Seznec is sentenced to forced labor for life

(From our special correspondent)
Quimper, November 3.
With his soft little voice, M. Guillot has a terrible accent. He is unpretentious and takes a good-natured tone to deliver the most terrible blows. He waddles in front of his chair, searches in his robe for the opening of his pockets and holds back the movements of his sleeves with his hand, as if he were afraid of dirtying the folds.

He recounts the affair in a meticulous but how clever! He develops his demonstration in an even tone. He is the only one not to participate in the various movements that greet the reading by the president of a telegram addressed to the head of the jury. The latter says: "Arrived from Russia. Very surprised. Will be in Quimper first thing. Quemeneur.

Sending a joker? No doubt.

But this does not alter Mr. Guillot's voice for a second, and he will continue until six o'clock, in his same soft voice, his implacable indictment.
In a corner of the room, there is an old woman: the mother of the accused. Her lips move as if in a last prayer in favor of her son.
Two hours of suspension: they want to separate the indictment from the defense's plea. The hearing is adjourned at 6 p.m. and it is to start again at eight thirty. But Mr. Dollin du Fresnel does not appear until nine o'clock. In fact, it takes him half an hour to get from his office to the assize court. Breaking a non-existent security service, the crowd has rushed. No one can enter. No one can leave. And the shouts that are hard to tolerate in a theater shake this place where, they say, Justice must reign.

Mr. Marcel Kahn is very pale. He is also very simple. Few gestures, a deep voice, a moving face. He pleads doubt. Ah! in this evocation of the miscarriage of justice, he finds accents that, in successive waves, make the room vibrate.
Me Marcel Kahn says all this with this accent of Nîmes that puts like a discreet refrain in his words. For the first time, Seznec really cries. This is not the least effect of this moving plea.

When Me Kahn has finished, at 11:15, the following three questions are put to the jury:
1° Is Seznec guilty of having, on the night of May 25 to 26, 1923, assassinated Mr. Quémeneur?
20 Was the crime committed with premeditation and ambush?
3° Did Seznec commit forgery by establishing false promises of sale?

Seznec, who had regained his composure, did not want to add a word to his lawyer's plea. He simply shook his head from left to right to say no. The jurors began deliberation at 11:45.

They reported their verdict, which declared Seznec guilty of having murdered Quemeneur. The verdict was negative for premeditation and affirmative for forgery.
Consequently, the Assize Court sentenced Seznec to hard labor for life.
The condemned man was taken away. The room gradually emptied. Only the typewriter remained in front of the court desk, displayed on a wooden crate, the basis of the accusation.