Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1885-05-08
A REMARKABLE CASE.
An Innocent Man Serving Over Six Years
of 3 Life Sentence.

| ONO penitentiary, arrived in this city, his
old home, on Friday morning last, having
been pardoned on Thursday by Gov.
Hoadly. For twelve years prior to 1879
Turpin was resident of the Eighteenth
] ward of this city, working industriouslY
at his trade as a shoemaker. His wife
/ died, leaving a daughter, Jennie, to his
care. Deprived of a mothers watch
/ fulness, Jennie became wayward,
! ard, in spite of her fathers
efforts fell into bad company, fire.
! quenting a notorious resort known as the
| ''London House." kept by woman
| known TO the police as "MOther" Davis.
/ Turtin finally sent his daughter to New
/ York, where her aunt tried to reform her,
| but failed, and her father, as last resort,
/ threatened t0 send her to the State reform
( school in Toledo. One night in December,
| 1873, TurpIn found Jennie in company
/ with man of low character named Nc
/ Cafferty and took her home. After chas-
| Using her he locked her up in her room.
/ She made a rope OF the bedclothing,
/ lowered herself from the secOnd-story
window and took refuge with Mother
/ Davis.
Jennie mad a mistaken idea that her
+ father had large sum Of money in bis
/ possession which his wife, Jennie's
! uOtutI, Hdu WllASu u bu6 uduRDteIs az
! Mother Davis a conspiracy was Matched
/ to get rid of Turpin and obtain possession
| of this money. In January, 1879. Turpin
/ was arrested on charge of incest pre-
ferred by his daughter, Jennie, then only
/ l6 years of age. He was indicted, tried
and convicted solely on her testimony.
The trial was stubbOrnly contested, and
lasted nearly two weeks. John c. Hutch
/ ms and +. j. Blandin, now on the bench
/ this nrOGnnIfpd
| A. Foran, now Congressman, and
/ A. j. Williams, now Senator from this
4 city, defended Turpin. On the first
ballot the jury stood nine for conviction
and three for acquittal. Judge MeMath
administered the only sentence possible
under the law-imprisonment at hard
! labor in the penitentiary for life. An
appeal was taken to the District Court,
but when the case was reached there
nothing but the wrapper which had en-
/ closed the papers in the case could be
found. The contents had been lost or
stolen. 1t was impossible to duplicate
them, and there was no other recourse.
On March Is, 1879, Turpin entered the
penitentiary as life prisoner. He was
poor man, and not till 1881 were any
( definite steps taken toward a pardon.
Then attorney }. J. Kelly began the col
lection Of a mass of evidence, which, ac-
cOmpanied by strong petitions, he pre-
sented to Gov. Foster in 1882. The dOcu-
ments were pigeonh0led. A year later
| Kelly received the affidavit OF Mother Da-
/ Wis, who has since died, in which she
swore that she had persuaded JENNIE
Turpin to make the charge against her
father; that Turpin was innocent, and
that she would do all in her power to Sc
cure his release. Another affidavit was re-
ceiYed from a party, also since deceased,
who heard the details of the conspiracy
discussed; also afiidavits from jurors,
who swOre shat, in the light of the newly
1 discovered evidence, they were satisfied
of Turpiu's innocence. These were pre-
sented to Gov. HOadly. Suddenly this
accumulated mass of evidence disap-
/ peaFed from the pardon clerks office, and
the most diligent search failed to- reveal
it. The documents were replaced as far
as possible, and Attorney Kelly made affi-
davit as to the contents of the others.
Some time after Turpin's conviction his
| daughter Jennie married a man in Akron,
Summit county, whose name could never
be ascertained, and the pair subsequently
removed to Stark county. Long after
ward she wrote penitent letter to Pat
Barrett, an old friend OF her fathers, in
Cleveland, and then a guard in the peni-
tertiary at Columbus, saying that her fa-
Their was innocent of the crime of which
he had been convicted, adding that if
So 80 was sent to Der, with winch to pay
a lawyer for drawing the papers, she
would make an affidavit to that effect.
She said her husband opposed her course.
because she would thereby render herself
liable to a charge of perjury, and
so she signed the fictitious name of "Mrs.
John T. Smith," Canton, o. A money
order for $40 was sent to that address, but
as she could not identify herself to the
post Office authorities as ''Mrs. Smith"
the order was returned. With the aid of
the Canton police and letter carriers a
search was made for "Mrs. Smith," but
it proved futile. Marriage license records
in Akron were examined unsuccessfully,
and further efforts of search prosecuted
in adjoining towns in Stark and Summit
counties. Once she was reported in
Cleveland, but the most diligent inquiry
failed to reveal her whereabouts.
All these facts were presented to Gov.
H0adly, and on Wednesday the Cuyahoga
delegation in the Legislature, Attorney
General Lawrence, and other CuyahO-
gans besieged the Governor, who eX-
amined the case critically. He then
visited Turpin in the penitentiary. Next
day he said: 81 have decided to pardon
Turpin, tor | am fully convinced he is an
innocent man." The papers were signed
at once, and on Thursday afternoon Tur-
pin walked out tree man, after an i'm
prisOnment of six years one month and
Twelve days. Ills prison record was eX-
cellent. He enjoyed privileges accorded
to no other prisoner, ana had entire
charge of the large shoe manufacturing
department. His services in the same
capacity in private mandatory would
be worth 1000 or $1,000 year. He re-
ceived from the State for his services in a
little over 70 months just 1913. This was
a commission on the earnings of his
shop for a few months, under a plan
recently adopted in the penitentiary.
During the four years efforts to secure
Turpin's pardon not the slightest ohjec-
ton has been raised from any source,
though the greatest publicity has been
given to the matter. The mysterious
losses OF papers and the failure of efforts
to find his daughter and to secure her atii-
davit frequently disheartened Turpin, but
ne always believed that his innocence
would ultimately be proved. He is now
4S years of age. and will renew the battle
Of life by resumng his trade either in this
city or in Columbus.
A Child Convicted of Mauslaughtcr.
ANNAPOLIS, MD, May 5.-George Col
Inns, colored, aged 10, was on trial in the
Circuit Court to-day, charged with homi-
eide in the killing Of George Miller, also