The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1885-05-11
CHARLES WARREN IN JAIL
For Murder Committed at Waco Be.
fore the War.
AN oLoosATH SENTENCE ON HIM
A Crime WITH Phases that Read Like
Romance.
KILLING OVER STATES RIGHTS.
Confederate Soldier, q Coed Citizen
Since the War, Much sympa.
thy In His Misfortune.
THE DAYS CRIMINAL RECORD.
Arrested for An old Crime.

WACO, May l0.-lSpeoial. liza the
winter of 1860 Charles Warren, farmer
of this, (McLennan) county, shot and
killed John Burton, also resident
of here. The difficulty occurred in
Waco. 1t was in the stormy period
the civil war and The dispute
grew out of an argument between the
two men respecting the right of state
to secede, Warren taking the southern
and Burton the Union side OF the argu.
ment. Both mon were drinking, too.
Warren was arrested, indicted and
tried in the district court OF this county.
The evidence against him must have
been very strong, for, despite his south
ern proclivities, the jury found hia,
guilty and fixed the penalty at death.
His counsel took an appeal to the gu
preme court of the state, and pending
its consideration by tho said cOurt
Warren was removed, for safe keeping,
to the Jail of Freestone county, at Far
field. That was in February, 1861.
Warren had young daughter, Rehecca
Warren. Shortly after his removal "a
the Fairfield jail this daughter went Ia
Fairfield. Without revealing her nane
or relationship to Warren she sought
out the jailor at Fairfield, pleading pov-
erty and friendlesness and obtained en-.
ployment in Instantly az domestic.
watching for an opportunity she stole
the keys of the jail from the jailor's
pocket one night and released her
father. AS soon As he was at liberty
Warren enlisted in Texa.
regiment and served the four
years OF the war as confederate sol
der When the strife ended he went 10
western Texas ana settled down b,
farming. In the meantime, his wife
died and he was married again. The
Judgment against his life still remained
on the court record here. The supreme
court, when news was received that he
had escaped from Jail, dismissed the All
peal The case had passed out of mind
here. or the jury that convicted, prob.
ably al are dead. The judge, no Never,
(Hon. N. W. Battle), is still living here,
and 80 are two of the state's witnesses,
who testified against him. BY some
means Van Hall, the head of HALLS De.
tectiv0 agency here, heard that Warren
was living in Lampasas county, Hall
procu ed The requisite papers, went To
Lampasas yesterday and arrested War
rem. He was brought to Waco
to day and jailed. He is now Ga
years old, grey and deorepid. The old
man broke down and wept when tho
Jail door closed on him to-day. He saws
he is old, poor and hardly knows what
20 do, but viii interview lawyer to-
morrow. The case has excited much
interest to-day, and numbers OF people
have visited Warren In the Jail. Law
yers say that unless the governor in.
terviSws the district judge here, he Will
be compelled 90 order the sheriff 10 car
rX out the sentence pronounced against
Warren "a years ago. It is altogether
probable that lea Ing citizens win an.
peal TO the governor to either pardsn
Warren or commute the sentence, The
daughter whose devotion released her
father a quarter OF century ago, is
stlll living in this county, a staid ma
tr0n, with grown childran.