Christmas at the Camp

On Christmas Day two white men travelling together were camped in the Choctaw Nation with a third man. Both were killed by blows to the head with an axe, the second killing immediately following the first. The third man was charged with both murders in a single indictment. He moved to quash it because it charged two distinct felonies, and asked that the prosecution be made to choose one. He objected to the jury-selection method, which made him use his peremptory challenges before knowing which twelve jurors would try him. He testified in his own behalf, and challenged the judge's instruction that the prosecution did not have to prove a motive.