The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1869-04-03
rhe "Confession" Of enc Murderer.

GRAPH to-day the confession OF George s. Twit-
ohell. Jr., of the murder of Mrs. Mary Il. Hill.
Some such document has long been antici-
pated by the great body of our people, and
has been looked for with great interest. Now
that it has come, and the people are enabled
TO read how the murder was committed, ac-
cording to the theory ofthe econvictedmurderer,
1t will be found that our knowledge is but
little If any increased. After carefully exam
lining the 80 called ''oonfession," we have
come to the conclusion that Twitchell has not
spoken the truth, and that, instead of the
tale now told being real statement of facts,
It Is thorough fabrication. In truth, we
think that George s. Twitchell has added an
other lie to his list of crimes, and one, too.
by which he hopes to escape the inn
pending death sentence. Let us look
for moment at the position of the parties.
Twitchell has been convicted and has been
sentenced to death on next Thursday. ALI
efforts to obtain pardon from the Governor
have failed. His case has, by species of legal
jugglery, been brought before the Supreme
Court of the United States, and the judges are
now celebrating on their action in the matter.
There is no possible hope for Twitchell except
Ia the action Of the Supreme Court of the
United States. To influence the minds of the
press is now the great point. Meanwhile, Mrs.
Twitohell has been tried and acquitted. The
law of the land prevents any one being more
than once put in jeopardy of life or limb. She
therefore is safe. Nothing can again cause
her to stand in the criminal dock
for the crime of numbering her mother.
Then what is a more natural
thing to be done by the prisoner than to make
q oonfessi on which will make the wife the
murderer and he the accessory after the fact ?
She cannot be injured save in reputation, aud
her trial has dene all that injury possible.
She has nothing to lose, and he everything to
gain, and therefore 1t is not only likely that
he would make q confession accusing her Of
the murder, but we contemplated even more
than this. We expect that she will corrobo-
rate the confession. Now, in this position
of affairs, what does Twitohell dol He makes
just such q confession as would be expected.
He says his wife committed the murder.
That he was lying in his room when he heard
her crying ont that she had killed her
mother. That he then went over to the
dining room and helped her pitch the body
out OF the window. This is the whole sub
stance of the confession, for we leave out the
melodramatic touches Of oaths, and all such
embellishments. man who will side with
q murderess of her dear mother will not hold
very closely to oaths. Let us look at the
statement. Is 1t borne out by the facts Of the
case? Not at all. There are dozen different
facts proven on the trial which show the
utter f&lsity of the confession" If he
was in his room, and the woman
committed the murder, how came those spurtS
of blood on his elothesf How we're the
sprinkled drops there IL he was not where
the blood rushed ont at every blowf II his
wife was the murderess and struck the deadly
blow, where are the marks on her clothing
The fact that the wall had semi-oircles Of
drops of blood proves that the first blow
caused the blood to squirt on the person of the
murderer as well as on the wall. How did
Mrs. Twitchen escape all those dropsf No.
The silent witnesses which spoke so strongly
on the trial are stin as eloquent now, and are
proclsiming that the confession" like the
theory of innocence adduoed on the trial, is a
deeply ooncocted falsehood.
Again, II Mrs. Twitchell set up such a
crying as to reach the ears of her husband
in his bedroom, how was it that Mr.. Mont.
gornery, who was in the next house about the
time OF the murder, never heard the calls
This OF itself Is small link against the soon
fsssion." "But Il is the blood spots; It is the
sprinkled and the spouted blood on Twitchell
which still affords the most convincing and
'undsniable proof OF his guilt, and as long as
those spots continue, 30 long will every ''con-
fession, be proved false which does not do
away with them. Looking then at the rela-
tive position of the two parties, what is
more natural than that the confession
should come just now to influence
the Judges of the Supreme Court and the
fight of Mrs. Twitchell, when she is certain
TO be caught, and the oOrroboration OF the
Confession - would be more dramatic from
fugitive than from resident. We doubt
therefore, the Confession" We think it 8
device to influence justice, and believe tina
the same hand which wrote 1t murdered the
woman on whose bounty he lived, in her OWL
home. with malice aforethought.
Freaks OF Legislation.
Tax State Senate yesterday enjoyed itsel