The Cincinnati daily star. [volume] ([Cincinnati, Ohio]) 1875-1880, 1879-10-23
GREENFlELD'S DOOM.
Protesting His Innocence, But Sem
fancad

| Nathan Orlando Greenheld was taken
into court at 9:35 this foreno to receive
the sentence of death. The courthouse
was packed, two or three hundred women
being present. Many persons were una
BILE to gain admission. When asked by
Judge Daniels whether he had anything
to say why sentence should not he pro-
nounced, he responded in voice broken
with emotion, which made it difficult for
him to proceed:
"1 have this much to say. am inno-
cent of the charge that is brought against
me, and I am satisfied that in time the
truth will be revealed to the satisfaction
of the people. When was on the wit
ness stand l told the truth and the whole
truth to the best of my memory, and as
there is a God in heaven-a God of truth
and justice-I have been convicted an
innocent man. l can say no more or do
no MORE"
The prisoner was then sworn. He an
swered the usual questions in regard to
his birth, age and occupation.
Judge Daniels, in passing sentence,
told the prisoner that the Court had done
everything in its power to secure an i'm
partial trial, an coincided in the verdict
of the jury. The Judge said the prison
er's own testimony furnished very grave
grounds of suspicion that the statement
made by him was not trustworthy. Tt
seemed to be Incredible" the Judge said,
"that this woman could have been MUIR
dered between the time when you say
that you saw this man in the hou-e with
light going toward the bedroom door
and the time when the light was extingu-
ished, as you say it was, while YOU were
OH the way back from GrinnelI's home to
your fathers house. This could not alto
gether, according to the speed which you
yourself say you made in going over the
ground, have occupied period to ex-
ceed five minutes, perhaps less. When
you went to this house and woke up your
father and woke up the Grinnells, and
you were on the way back from Grin
nell's house to your fathers, it seems to
be incredible that any other person could
have gone into that house and gone to
this womans bedroom, as you say you
observed person going, and in
fcted this blow upon her head
and then stabbed her in the
neck and removed her from the bed
and put her in the position in which she
was found when yourself and your uncle
and your father returned there, and with
the fact that the evidence given upon the
subject does not account for the commits
sion of this ofence-it seems to be in
credible that all this could have occurred
in this short period of time" After COM
menting at some length upon the evil
dence Of the prisoner and other members
of his family, the Judge sentenced the
prisoner to be hanged on Friday, Decem-
Der 18th, between the hours of 10 a. m.
and Up. m.
The prisoners counsel then said that
there were certain questions arising out
of the trial, as we'll as Others that they
had learned outside, that made it neces-
sar~ for them to move for new trial,
and they hoped that the Court would ad-
iourn to some other date to give them
time to prepare necessary affidavits, be-
sides the usual bill of exceptions that
counsel always move on such occasions.
The prisoners counsel claim to have
proof that one of the jurors had ex-
pressed himself untavorably to the pris-
oner before the trial, and on these grounds
they propose to move for a new trial.
The CourL adjourned to November 8, to
give the opportunity asked for.
| =. ,oannI f,,,,o tl,nt o11
has been sen fenced to be haGged for this
crime and the third time he has been
tried for committing it. Greenfield was
married in 1870 to Alice Bloodgood, a
girl of fifteen, and soon after went to live
with her on farm of fifty acres that he
bought in the town of Orwell. They had
three children at the time Of her death.
Mrs. Greenfield was found on the morn
ing of October q, 1875, on the floor of
her bedroom, dead, her throat cut, and
her head bruised by blows from club.
Suspicion pointed to Greenfield from the
first, although he claims to have been
away from home that night, and did call
at a farmers, once at midnight, and
once at 80 II. M, the last time saying that
he had slept at his fathers house and had
been awakened by u noise, and, looking
from the window, that he saw three men
in his own yard. With the ne ghbors he
went to his house, and there they found
Mrs. Greenfield. 1t was soon learned
that Greenfield was jealous, and that his
wife was going to leave him on the day
that she was found murdered. He wa
arrested, and at the first trial, in May,
1876, was tried for the murder, and the
jury disagreed. At his second trial, in
February, 1877, he was convicted and
sentenced to be hanged, but the Court Of
Appeals granted new trial, which has
Just resulted in his conviction and sen
tence. The evidence was circumsantia
and the testimony of the principal wit
ness for the defense, who testified that he
saw three men on the night of the mur
der coming from Greenfeld's farm. wa
successfully impeached.
"Dr. Sellers Cough Syrup" without ex