The record-union., 1894-01-23
PLEADING FOR MURDERER M'NULTY.
Delegation of San Franciscans Visit
the Governor.
The Latter Also Receives Letter From
Lawyer Wilson Not Much
Show for McNulty.

A delegation from San Francisco, con-
sisting of Sheriff McDade, j. II. Barry,
editor of the Star; Tim Sullivan, the poll
tician, and Mr.. Denny called on Governor
Markham yesterday and labored long
and earnestly with him for commuta-
ton of the sentence of John McNulty,
who is sentenced 10 hang on the 10Th, to
imprisonment for life.
They stated that while they acknowl-
edged the force of the Governors reasons
as given in his refusal the other day to
commute McNulty's sentence, they
would still make an appeal for his Glenn
ency.
They argued that McNulty had been
for several years in jail; that he has been
several times sentenced and expected
each time to be executed and has, there
fore, several times suffered the bitterness
of death from that cause. This, they
thought, should be considered as a partial
atonement for his crime, and that COM
mutation to Imprisonment for life would
now fully answer the demands OF justice.
They scored j. n. L. Wilson, who de-
Tended McNulty, severely. and con-
tended that had he not advised his client
wrongly he would probably not have
been better off in regard to a pardon.
The Governor listened patiently ard at
tentiVely to them for a couple of hours,
and in reference to the structures on Mr..
Wilson, requested his Private Secretary,
Mr.. Higgins, to read long letter which
Wilson had written to the Governor in
answer to one from him, which gave a
full statement of his reasons for making
the defense of insanity for his client, and
showed the utter lnutility Of a plea OF self
defense, closing with strong appeal for
executive clemency for his client.
The letter of Wilson is to the following
effect:
LETTER FROM WILSON.
Wilson'S letter states that there has
been, so far as he knows, nothing in the
management of the case that the world
ought not to know,
There was nothing in the circumstances
of the case that would warrant any attor-
ney in setting up the plea of self-defense,
and if McNulty is not guilty of murder,
he is so purely by reason of his being in
sane at the Time it was committed, and
his (WilsOn's) defense of him was based
entirely on the statements of McNulty to
hlm.
McNulty, he states, told him that he
had been badly abused by the crowd with
which Collins associated, and had been
beaten badly by them the day before the
murder; that be had been drinking heav-
lily; that insanity was in his family, and
that on previous occasions before, when
he had been drinking heavily, he had
been attacked by this taint of insanity;
that some mem Der of his family had died
IN an insane asylum; that when he had
these attacks he was forgetful afterwards
of what had happened, and was on this
occasion forgetful of what he did, with
one or two exceptions, until he found
himself in Jail next morning.
These facts, Wilson says, were after
wards substantiated to him by witnesses
whom he produced at the trial, and he
recapltuIates their evidence, referring to
the transcript of the evidence.
There is not" he states, "a scintilIa
OF evidence in the case and so far as l am
informed, there has never been any wit
ness found who ever has been able to
substantiate the theory of self defense.
Had there been such a witness, you may
be sure L should have produced him"
IN the face OF the prejudice against the
plea OF insanity, he says, he would have
been glad to produce any such witnesses,
and he did produce two witnesses who
told McNulty that George Haskell had
told them Collins said he was going to
lick McNulty or die.
There were but two actual witnesses to
the shooting-Michael Halpin and Pat
rick Morgan, and they both testified
that Collins refused to fight and turned
away, and when warned that McNuIty
was going TO shoot, turned around only
to receive the ball in his eye, and that
they were six or eight yards apart and
no pistol was found upon Collins. John
Nee also testified that McNulty told him
half an hour before the murder that he
would fight Collins on the square, and if
Collins licked him he would shoot him
afterwards.
F,,,, l., - L j.
Tended McNulty he has defended twenty
two persons accused of murder and Sc
cured the acquittal of twenty-one Of
them and the other will be out of prison
some time this year, which, he thinks,
does not argue that he gives bad advice
to his clients.
Mr.. Wilson then takes advantage of
the Governors invitation TO make any
suggestion and makes an appeal for
executive clemency. He states that for
some reason McNulty was an object of
ridicule and i'll treatment by the men
with whom he worked, including Has
kell and Collins, for over year, and that
they beat him whenever they chose.
When sober he was hard working, in
dustrious man and stood their abuse
with patience, and that there was no ex-
cuse for his being beaten the day before,
which propably affected his mind, aided
by the whiskey he drank.
He thought ii was one of those ca ses in
which the murderer under such provoea-
ton should not suffer death as q robber
or poiSoner should.
The Governor has given many weeks
of careful consideration to the matter,
going over the whole case this time with
as much care and precision as if he had
not already done SO twice before.
1t is stated that so minutely has be
weighed the testimony that he can tell
almost literally the testimony of each
witness and compare the testimony Of
one with another. In fact, he astonishes
everyone who approaches him on the
subject by his intimate acquaintance with
every detail and his ability to rebut any
inaccuracy of statement.
The result of his patient investigation
has confirmed him in the conviction thai
McNulty was not insane, nor did he COM
NIT the deed in self-defense. Such being
his conviction he feels that the law has
provided a penalty for the crime and tina
he having taken an oath to uphold the
Constitution and laws of the State. can
not conscientiously thwart them.
1t can quite safely be said, therefore
that the visit from the San Francisco del