PLEADS FOR MELISSA SHARP.
Brother in California Says She Was
Influenced by Husband.
Judge Latshaw has received a letter from A. Z. Roper, 743 Towne avenue, Los Angeles, brother of Mrs. Melissa Sharp. The letter which bears the date of May 15, attempts to excuse Mrs. Sharp for whatever she may have done for the reason that she was wholly under Sharp's influence. As Mrs. Sharp is not now on trial, the letter is interesting only as shedding light on Sharp's character. In part it follows:
"I think, as all of her relatives and friends, that she (Mrs. Sharp) should not be punished as her husband should be, even if they can prove that it was the bullet from her pistol that killed the policeman (Mullane).
"What she has done, I think, in the last few years, she has done under his influence. I fear that she was afraid of him and if it had not been for him she would not have done what she has. James Sharp stole her from her home when he wanted to marry her and I hear from some other that he abused her, shaved her eyebrows off and cut her hair when he got mad at her."
Roper then pleads for leniency for Mrs. Sharp, asks her acquittal or release "on probation."
