The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-08-09
TO SAVE HANSEN'S LIFE.
A Strong Appeal to President
Cleveland Is Being
Prepared.
THE DANISH CoNsUL's LETTER.
Hopes of Success Based on the
Dissenting Opinion OF two
Supreme Justices.


The attorneys who defended Hansen, st.
Clair and Sparf in the United States courts
when these three sailors were tried for the
murder of Mate Fitzgerald of the bark
Hesper have begun the preparation of an
appeal to President Cleveland on behalf OF
Hans Hansen. They are quite sanguine in
their faith that sufficient cause can be
shown to influence the Nations chief exec
utive to at least commute Hansen's punish
ment to imprisonment for life.
Hansen was resentenced a few days ago
by Judge McKenna to be hanged at San
*Quentin prison on the 18th of October. and
st. Clair also has been condemned to death
on the gallows. Sparf was granted new
trial by the United States Supreme Court
and acquitted in May.
The decision of the Supreme Court has
lust been received here. 1t covers 1873 pages
of the closely printed book and is said by
ATTORNEYS to be one of the longest ever
rendered In it is embodied the dissenting
opinion of Justices Gray and Shlras, which
Attorneys James T. Smith and Frank
Kierce, representing the defense, believe
will have great weight with the President
in his consideration of the appeal to be pre-
. scented for Hansen. Justices Gray and
Shiras maintain that the decision of the
lower court should not hold for the reason
that the Judge erred in his instructions to
the Jury in directing the twelve men to
find Hansen guilty of murder or nothing.
1t is held by those dissenting Supreme
Justices that the court should not decide
the question of degree of the crime-that
should be determined by the jury.
The jury that tried Hansen was inclined
to find him guilty of manslaughter, and
spent several hours discussing such YER
dict, but on returning to court were in
formed that the evidence demanded a
verdict of murder, provided the jury
should find the defendant guilty. The in
structions were then taken as imperative
by the jurors, who found Hansen guilty OF
murder. Had the case been submitted to
them with instructions on the facts in
stead of degree of the crime, some of the
jurymen have since declared that they
would have returned verdict of man
slaughter. This fact in itself will be put
forward in the petition with all possible
force, as it is hoped it may result in saving
the condemned mans life.
The Danish Consul has taken an in
terest in Hansen, and has written for in
formation on the subject to Mr.. Kierce,
with a request for prompt reply.
1t is still claimed by the defense and
those interested in young Hansen that,
though legally an accessory to the assas-
sination of Mate Fitzgerald, he did not
imagine that the chief conspirator had in
tended murder.
As brought out in the evidence he was
told by st. Clair that the sailors wanted
to give the mate a beating, and to inveigle
the mate forward Hansen had to lower a
sail. While pulling in the sail the mate
went forward, and it was then that Han
sen saw him felled by st. Clair with an
ak. With this evidence before it the jury
felt that the lesser crime suited Hansen {
case. but found him guilty of murder
under the impression that manslaughte1
would not be legally correct.