The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1891-03-29
SENTENCED TO BE HANGED.
THE LAST ACT BUT ONE IN TWO
OKLAHOMA TRAGEDIES.
Adams and Belden Condemned to Death
How the Death Sentences were
Pronounced and How the Con-
demned Took It--Speeches of
the Prisoners and Scenes
in the Court Room


in the Court Room.
Yesterday morning shortly after II
O'Clock Judge Dnndy overruled the mo
ton for new trial in the Adams case
The court room was crowded, worse thar
IL has been at any previous time this ses
sion. The announcement that the con
victed men would be sentenced hal
brought out the curious and the morbid
and there they were with craned neck:
and pricked ears eager to catch glimps,
of fellow being in the throttles of mis-
fortune and crushed under the weight Of
woe. The room was full and every coun
tenance bore an expectant caste or wa!
engaged in selecting and pointing out tn,
different unfortunates from the row
of prisoners. Judge Dundy overruIed
the motion in his emphatic way, toma
hawking the air with his right hand. He
thought that no points of sufficient weigh,
had been brought forward to warrant q
new trial. He spoke Of the indictment
plea and the failure to summons witnesses
until after the impanelling of the jury as
also the point of insanity as urged by the
defense. He didn't think that he was
warranted in granting new trial. He
recited the logical chain of the story and
had instructed the jury to bring in a YER
dict of guilty.
THE PRISONERS
There were four prisoners to be SEN
fenced They sat quietly in front of the
judge each prisoner in the charge of a
deputy sheriff. There was one Thomas, a
man convicted of horse stealing, a low
proved gangling fellow, who has been in
the Sedgwick county Jail now for some
thing like two years. He was
sentenced first. Then there was Jake Pc
cora, who killed man in Oklahoma. He
Is a line looking man with a complexion
without a defect, black, laughing eye,
and row of glistening teeth, which he
shows repeat dly in abandoned dare-devils'
smiles. He was dressed neatly and clean
ly and presented the appearance Of an
ideal bandit and Fra Diavolo unluckily
Americanized. He was the second one
sentenced.
Belden, the young man who doesn't
look over IS, was the next. He sat up in
the doomed circle. He is a cadaverous,
weak looking youth, with a rather low
forehead Beside him sat his deputy,
the handouts in his coat pockets
good naturally. The boys sweetheart
and parents were not near him, but may
have been out in the crowd Adams, on
whom the greatest interest was centered,
sat nearest the judge beside his
wife. This little woman, who everybody
praises for her faithfulness heard with
tremulous lip and tear bedimmed eye, the
judge overruled the motion for a new
trial, and saw the ground of hope slipping
away with terrible speed.
Adams was the last sentenced. The
minutes must have fed like lightning to
the little group who were fast drifting
away from the sight of liberty and the
warm hope of life. The elimination of
the sagacious court, the wrangling at
torneys, the absorbed jury, and the long
strain of a tedious, wearing trial had come
and all was to be over i'll very few min
ltes. There was an interesting difference
n the aspect of the men who were all I'M
Ter ban. There was Belden, almost too
young to comprehend the awfulness of his
and the rigor of death; Thomas,
,he horsethief, dark, silent and
sullen; Adams, nervously pale and
and Jake Pecora with
\ bland smile on his face and
IN eye as merry as a bridegroom's; de-
,idedly the best feeling man in the whole
room.
THE SENTENCE PRONOUNCED.
The court asked Thomas, the horsethief,
% stand up. He did this The court
asked him if be had anything to say why
his sentence should not be passed upon
him. The fellow stammered, put his hand
lp to the side of his face, bit his fingers
ind mumbled something in the negative.
The prisoners counsel asked that his SEN
ence might be lightened as his father and
mother depended upon him for support,
md that he had already served two gears
n the county Jail. The court served SEN
ence upon him for one year and two days
confinement in the state penitentiary.
rhe prisoner sat down unchanged, the
anne as before.
Pecora was the next He came
Up with suavity. In answer to the courts
Usual interrogation he said that the
hooting was accidental; that he was sorry
or it and that he hoped the court would
Re light with him The judge reproved
i'm: he said that there had been nothing
which gave him a good char
cter; that he hoped he would be better
1e sentenced him to ten years in the state
enitentiary. The judge said that if he
beyed the laws of that institution he
ould shorten his time to eight years. but
{ he didn't behave himself he would I'M
oubtedly stay in there the full length of
he ten years. Pecorra received this all
Fith pleasant countenance. He wittily
sked the court if he couldn't knock off
ouple of years. The judge said mo. that
e made it too short already" Pecorra
-as going to come back with some We
eered repartee, when the deputy sheriff
{ his back set him down
,uring the remainder of the morning this
Ingular prisoner seemed TO enjoy
he death sentences with a relish that no
ne else in the room could extract. He is
native Italian.
BELDEN DOES NOT FINCH.
Young Belden was next asked TO stand |
p. and his guard arose with him. He
-as trifie pale and his lower lip hung, |
ut on the whole the boy did not seem to
ealize the extreme horror of his position. |
When asked if he had anything TO say. he |
nderwent a little effort to get his voice. |
nd then uttered III low monotone. II !
M not guilty. l am young. My parents |
epend on me for support" The court |
hen pronounced the sentence. II reads |
hat on the Goth day of June, between the !
ours of g. N. and p N. he shall be |
.ken to the place of execution at the |
edgwick county Jail and there hung by |
ne neck until dead. There was no emo
on in Judge Ryner's voice as he read the |
sntence. Ii was done quietly and |