The native American. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1837-1840, 1839-03-09
,EXEcJTIvE CHAMBER, Albany,
-. .Inll,Il.ril al 1879.

JOSEPH !iAlEtl convicted Gi ms MURDER a.
Daniel 2ap;. was sentenced IL be executed on
the i2.!i clay OF February next. Application has
been made TO ne +, commute !his punishmnn, T.,
imprisonment t,r Life. The po;itionia behalf o.
the prisoner is s;snsi by several hnal7cA citizens
of Erie county, Including geaa, mn ,rity Of The
members Of the bar of tina, county, and III" Judges
anil ilrors by WHOM, the prisoiier was tried, The
PRAYER of the petition is sustained hv the recon-
mo4rl!tion Of tie ionocahle Nathan DAYTON, thu
Circuit Judge who presided! at the trial. It ia
manifest that The situation Of the prisoner his e.
cited very general sympathy and so;ic;,ale.
The petitioners STATE, ia substance that, clay
ing aside all tlA circumstances connected w!.l! The
murder, such is The condltou Of l.Nagei and sacI
the peculiar c,sav*,ra. 81 his mind that tie pun
Ishn2nt 81 death would be more calculated to
CHEEK the better feelings Of car nature. thar, tt,
serve as admission 70 the y.co,s and ahan-
doncd; that, convicted as he was, almost wholly
upon his own disclosures, and those disclosures
III they are to be credited q. all tending to i'm
piica;c aAot'ie. anl equally guilty associate, his
case, ii some clemeacy is not extended towards
him, will hereafter deter those similarly situated
from exposing their own and Others guilt
The policy of capital punishnents, as gene
raj question, is no,beiore me. My responsibility
Is to determine whether the circumstances Of the
present case are such as to require the clemency
Of the Executive: | have referred, therefore, to
the communication of the Circuit Judge, and TO
the proceedings on the trial. to ascertain the con-
dltion" of the prisoner, and the peculiar charac-
ter of his mnl," relied upon by the petitioners
The question arising from these statements CON
cerning the prisoners mind is, whether he pos
sesscs the requisite powers and intelligence to rem
der him morally accountable for his crime. This
question does not appear to have been raised on
the trial. find iii the testimony nothing to pro-
duce doubt of the prisoners accountability. If
the prisoner was insane, it would be as extraordi-
nary that the fac. should have escaped the know
ledge of his counsel the court and the Jury, before
the Judgment, as that it should not now be pre-
scented afirmatlve,y and distinctly. lam informed.
that the question Of the prisoners sa-
mtg, at the time of bis trial, was raised hy his
counsel, in preliminary stage Of the proceedings
and was decided against him by jury empan-
,elcil to try that issue.
The letter Of the presiding Judge does not ex-
press or intimate .don:t on this subject. 1t says
oaly that :: the prisoner is weak, ignorant Gre
luIous man. whose moral feelings have become
Dunei ANA almost destroyed" Bat are not the
vicious generally weak, creduous, ignorant. and
depfaved! ."."
j
part of his communication. After thus drawing
the prisoners character, ana submitting some con
sidera,ions IN mitigation, he says, this, under
ordinary circumstances. might perhaps he deemed
scarcely sufficient to justify the comm alaon Of!
his punishment .." .*
y hat then arc the extraordinary circumstances
of the case which demand the n.erposi:ibn Of III,
Executive! They are, as stated by the petition.
ers. tina! the prisoner was convicted almost
wholly upon his o.rn disclosures; that these dis
closures ut they are to be credited at ally tend to
implicatc another and equally guilty associate"
The Judge states the circumstances TO be, that the
prisoner was convicted principally ON bis own
confessions, although these confessions were
strongly corro5pra,ei by circumstances and Grc;s
having direct bearing upon the case. Mrs.
Rapp. his accomplish, has been acquitted The
evidence in her case mach the same rs in that
CT haugel, emitting his confessions and adding
some additional crcums ,anccs against her, and
some explanatory evidence in her favor. rhaj
evidence was lnaaiiosv Insufficient 10 Justify her
and still there was not doubt il the
public mind that she was not only guilty., but far
more guilty than Laueel She is evidently a
silcewd, artttil, " ickei woman aad made him her
tool 10 destroy her husband. There ia strong
public feeling in favor Of Communication of his pun
arising from firm conviction that she
was in all respects the MOS, guilty, as the conri-
rpr and actual participation" Afser this statement
Of the circumstances, the judge adds ."I have
no hesitation in recommending communication or
change Of the sentence OF death for that If mpri-
sonment fnr life and believe that, in the exist
ing state of things. this course viii best subserve
tie ends of justice" a..t
have submitted all the papers relating to this
subject 10 the Attorney General and the Justices
OF the Supreme Court, who are legal advisers OF
the Executive in such cases Their opinion,
concnrring with my own, is hcreunto annexed.
The facts il the case may be briefly stated
thus +: An intimacy had existed several months
between the prisoner and Mrs. Rapp. The de.
ceased disapproved OF this intimacy. and, as its
calami;ous result leaves doubt, with lust cause
bat, being man evidently Of peaceablc DISPOSE
ton, he conten;ed himself, for augit that appears.
with expressions Of his dissatisfaction. On Mon.
day, The 10Th Of July. 1897, Rapp was brought
from his barn into his house, severely wounded
in the head, and Rsensible. Il was said by his
wife, and believed by his family and his friends,
that this iajnrv had, been received from the kick
@! horse. Although the wounds were supposed
mortal, he gradually recovered, and, on Friday
morning, walked about his room and was believed
altogether out Of danger. In this state of conva.