St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1889-09-21
Timothy 0'Grady Is Serving
a Long Sentence for An
other Mans Crime.
By a Lucky Fluke He Es-
capped Having His Neck
Stretched.
The British War Ship Lily
Wrecked in the Gulf Of
st. Lawrence.
Fourteen Persons Seriously
Injured by Jumping From
an Electric Motor.

CHICAGO, Sept. 2O.-The police annals
of this and other cities record many
cases of mistaken identity. but all the
histories of instances of circumstantial
evidence and mistaken identity weave
no stronger case against an unfortunate
innocent man than did the testimony
against Timothy O'Grady. convicted of
the murder of Police Officer Michael
O'Brien, the night of April 2, 1887.
O'Grady was sentenced to the peni-
tentiary for seventeen years for man
slaughter. The only point which saved
him from hanging was that Policemen
OBrien and Dillon had. by roughly ac-
costing and shaking O'Grady, given
him, if not sufficient provocation, to
shoot, enough at least to plead it strong
ly against the infiiction of capital pun
ishment. O'Grady astounded all his
friends, not one of whom could believe
him innocent of the crime, by his re-
fusal TO plead self-defense when put on
trial. He maintained, against the ad-
vice of all, that he had not done the
shooting. All the testimony and the
circumstances went to diSprOVe his
claim of innocence. however, and his
conviction followed. After many
months confinement his liberty has
been made possible by the confession of
one of the most daring and notorious
criminals in the country, it being none
other than John j., alias oyer" Scan
Ian. the leader of the celebrated Mol
lie Motif gang, who was captured . lit
tie over year ago by eX-lDSpectOr b on
field and squad of police.
sCANLAN HAD FORTIFIED HIMSELF
In house near Archer avenue and
Twenty-Second street, with his mis-
tress, Mollie Mott, and defended him
self, although wounded by several bull
cts, until nearly 100 shots were fired.
Seaman. had a few days before shot
and, 1t was supposed, mortally wounded
Police Officer Nolan, who tried to ar
rest him for shooting rebelliOus MEM
Der of the thIeving gang. For shooting
Officer Nolan, Scanlan and Mott were
sentenced to the penitentiary, Scanlan
getting ten years and ten months.
O'Grady's lawyers were convinced OF
his innocence, and after his conviction
east about for evidence to subStantiate
their belief. They were enabled event
ually to fix the crime on Scan
Ian, and then they set about get
ting confession from him. This
they have succeeded in doing. 1t ap-
pears that O'Grady has had fight with
Officers O'Brien and Dillon and had, ,es-
capped into an alley. The officers fol-
lowed. and O'Brien was shot down by
some one concealed in a fence corner.
O'Brien, In his ante-mortem statement.
and Dillon on the stand. in the trial,
identified O'Grady as the guilty man,
but it was shown that the bullet which
killed O'Brien was much larger than
that carried by O'Grady's pistol. The
jury ignored this; but the confession of
Scanlan clears the matter up, as he has
turned up the weapon with which he
did the shooting, and which corresponds
with the fatal bullet. O'Grady's attor-
neys expect to secure his pardon soon.