Helena weekly herald. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1867-1900, 1884-05-15
An Appeal From the Penitentiary.

William Lawrence, serving term in the
Deer Lodge penitentiary, asks publication
of the following statement with respect to
his case:
At the spring term Of court, 1883, at
Miles City, was charged with the crime
of stealing ten sheep, the property of Myers
Bros. During the winter and spring of
that year | was engaged in buffalo hunt
ing and occupied cabin near their sheep
ranch. Ten of the sheep from Myers
ranch became separated from the main
body and wandered in the direction of my
camp. After grazing in that vicinity for
few days they were discovered by two men
named Jackson and Lewis, who reported
it to VIM. Myers who swore out warrant
for my arrest, charging me with stealing
the sheep. This charge was made merely
to crafty spite which those men had
against me. When put upon the stand the
witnesses swore that they found the sheep
about half mile from my camp, that they
were not concealed, and that they did not
see me drive them thither. The sheep
herder testified that small punches OF
sheep frequently detached themselv es from
the band, wandered off, and were subse
quently recovered, and that he had never
seen any one attempt to steal the sheep.
The owners knew nothing about the
matter only as reported to them, yet upon
this. the fiimsiest of evidence and without
the shadow of proof that | intended steal
ing the sheep an intelligent" jury Of Gus
ter county convicted me and / was SEN
fenced TO three years in the penitentiary.
The two witnesses, Jackson and Lewis,
have been engaged in horse stealing.
Lewis was captured and is now behind the
bars of the Miles City Jail, whilst Jackson
is still at large, having eluded pursuit.
That jury could be found capable of con-
victing a man on such evidence as / was
convicted by is reelection on the intelli-
gence of the community and can only be
explained by the sapient remark of some
of the jury that they convicted me on ac-
count OF my looks" 1t is for a Custer
county jury to establish the unique pre-
cedent that an unprepOsSessing appearance
is sufficient evidence of guilt. When to
the misfortune of being poor is added the
crime of being personally unattractive, con-
viction is foregone conclusion and there
is no salvation for such an unfortunate
wretch Justice is usually portrayed as a
blindf0lded goddess and she should at least
be blind to my physical defects. Peniten-
tiaries were not designed for the reception
of innocent men and there are plenty of
! real criminals still at large in Miles City,
Haunting defiance in the face of an out
ragged community whose social position
and wealth precludes the possibility Of
conviction. Probability and evidence both
pointed to the fact that | had not the most
remote intention of stealing the sheep. l
had no more use for them than for loco
motive / had no ambition to become
sheep owner and ten sheep would have
been too small a number to have formed
even the nucleus of a band | am the vic
tim of malicious and perjured prosecu-
ton and / ask simply as matter of JUS
tice and right that my just claims to exec
utive clemency be submitted to the Gov
ernor as the only reparatiOn which it is
possible to make. With this object in
view / invite the fullest and most COM
plete investigation, feeling satisfied that it
will result in the vindicatiOn of my char
acter and the substantiating of all that |
have already stated.
WILLIAM LAWRENCE.