Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1883-10-24
and had suddenly left st. Paul on the


had pistols, one OF them long muzzle-
loading navy pistol of OLD style. Then by
searching among the roustabouts and deck
hands on boats along the Mississippi
river they finally found two colored men
who knew the murderers we'll, and to whom
the murderers had confessed tho crime Of
shooting Policeman O'Connell, giving the
details of the affair in exact accordance
with the facts.
The evidence of these two witnesses was
taken with great care, and jss now before
me. 1t conclusiveiy shows that the con-
hill were the murderers.
Their identity is fully shown by these
two witnesses, and the confessions of the
murderers, as made to these two witnesses,
so accord with the facts and circumstances
surrounding the commission of the crime
as to leave no doubt that they are the
guilty parties.
Washing ton and Nelson, alias Underhill,
were also we'll known to the colored man
who kept the den at which they we're stop
ping in st. Paul up to the time of the
murder, and have been identified by him
since by photographs. In order to make
the identity more certain, one of the col
ored river hands above mentioned as wit
nesses was taken by the authorities at st.
Paul to the prison at Chester, and
there really recognized both Nelson
and Washington, and he and
the st. Paul officer and the deputy warden
had an interview with Washington in
which he confessed the crime and said that
Nelson, alias Uuderhill, did the shooting
1t seems that after killing the policeman
they fed to Hastings, Mimi, and then
down the river to st. Louis, where they
told their friends, the two witnesses above
named, about committing the crime. They
then drifted to Cairo, ILL.,, where in short
time they committed a burglary AMI
robbery and were arrested, convicted and
sentenced to the peniteniiary as above set
forth. UDder date of June %, 1888, re-
ceived requisition from His Excellency
l.. +. Hubbard, governor of Minnesota,
asking the rendition of Washington and
Nelson to the authorities of Minnesota as fu-
gitives from justice from that state, they
being charged with the murder of O'Con-
nell. GOV. Hubbard knowing that these
criminals were each serving term in the
penitentiarY of Illinois for crimes commit
ted in this state, and suggested that I
should issue to them conditional pardon
of ofenses committed in this state, condi
toned on their being tried and convicted
of the greater offense in Minnesota. On
thorough examination of this proposition,
however, determined that a conditional
pardon was impraciicable, and that prob
ably had no power to issue such condition
al pardon as governor of illinois. In this
conclusion l was sustained by
the written opinion of Attor-'
ney General Mccartney of Illinois
TO whom submitted the question of con-
ditional pardon. Iwas'tben asked by the
Governor of Minnesota and the authori-
ties of st. Paul, to grant to these men an
unconditional pardon, or a Communication
to sentence 30 such a time as that they
might be at once discharged from prison,
and rendered to the authorities in Mime
sofa to be tried for The murder. On con-
sideration I declined to do this until the
statute Of Illinois, regulating and pre-
scribing the manner OF apply ing ssfor par
dons and Limitations had been CON-
piled with so far as possible by fling
petition setting forth the facts and circum-
stances, and the grounds On which pardon
or communication was asked, and the recon-
mendation of the Judge and prosecuting
dbtOruey IL lHG case.
This requirement was soon complied
with by the Minnesota authorities by filing
the required petition, and a letter from
Judge David J. Baker, who sentenced the
prisoners, saying that he had fully exam
ined the evidence against the prisoners
showing their guilt of the murder of
O'CoIuell at St. Paul, and stating in I'M
equigocal terms his belief that the evil
deuoe was fully sufficient to convict them
of the crime of murder, and strongly rec
ommending that pardon them or COM
mute their sentence, SO as to render them
to the authorities in Minnesota for trial
1t seems that the prosecuting attorney
of Alexander county, who prosecuted these
| convicts, has left the country, 30 that his
statement as required by the statute could
not be had.
required also of the Minnesota authori-
ties that they should lay before me the
evidence they had against Washington and
Nelson, that might examine it and deter
mine for myself the probability of their
conviction for the murder of O'Connell.
If they should be released from prison here
and sent to Minnesota. This has been
done through the untiriDg efforts of Mayor
O'Brien CT st. Paul, and all the evidence
against them has been carefully taken,
written out in detail, and laid before meas
it was also laid before Judge Baker. before
he wrote his letter to me recomm ending &C
ton as aforesaid. After very careful Ok
animation and reading of this evidence, I
am like Judge Baker of the opinion that is
abundantly sufficient to convict these men
of murder. I also declined to act in the
premises until the criminal court had in
dicted these men for murder. This re-
quirement was filled by the finding of an
indictment for murder against them, by
the grand jury in the district court, second
judicial district, Ramsey county, Minneso-
ta, on the Sd day of October, 1883, certi-
fed copy of which indictment is now be-
fore me.
1t is further shown by the evidence in the
case before NE that Washington and Mel
son, alias Underhill, are men of the very
worst character and history, being profess
sional thieves, burglars and robbers.
and Nelson, aliss Underhill, as one of the
witnesses says, is probably guilty of other
murders. The fact further appears that
the principal witness for the prosecution
in Minnesota is an invalid, and will pro-
badly not live long.
After long, full and deliberate consid-
GRAFTON of this peculiar case and all its
circumstances ond in view of the verv haJ