The Ebensburg Alleghanian. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1865-1871, 1866-01-25
Execution of MRS. Martha Grin
der, the Female POisOner.
sHE coNFEssEs HER GUILT, AND ACKNOWLEDGES
THE JUSTICE OF HER PUNISHMENT.
PITTsBURe. .Lanuorv 2O. 1866


TO the Editor Of The Aleghanian
Mrs. Martha Grinder, the modern Bor-
gia, was yesterday hanged to death in the
yard adjoining the jail IN this city, on the
gallows used one week prior for the exc
cution of Freck and Marshall Death, in
any aspect it may present itself unto our
observation, IS something terrible to
contemplate surely the sudden, the vi
olent death of aronaan By the hideous
machinery Of the law, is the most soul
sickening and terrible of all BY COM
mon consent, woman is invested with
certain attributes whereby she is made to
take rank only little lower than the
angels, and it is asslduously taught us
that to love, cherish, and protect her. who
is the weaker vessel, is the perfection of
ehivalry. So that, to be obliged to mete
out to her pains and punishments, is De.
cuilarly repu9nant to our feelings and
especially ~hen the punishment Is death,
does 1t seem to.us that by its imposition
we are guilty of transgression OF law
strong as divine command But it
should be remembered that by making
herself amenabie to punishment-by that
act, woman unsexes herself, and is enti-
tied to be looked upon no longer as a wo-
man, but as criminal. And though it
may outrage our finer feelings and percep-
tions, it would be spirit of false chivalry
which would refuse to mete out that pun
ishment as impartially'as to one of sterner
mould, though not of more damning de.
pravity of heart.
HER CRIME.
Though Mrs. Grinder was accused Of
producing the death of some half-dozen
persons through the agency of poison, it
was for the murder especially cf Mrs.
Mary Caroline Caruthers that she was
found guilty and sentenced to be hung
Mrs. Caruthers resided, with her husband,
In Allegheny City, IN house adjoining
the one occupied by Mrs. Grinder. Du-
ring the month of June last, in accep-
tance of an urgent invitation, she partook
of tea with Mrs, Grinder. To break bread
together has from time immemoriai been
considered the most sacred symbol of
friendship, and even among heather ma
tions a man was safe from harm or hurt
from his deadliest enemy while at table
with him. How do we find Mrs Grinder
regarding this strongest of all social laws
About 9 o'clock the same evening, Mrs.
Caruthers took violently i'll, when med
ical man was called, who pronounced her
suffering the result Of poison introduced
into her system. She recovered from this
attack, but shortly afterward took sick
again, with precisely the same symptoms
as before. In this condition she contin-
ued to suffer and sink until the seventeenth
day, when she died. During her eLtire
illness, Mrs. Grinder was unremitting in
her attentions to her victim, and would
readily have been mistaken for an angel
OF mercy, instead of the fend she really
was. But the nature of her attentions
may be inferred, aside from her confcs-
sion, from the fact that Mr.. Caruthers at
this time also took sick, with the same
symptoms attempting his wife, and was
only saved from death by Provideutial
overruling Of events. Her kind offices
were those of the siren TO the mariner
the more surely to lead on to destruction.
BROUGHT TO JUDGMENT.
The bringing of Mrs. Grinder to judg-
ment was the inevitable working of law
lmmutable as God himself "1he gully
shall not go unpunished" The suddenness
of Mrs. Caruthers' death-the peculiar
circumstances surrounding ir-other sus-
picious events before thought of but mo-
mentariiy, now risen to view clothed
in garb to attract attention-these, and
thousand other links, each comparatively
unimportant in itself, went to make up
the chain which should drag to shameful |
death the guilty creature. Just here, it |
will suffice to say that, superinduced by
a suspicion of foul play, an examination
of the body of Mrs. Caruthers was had, |
which disclosed the presence of deadly
poison. As if impelied by common i'm
pulse, thousand fingers on the instant
sprang to point to Mrs. Grinder as the
guilty agent and she was speedily arres-
ted and lodged in Jail. At fret she man
ifested the utmost indignation, and denied |
anything and everything; and it may be |
added, that down to the DAY before the |
execution, she was vehement and consis-
tent in declaring that she was innocent
THE TRIAL
The trial came on in October, and lasted |
several days. Both the prosecution and |
the defense were represented by the ablest |
talent at this bar. Witness after witness |
was called and heard, and their combined |
testimony left no doubt that the prisoner |
was indeed guilty. The jury bad no diff |
ficuity in arriving at this decision, and |
returned the verdict of equity of murder
in the first degree" The death warrant
was duly signed by the Governor, and the