The Daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1845-1850, 1845-07-24
Correspondence Of the Boston Atlas.
DEATH OF A MAN CONVICTED OF
PARRICIDE.
BALTIMORE, July 81, ls45.


There died in the Maryland Penitentiary, on
Saturday last, by the name of William
Stewart. He was convicted some seven years
ago, of the murder ofhis father. His was an ex-
traordinary case The evidence on which he was
convicted, was circumstantal, but was regarded
at the time, as of most conclusive character
The father possessed some property, and he made
will, giving the property to the son. They were
both in the city at the time, on their way to the
West, where they intended to settle; and one
morning the father was found in common, to the
East of the city, horribly murdered. He had
been shot, and his skull broken and cut with
sharp, heavy instrument. The son Immediately
returned to Dorchester, (Md) where he had re-
sided, and where the small property, owned by his
father, was situated.
They had stopped at the house of brother of
the father in this city, who gave himself, as was
natural, much trouble to detect the murderer. In
the course of the inquiries suspicion began to rest
on the son; and he was arrested, ON his return to
the city, In the steamboat.
On the trial it was proved that the will, making
him sole heir of his father, was in his possession
that he had purchased a Ratchet, saying that he
intended to take it with him to the West-that in
stead OF doing so, he had taken the Ratchet to an
auction store to be sold, the morning after the MUIR
der-that the Ratchet had blood stains on it. and
that he denied having purchased it, or taken it to
him. 1t was also proved that the pantaloons he
wore on the day of the murder, were stained with
blood-and the watch of the father was found in
the street over which he had passed, in a hack,
from the steamboat to the Justices office to be ex-
amined, having been, as it was argued, dropped
by the son from the hack. There were found, in
Stewards trunk pair of pistols, of very large
bore one of them was discharged, and the ball in
the other was extracted and found to be exactly of
the weight of the one which had been taken from
the father.
1t was also proved that Stewart and his father
had been seen late in the afternoon, before the
night of the murder, in the neighborhood where
the murder was committed-that cries of smur-
DER were heard about nine o'clock; and the I'M
Gle that Stewart did not return to his house
till sometime after eleven, and that he hastily
left for Dorchester county, the next morning.
No satisfactory explanation of any one of these
facts was attempted, and in some the effort to ex-
plain involved Stewart in falsehood. state the
evidence against him much less conclusvely than
1t appeared at the trial and | well remember
that the whole town was astounded when the iu-
ry brought in verdict of murder in the second
degree. None OF them doubted of his guilt but
ONE believed they were not justified by their
onscience in bringing in verdict which inyol-
we'd the life of the criminal The Court express
ed its surprise at the verdict and the counsel of
the prisoner, glad to get him off with life made
no objections to the verdict. The verdict was
recorded, and sentence, to the full term allowed
by law, imposed on him-eighteen years confine-
ment in the Penitentiary.
He entered the Penitentary on the 18th of No
vember, 1888, and has consequently been there
some four months less than seven years. About
two years ago he began to decline, and continued
gradually to waste away till he died on Saturday
last. He never confessed his guilt at any time,
nor, indeed, made much protestation of his inno-
cence. HIS disposition was taciturn, and he
Stunned conversation on the subject Every
body believed him guilty, and he felt that they so
regarded him. After he was confined to bed,
recently, he sought the religious instruction Of
the Rev DIR. Wyatt, OF the Episcopal Church,
and under his ministrations was admitted into that
church. Some eight Or ten days before he died
he was admitted to receive communion, and then
said, that before the solemn service was perform
ed and he admitted to partake OF the rite, he had
to say, and wished it to be taken as his dying
words, that he "toas innocent Of the charge
against hin,--had no hand in the murder OF his
father--and was altogether ignorant OF every
thing relating to it!''
This profession of innocence he has since re-
peatedly made, and but few moments before he
died, repeated ii with the feeble voice that was
left him.
Here there is a most remarkable case. A
young man only twenty-five years old--but just
married-accused 1.-THE horrid crime OF parriclde.
Inc charge is so shocking, so unnatural, that ev-
cry body disbeleved it, until the evidence proved
ITS truth, as all thought, beyond the possibility
even OF doubt The son. so convicted, is sent to
the Penitentiary-there lives for nearly seven
years, and then dies, protesting with his parting
breath that he is innocent The chain Of evil
uence seemed compete--to the human mind 1t
was conclusive of his guilt-human testimony