The World. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1891-1896, 1893-02-07
LIVING TOMB.
Remarkable Career Of Billy Car
roll, a Convict.
For Almost ! Quarter or . Century in
Solitary Confinement.
Ne Kincd : 0eorgetown Hank wnsehmnn.
and While serving : Lifs Term he slew
Fellow Prisoner-Finnlly He b Re-
stored 60 light and Liberty

aNNrE0 - LA.mN ana LNo@EtI
-
cOIumuA Feb THE penalty Of
solitary confinement for life imposed
upon Murderer George Jones ut the
penitentiary Saturday calls TO mind
the wonderful experience Of Blly Carr
roll, the noted convict who occupied n
living tomb for nearly twonty years
Not since Carroll was pardonSd by Gov.
Foraker. on Thanksgiving day. 1889. has
the punishment Of solitary confinement
for any length Of time been inflicted
at the Ohio state prison. CAROLS
case Is one Of the most dramatican In
tensely interesting within the criminal
annals Of the state. The crime which
brought him behind prison bars was
the robbery Of the treasury Of Brown
county and the murder Of the watch
man, an old man named Adam Rose. II
was committed October 81. 1850 The
job was done by Samuel Huling. John
II. BENTON, David Jones and William
Carroll, all desperate crooks They were
discovered Ia the act Of blowing the
safe by the old Waterman and shot
him dead a. order 10 scap&srTTtfe Nod
TO Cincinnati, whore ali but Huling
were captured 4 few days later. A posse
Of deputy sheriffs started tor George
town with the prisoners, Peter MeCorS
mick, Of New Richmond. being In
charge Of Carroll. Mccormicig's man
got away from him at New Richmond.
and every effort to retalte him proved
futile The others were sent mp for
terms ranging from five 70 fiftecn years
and in the meantime a large reward
was offered for Carroll, who was sup
posed TO have done the shooting.
For about q year nothing was heard Of
him, and then the authorities learned
that d man In Illinois answered the de-
scription Of the fugitive. The suspect
proved to be Edwin w. Smith, q i
porous citizen Of Joliet, and his arrest
for the Brown county murder caused d
great sensation, He waived all for
malities and came willingly to Ohio. as
he said, TO show the people that he
wa moi the man. Despite a strong de-
Tense Carroll was convicted and SEN
fenced to life imprisonment for the
murder Of old Adam Rose.
In Decemper, 1870. Carroll killed an
other man. His victim was James
Rothc. : Hamilton county convict and
fellow prisoner with Carroll The
crime was the reult Of d quarrel over
the ownership Of . patent that Carroll
had conceived. For this he was taken
out Of prison and tried. Upon convic-
ton he received the remarkable sem
tence Of ten years In addition to the life
term he was already serving. When
he was taken back TO the ~penitentiary
Warden Dean imposed the penalty
of solitary confinement for life upon
Carroll, as 1t was feared his ungovern-
able temper would result In still an
other tragedy II he was allowed to-
mingle with the other prisoners. The
cell occupied by Carroll for nineteen
years was about four feet wide. seven
feet long and eight feet high, He
never stepped outside Of this little hole
in the stone wall for nearly q quarter
Of o century. He was an inventive
genius. and managed TO while away
the dreary hours and days and years
in works Of mechanism. During his
imprisonment he invented q car-heater
and several other valuable a~pparatuses
for railroads His cell was In the east
wing of the prison and ALMOST In the
shadow of the annex. Carroll used TO
say that he did not mind his confine-
ment SO much as the executions going
on In the death chamber. There was
always great doubts in the minds Of the
public as to whether the Edwin Smith
arrested at Joliet Ills, was the lilly
Carroll who played the leading role In
A.. p.-.- .-1 -. Z. AL-I
discovery Of strong evidence that 1t was
not a case Of dr. Jekyli and Mr.
Hyde" Gov. Foraker granted the cele-
brated prisoner his liberty. Mrs For
aker had become deeply interested in
the case, and on Thanksgiving morn
ing Of that memorable day In CAROLS
strange career. she drove up to the PEN
itentiary gate in the gubernational car
riage. Alighting she carried TO Warden
Coffin the pardon, and was the first TO
congratulate Carroll when he walked
out D free man,
sWH