Schuck found guilty, 1921
New Jersey Mirror 23 Feb 1921
Harry Paul, of Mount Holly, son of David S. Paul, the murdered bank runner, of Camden, had been in attendance at the trial of Raymond Shuck, one of the murderers of the elder Paul, in Camden, when he was interviewed by a newspaper reporter on Monday. Here is what he said after stating that his mother hs been in failing physical condition ever since the tragedy, and that he feared she would die as the result of "No matter what happens to these(as written) her grief and the shock of the crime: men(as written) Schuck and James -it will not bring my father back to me. "I feel terribly sorry for the families of James and Shuck. No one has any idea of my sympathy for them. "But as for the men themselves, their conscience must be racked by the knowledge that their days seem to be numbered, and their end will be the electric chair. I cannot say I want to see them die as murderers. I cannot move myself to voice such an expression. "I cling to the belief, however, that if they do escape the death penalty, it would be a horrid example for other men with evil in their minds."
It took the jury at Camden yesterday less than an hour to return a verdict of first degree murder against Raymond W. Shuck for his part in the murder of David S. Paul.The defendant had been subjected to a grueling cross-examination lasting nearly ten hours in all, by Prosecutor Wolverton, said to have been the longest line of interrogation of a murder defendant ever pursued in a trial in New Jersey. Shuck claimed that he was not a party to the actual murder but was compelled to drive the murder car and help dispose of the body of the victim at Irick's Crossing, near Tabernacle, this county, under threats of death by Frank James, already convicted of murder in the first degree and awaiting the sentence that will send him the electric chair. There was marked feeling between the two accused men when James appeared as a witness for the State. He made no effort to escape his own responsibility for the crime but stoutly maintained that Shuck had assisted in planning the crime and was equally guilty with him. Large crowds witnessed every session of the long trial which lasted all of last week and over into this, being concluded yesterday afternoon after the noon recess. It was evident that J. Russell Carrow, counsel for the prisoner, was fighting to save his client from the chair and that life imprisonment would be a welcome alternative. Even some of those who had worked on the case for the State were not sure that Shuck would be called upon to pay the extreme penalty for his complicity in the foul murder. A recommendation for mercy, included in the jury's verdict of first degree murder would under the law have required the court to pass a sentence of life imprisonment instead of capital punishment. Strangely enough, this bill was introduced and sponsored by Prosecutor Wolverton, when he was a member of the House Assembly some years ago.Shuck's wife stood by her dissolute husband throughout his trying ordeal and aided him in every way in his fight for life. She was evidently on the verge of collapse during the closing hours and when called to the stand fainted before she had been under the Prosecutor's questioning more then two or three minutes. She was not called back, nor was she in the court room when her faithless husband was pronounced equally guilty of the murder of Paul and started on his way to the death chair. He will be sentenced on a date to be fixed later by the court.
Harry Paul, of Mount Holly, son of David S. Paul, the murdered bank runner, of Camden, had been in attendance at the trial of Raymond Shuck, one of the murderers of the elder Paul, in Camden, when he was interviewed by a newspaper reporter on Monday. Here is what he said after stating that his mother hs been in failing physical condition ever since the tragedy, and that he feared she would die as the result of "No matter what happens to these(as written) her grief and the shock of the crime: men(as written) Schuck and James -it will not bring my father back to me. "I feel terribly sorry for the families of James and Shuck. No one has any idea of my sympathy for them. "But as for the men themselves, their conscience must be racked by the knowledge that their days seem to be numbered, and their end will be the electric chair. I cannot say I want to see them die as murderers. I cannot move myself to voice such an expression. "I cling to the belief, however, that if they do escape the death penalty, it would be a horrid example for other men with evil in their minds."
It took the jury at Camden yesterday less than an hour to return a verdict of first degree murder against Raymond W. Shuck for his part in the murder of David S. Paul.The defendant had been subjected to a grueling cross-examination lasting nearly ten hours in all, by Prosecutor Wolverton, said to have been the longest line of interrogation of a murder defendant ever pursued in a trial in New Jersey. Shuck claimed that he was not a party to the actual murder but was compelled to drive the murder car and help dispose of the body of the victim at Irick's Crossing, near Tabernacle, this county, under threats of death by Frank James, already convicted of murder in the first degree and awaiting the sentence that will send him the electric chair. There was marked feeling between the two accused men when James appeared as a witness for the State. He made no effort to escape his own responsibility for the crime but stoutly maintained that Shuck had assisted in planning the crime and was equally guilty with him. Large crowds witnessed every session of the long trial which lasted all of last week and over into this, being concluded yesterday afternoon after the noon recess. It was evident that J. Russell Carrow, counsel for the prisoner, was fighting to save his client from the chair and that life imprisonment would be a welcome alternative. Even some of those who had worked on the case for the State were not sure that Shuck would be called upon to pay the extreme penalty for his complicity in the foul murder. A recommendation for mercy, included in the jury's verdict of first degree murder would under the law have required the court to pass a sentence of life imprisonment instead of capital punishment. Strangely enough, this bill was introduced and sponsored by Prosecutor Wolverton, when he was a member of the House Assembly some years ago.Shuck's wife stood by her dissolute husband throughout his trying ordeal and aided him in every way in his fight for life. She was evidently on the verge of collapse during the closing hours and when called to the stand fainted before she had been under the Prosecutor's questioning more then two or three minutes. She was not called back, nor was she in the court room when her faithless husband was pronounced equally guilty of the murder of Paul and started on his way to the death chair. He will be sentenced on a date to be fixed later by the court.
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