Mexico weekly ledger., 1894-03-01
To Be Hanged March %.
ASSASSIN PRENDERGAST SENTEN'
CED BY JUDGE BRENTANO.
The Murderer Of Mayor Harrison
Makes a Brief Speech Den0une-
Ing the Insanity Plea and
Defending His
Course.

tano to-day overruled the motion for
a new trial for Prendergast and sem
fenced the assassin to be hanged on
March %.
Prendergast entered the court in
charge of a bailiff. He had been
shaved early in the morning and his
hair was carefully combed. He was
assigned to a chair in the place he
occupied during the trial. He soon
grew restless and moved about in his
chair uneasily. His face was pale
and his eyes rolled increasingly.
As the court addressed Prender-
CAST and asked him if he had any
thing to say why sentence should
not be passed upon him he arose to
his feet, nervously drew a small
sheet of paper, covered with notes,
from his vest pocket and addressed
the court as folloWS:
don't suppose, Your Honor, that
it will do me any good to say any,
thing to the court now. | have
made no preparation to say anything
in particular. 1 suppose Your Honor
is under the impression that you
have done your duty. But this plea
of insanity has been set up by my
attorneys without my consent. 1t
was an Infamous, a dirty and a dis
reputable plea and done against my
objections.
Now as for Juror Murray, it is
certain to my mind that from the
manner he answered questions he
was anxious to be a juror in this
case. There was something wrong
also in regard to summoning the
veniremen. Juror Larkin came here
on awritten statement, but of course
the defendant had no control over
this part of the courts work. The
Evening News contained a whole
column about it at the time and it is
not necessary for me to go into II
further now. We had no opportun.
ity to watch the proceedings in
summoning the jurors.
THE INSANITY PLEA DENOUNCED.
But this is not the question. Al
the very beginning of this trial the
court told me my attorneys would
attend to my case. Nevertheless
they did not. As stated, your honor,
before, they set up this infamous
plea of insanity against my will.
But, your honor, the issue is, did
do right or did | do wrong? Did
do my duty or did l not? Did l dc
the will of God or did I not? This
point has never been touched upon
and l say it is the only issue before
the court. OF course, if did wrong
1 should be condemned. But, your
honor, if 1 did right 1 should be
justified and acquitted.
As for this talk about the Dacey
or the Guiteau case, the court all
along ruled that no reference should
be made to it but the attorneys for
the defendant continued it through
out the trial. AS far as these doctors
are concerned, they came to me
without my consent and without my
invitation and I did not write them
to come and find out whether | was
insane or not. No doubt the motives
of these men were humane but it
was through the c%onnivance of jailor
Morris that they got into the Jail.
RAMBLING ON VARIOUS POINTS.
Now, your honor and everybody
say that Harrison was a great and
good man. l deny this. A good
man is generally faithful to his
friends, and Harrison was not. If
he had been a good man he would
not have been hostile toward me.
But this newspaper trust, your
honor. We have been attacked by
this newspaper trust, and if the SEN
tence of this court is carried out you
will all be at the hands of this news
paper trust. No mans character or
reputation will be safe. | don't
know what will be the result.
Even while l was in your county
Jail | was threatened with death.
This man Morris, the ~jailer there,
said to me: "I'l kill you before
you leave this jail, no matter what
the court and bailiffs do with you"
The sheriff of this county is a Re-
publican, while my principles are
Democratic and that is why this is.
But the issue, your honor, is
whether | did right or wrong. If
this court wants to shirk the respon-
sibility in this case it will not be my
fault. The most of the motions made
by the attorneys for me have been
overruled by the court, and that was
wrong.
Then there is this grade crossing
issue. If your honor consents to my
death, to my murder, you also con-
sent to take the lives of these people
on the Infamous grade crossings.
That is what caused me to shoot
Harrison, although l had stood by
him in times of distress.
am feeling much better now,
your honor. My health is much
better than when / first went to Jail.
IN. I.-lrS sSzl Ill.,, q $40 Aha~a