Mexico weekly ledger., 1895-01-24
Jake Cumberland Doomed.
HE Ia TO ne HANGED FOIs
MURDER IN IOWA
NEXT MONTH.
He Was Formerly Resident OF This City,
Whore Hia Aged Father Now Resides
Charged With Double Murder.

DEs MONIES, Iowa, Jan. lS.-
Gov. Jackson yesterday signed the
warrant for the execution of the
death penalty upon j. K. Cumber-
land, who was convicted of murder
IN Shelby county. He killed two men
by whom he was employed and bur-.
led their bodies near the river bank.
1t was months before the crime was
discovered and the bodies found af-
ter Cumberland confessed upon the
advice of his lawyer, H.W Byers, to
save lynching.
There has always been some doubt
as to whether Gov. Jackson would
ever issue the death warrant in this
case. The confession was secured
with the understanding that the
sentence should be life imprison,
ment. Judge FL. E. Deemer, of the
Supreme court, was the district Judge
who received the confession, and, it
is claimed, virtually promised to
make the sentence life imprison'
ment. So when the sentence of death
was pronounced MIR. Byers was very
much surprised, and for that reason
has fought ever since to save the
mans neck, though never question.
ing his guilt. He merely desired to
protect his promise to the wretch.
Public excitement was 80 great at
the time that the judge did not be-
lieve that the sentence of life impris-
onment would prevent trouble, so
be imposed the death penalty. For
these reasons, though the last resort
to the courts had failed, there was
some likelihood that Gov. Jackson
would not fix the day for the sem
tence, as the time fixed by the court
had passed during the appeals to the
Supreme court, and the man would
never be hanged unless the governor
fixed the day. But some time in
December Gov. Jackson received an
anonymous letter from some person in
where Cumberland's FAM
lily lives, telling him that he had bet
ter look up the record of Cumberland
in Kansas before deciding to let him
escape the penalty the court had
So the governor wrote to
the governor of Kansas and received
the papers in the case where Cum
berland was previously convicted
and sentenced to be hanged for
murder in the state of Kansas.
1t appears that early in the sos
and bis son started out
for the west on a land hunting expe'
dition. The first night out the son
was mysteriously shot near the camp
fire and was never fully conscious.
He was taken back home by his faith,
sr, who denied any knowledge OF
now the boy was killed. His moth
Or asked the boy who did it, but all
ne could say was spa, pa" On the
trial which followed, the jury found
hat this meant that the father had
done the shooting, and on April 21,
1888, Cumberland was convicted and
to be hanged. This was
in .Neosho county. After the case
had been through the courts and had
been put off from time to time, the
board of pardons took it up, and on
Feb. Is, 1888, recommended his
pardon, and on the same day the
governor, John NJ. Martin, pardoned
The board of pardons,
which was then composed of John c.
Valdwell, A. J. Felt and r. B. Stew
snson, took the ground that the
cries of "pa, pa," meant that the
father, the dying boy thought, could
tell all about who did the shooting,
but did not necessarily implicate
|. .:,, - - rrh;s /, oil paw for tbaf
matter has not been brought out in
the trials in Iowa, and it was not
known here. In fact, very little is
known about Cumberland. This
seems to have satisfied the governor
that Cumberland should hang, so
the execution of the sentence is Or
dered to take place at the peniten-
tiary at Fort Madison Friday, Feb.
Sth.