The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1893-02-27

George A. Elwood. the notorious bur
0lar aud escaped convict from the Ohio
penitentiary, was this morning sentenced
to twenty-five years in the states prison
in the Court of Common Pleas.
Elwood was twice convice of bur
glarizlng the residence of Charles B.
Humphrey on the night of Aug. q. 1891.
were overruled by the Supreme Court
last Saturday, and this morning he was
brought from Cranston in charge of
Deputy Sheriff Wall TO ceive the SEN
tence of the court. He was met at the
depot by Deputy Sheriffs Thayer and
Johnson at S:45. and escorted TO the court
house where he was locked up.
The court sat at 9:45, Justices Wilbur
and Rogers, the judges who sat upon
El0 o. IS last trial, presiding. Five min
utes later Elwood was brought in. He
wore the same heavy brown moustache
as at the last trial and had bulky roll
of manuscript in his hand.
Attorney G. neral Burbank then moved
for sentence, and the court asked Elwood
il he had anything to say why sentence
should not be pronounced upon him.
Elwood then unroled his manuscript,
and in a general review OF his two trials
and convictions, denounced the whole
proceeding as full of trickiness and fraud.
His hands trembled with excitement aud
suppressed passion during the first part
of his address, but he grew calmer to-
ward the close.
Elwood began by expressing his belief
in the foolishness of complaining of the
attitude of the court during his trial, as
he believed the judges would be incapa-
bic Of understanding or appreciating him.
Ever since he had been in the custody
of the Rhode Island authorities, nothin z
but trickery had been used towards him.
he said. He had been put in prison since
his conviction. and while awaiting SEN
te ice had been compelled to wear the
prison garb and been denied the right 60
read and speak. Ee had been convicted
of the crime charged against him by the
perjury of the witnesses Mcguire. Luby
and Johnson, and there was only one
right left To him. the right TO show why
sentence should not be prorour ced.
Elwood then asserted that he had been
convicted on false testimony. He alluded
to several alleged instances of this, en-
deavoring by argument to demonstra to
their improbability. Among these were
the Identification by Charles b. Hum
phrey by his walk, when he stepped out
Of the carriage at the City Hall in com
pa1y with two officers, weak from loss
of blood from the bullet wound over his
heart; the recognition by his voice, when
from the same cause 1t was so weak that
he could speak scarcely above whisper;
by his hands. which he claimed were like
any mans, as he wore an ordinary sized
glove, and by the indenture on his chin,
which is like thousands Of other chlns,
and which must have been seen by Mr..
Humphrey, when the burglar held a
dark lantern in front OF his face.
Elwood alluded to the testimony of
Officers Mcguire and Luby and the
colored man johnson in the most scath-
ing terms, denouncing it as the foulest
perjury, and the witnesses themselves as
barefaced liars. He has talked with
many officers since the trial, and he has
not found one who believes the
testimony Of these three witnesses.
He asserts that The attorney
general, Detective Parker, and other
state officials were a party to this false
testimony, aud boldly declared that the
state was allowed to hire perjur.rs, but
he was not. He said he was never in the
Friends school yard picking up fruit,
and never spoke to any officer on Butler
avenue an hour before the burglary, and
he hoped TO be struck dead and cast to
the lowest depths of hell IL he was lying,
Elwood then accused the court OF not
presenting the salient points OF his evi-
dence to the jury. rs 1t did the States
testimony. They were under oath TO give
him full, fair and impartial trial, but
they bad not done it, He had no doubt
his speech to the court would have an
effect upon the sentence he received, but
he had been brought up to speak to a
mans face and not behind his back. 1t
was true the court instructed the jury
not to consider the testimony relative to
his previous bad character, but they had
already heard that testimony, and 1t was
an impossibility for them to eradicate
IL.
His confinement i'm the state prison
Elwood pronounced unlawful and a dis
grace to the state Of Rhode Island. II
the state could AFFORD 10 allow such