDS JUNE 30TH, 2006