The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1891-05-30
THE SENTENCE COMMITTED.


to imprisonment for Life.
George S. Key, Henry Jones and Ed
ward Smith, who were convicted OF muir
dering their overseers on the Navassa
Islands, will not be hanged IN accordance
with the original decree of the Criminal
Court in Baltimore. The President on
Monday committed their death sentence
to Imprisonment for life. This case has
been before the President for several
months. and just before he started on his
tour of the South and West he granted
respite for two months so that he might
further examine. the case. Following is
the Presidents Endorsement of the appli
cation for executive clemency:
Il have examined with care the papers
submitted in these cases and am not will
ling that the death sentences should be
executed. The killing was, as to each
of the prisoners, satisfactorily establish
ed, and that it was felonIous Is also clear.
But the conditions surrounding the pris
oners and their fellows were of most
peculiar character. They were Ameri
can citizens under contracts to perform
labor upon specified terms within Ameri
can territory removed from any oppOr
tunity to appeal to any court or public
officer for redress OF any injury or the en-
forcement of any civil right. Their en-
ployers were in, fact, their masters.
| The bosses placed over them imposed
fines and penalties without any sem
| blance of trial. These penalties extern
ded to imprisonment, and even to the
cruel practice of tricing men up for re-
fusal to work Escape was impossible
| and the state of things generally such as
might make men reckless and desperate.
The United States government should
provide by law for the execution of con
| tracts to labor in Navassa before pub
| lie officer, whose duty 1t should be to see
that the men who go there to labor are
| well Informed as to the nature Of the
| obligations assumed, aud should main
| tain on the island an officer with power
to lear complaints and to adjudge con
| troversies have, within few weeks,
| been compelled to send a war vessel to
| the island to investigate the complaints
of workman, who by letter complained
to me that he was forcibly detained be
yond the time contracted for. A report
upon the case has just been received,
which finds that the complaint of this
man of unjust detention upon the island
was true A board of naval officers from
the Kearsarge made inquiry into the con
dition of things upon the island, and
| conclude their report as follows:
1--WE would desire to state further
that the discipline maintained on the
Island seems to be that of a convict
establishment without it's comforts and
clean linen, and that until more atten
ton Is paid to the shipping Of the
aborers by placing it under government
supervision to prevent Misunderstanding
and misrepresentation, and until some
| ameiioration is shown in the treatment
OF the laborers there, disorders will be
of constant recurrence. In this connet-
| ton we desire to say that the fault does
not seem to lie with the superintendent,
but with the company, which neglects to
| heed his recommendations, and, further,
to supply food of quality and at the
proper times for it to be both sufficient
| and palatable.
This is not case for pardon the
crime was very grave one, but, taking
into account all of it's antecedents and
Incidents, | have concluded to commute
the sentences to imprisonment for life.
| The sentences in the case of George S.
Key, Henry Jones and Edward Smith
| convicted of murder murder in the Cir
cult Court in the United States for the
| District of Maryland and sentenced to
be hanged, are each committed TO i'm
| prisonment tor life at hard labor in the
penitentiary.'