The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1879-08-01
The Value of Criminal Confession

The Johnstown Tribune saws that
the aged father-in-law OF
Charles Douglass. who has been ma
his home in that place for sez
months past. was formerly promu
lawyer in Vermont. and as early as 1
was one Of the foremost members of
bar in his native county. In that
he was attorney for the defendant
celebrated murder case. The tria
ChaStine Cox for a murder 10 which
had confessed doubtless seemed IN
cessaTy to many people, but how little
absolute dependence Is TO be placed
confession is fully demonstrated IN
history of the case alluded to. Ii is
lieved by many to be the most nC
worthy instance of false admission
guilt on the part of accused peTsr.
which has ever been known in tn
country. and perhaps in the world.
The case was that of stephen and JeS
Boorm who were tried ut the Septeml-
term of the Supreme Court of Vernon
in 1919. for the murder of Russell Co
vim. It Is mentioned in ''Greenleaf
Evidence" " The lesson of il Is pOinte
out in the tenth volume of the Nor
American ReUier. and Wilbie Collin
has made the case the main incident
one of his stories.
Russell COlvin was the brother-in-law
of the brothers BOorn. and was man C.
rather weak mind; he was dependen
on the brothers, who considered him In
the way and We're accustomed to IT.
treat him. One day he disappeare
and on that day the B0orus had bee
seen engaged in a violent quarrel witt
him in the field where the three were a..
work together. One OF the brother
was observed to strike him violent
blow on the head with club. from the
effects of which he fell to the ground
As thereafter not hing was seen OF him
it was suspected by the neiglllors that
he had been murdered by the BoOTus-
and this suspicion was strengthened bl
the finding of his hat in the same field
some months afterWard. Time passed
and the affair seemed to have blown
over, when. after some months,
nei@hbOr repeatedly dreamed of the muir
der with great clrCumStantiality both I'm
regard to the manner of COlyin's death
and the way ia which his body had been
disposed of, SO that the Boorus We're
again yehemcntly accused of the crime.
y search stricter than the first was then
engaged in. and resulted in the iindiu-
of COlvin's p0cket-knife and a button
from his clothes concealed in an old
open cellar in the field where the quar-
rel had taken place. In "a hollow stump,
not many rods distant, two nails Were
discovered. together with a number Of
bones. which were supposed TO Toe those
of a man. The brothers Were thereupOn
brought to trial, and each made cOnfes-
sion of the murder giving minute de-
tails of the way in which it had been
committed and of how they disposed of
the corpse.
The circumstantial evidence was
strong against them. and taken i'm con-
nectiOn with their confession. caused
them to be convicted and sentenced to
the gallOwS. On the day of their con-
victi0n they applied To the Legislature
for communication of the sentence uf
death TO that OF Imprisonment for life.
and the request was granted in behalf
of one of the brothers. IhereUnou tLey
withdrew their confession. and ay0wel
that it was wholly devoid of truth. A
reward was offered for the discovery of
the missing man. Colviu. who was found
in New Jersey. and returned TO Yer
mont just IN time TO prevent the eNecu-
tiOu. He accounted for his absence ly
saving that he had fled for fear his
brotheTs-in-law would one day kill him.
The bones found in the hollow stump
turned out to be those of some lower an
imal. It was then shown inlisputablv
that the BuoTus had confessed the crime
because they saw that the circumslau-
tial evidence was SO Overwhelmingly
strong against them. and believed that
rs they would certainly be convicted
their only chances for life was by com
mutation of punishment which was
likely to he offered only ON the ground
that they had made peuitential con-
fession and were in some way entitled Il
mercy for doing 50.
The case Is q remarkable one, since it
would hardly seem possible that under
any circumstances two men should
make separate confession which in the
main agreed with each d.. ler, to a crime
like murder, and that iu ae end the ad-
missions of guilt shot he entirely
false. This case is not all ON a foot
ing with that of the many men who con-
fesSed to the Nathan murder in order To
obtain free passage to New y Ork from
distant parts of the country, since each
of these could readily have proved an
alibi had it ever been thought worth
while to bring them TO a trial. The
writer on the remarks made on the
BOOm confession in the North Im-rjrIH
Rerjc- mentions other eases OF false
confessions. in which it is in the highest
degree difficult to imagine what could
have induced prisoners to make them
One OF these Is recorded by Ann;Gus
RUbertus. who tellsOf a widow who hav-
ing suddenly disappeared and long re-
mained from home, was believed to
have been murdered. Search was insti-
tuted and cOuntTym3n was found hid
den from it in marsh trembling and
evidently in great fear and Temorse-
/ lie was arrested. and. having confessed
the murder. was executed. Shortly at-
terward the widow returned home alive
and well.