The Rutland daily globe. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1873-1877, 1877-04-12
THE BooRNs AND CoLyIN.

Since the reprieve of Phair, and the
publication Of the statement of one Down
ing which, if true, is supposed to initiate
against the facts proved upon the trial,
much has been said about the extreme dan
ger Of conyicting a man upon circumstan-
tial evidence, and the case of Stephen and
Jesse Boorn, convicted at Manchester, in
November, 1910, of the murder of Russell
Colvin-who afterwards appeared in full
life-has been frequently referred TO as a
forcible illustration of that danger. A
brief statement of the facts il that case
will show that the danger is mere fancied
than real, that there is no similarity be-
tween the two cases, and that the unfortu-
nate conviction of the Boorns was due en-
tirely to a total disregard of the wise and
humane rules of evidence as applied to
capital cases.
In the spring of 1912, the family of one
Barney Boorn, residing in Manchester,
consisted, among others, of his sons
Stephen and Jesse Boorn, and Russell Col
vim who had married his daughter. 1t was
a low, swinish, british family, continually
fighting among themselves as well, per-
haps, as with outsiders. Colvin was par
TALLY insane, and was in the habit of wan
dering away from home, sometimes being
absent for eight or nine months at a time.
In May, 1912, after one of the periodical
quarrels, Colvin suddenly disappeared, and
was unheard of until as hereinafter men.
toned. We annot learn that the disap-
pearance caused any surprise, or that the
community experienced any particular
anxiety on his account or took any steps to
discover him alive or dead. AS a publica-
ton of the day quantity expresses it
The subject finally rested until the
I" spring of 1919, when a Mr.. Boorn and
some other good citizens of Manchester
had some strange dreams and unaccount-
Z" able visions" These dreams and visions
being, after the orthodox manner three
times repeated, the place pointed by them
was searched and a hat, iack-knife, pen
knife and two buttons wre found and some
bones in another place.
The hat and jack-knite were identified
as having once belonged to Colvin, and the
buttons as having been worn by him-but
when, whether at the time of or long
before his disappearance, was not shown
while the bones were found to be those of
a sheep or some other animal-certainly
not of a human being. The Boorns were
arrested and, subsequently, made a comics
sion-Stephen making q written confession
but these confessions were obtained from
them by the use of alternate threats and
promises, but were, nevertheless, permitted
to be used as evidence on the trial. The
result was that both of the Boorns were
convicted of the murder of Colvin, and SEN
fenced to be hung on the twenty-eighth day
of the following January. The sentence of
Jesse BORNE, however, was commuted by
the legislature to life imprisonment in the
state prison.
Russell Colyin, however, was alive all
this time, and by a somewhat singular
chain of circumstance was discovered liv'
ing with a farmer in New Jersey, identi
fled, returned to Manchester, and the con
yicted %felons, ultimately, released as limo
cent men. He was discovered by a method
which marks the difference between 1915
and 1877, and which, if pursued to-day
would render the man so doing liable to bt
considered insane. A notice, which ap
peared in the New York E0ening Post, wal
read aloud in the public bar-room of ont
of the principal hotels in New York city
asking all persons to unite in efforts for thu
discovery of Colvin, and attracted the at
tention Of one of the individuals presen.
who thought he recognized, in the descrip
tion, the person of a half witted man a
work for his brother n.law in New Jerse,
and such proved 10 be the case. VIVA
would be thought In these days of morninl
and evening newspapers of a man standin,
up in one of the public rooms OF the FiftI
avenue hotel, monopolizing one of the cit,
newspapers, and proclaiming the news I,
the assembled crowd 1t may be remarked
here, not much to the. honor of Vermont
that the expenses incurred in the .seekinI
out of Colvin and bringing him TO Yer
mont were paid out of the treasury of New
York city
We have been necessarily brief in on
rnaume Of the facts in this caae hut w