The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1895-11-29
SYMPATHY FOR GAY
The Condemned Man Has q Son and
Daughter in Butte.
LETTERS TO THE STANDARD"
One Man Writes to Say That the
Prisoners Sentence Should at
Least Be Commuted-tiis 81
idea OF the Testimony. A.

In Butte In the fate OF Bill Gay. who has
been convicted of murder In the first de-
gree. and II IL certain that II he is refused
a new trial an effort win be made In
this city to secure a Communication OF SEN
tence. The sentiment aroused In Butte
In the case is due probably to the fact
that Gay has q young SON and a daughter
living In this city who are well thought
of and for whom great deal OF sym
path Is expressed. and the Standard has
from time to time received q number OF
communications on the subject OF Gays
case. OF course little or nothing Is known
In Butte of the facts on which Gay was
convicted and the talk in his favor seems
to be entirely through sympathy for HIS
family. "'4
The following communication was re-
ceived yesterday from . well known
Butte citizen with request for Its pub
fioatfon: j.
To the Editor Of the Standard. .rn.
Being interested In the question of
law in Montana and it's present status
in relation to the law as Interpreted IN
other states, take the liberty Of writing
you in regard to the celebrated Gay MUIR
der case. From extended observation 4
believe that the statements herein ex-
pressed voice the sentiments of a large
proportion OF thinking men who have dis
interestedly followed the case. Would
you therefore give this space in your val
liable paper?
THE account of the evidence given and
the fncongruous result reached has raised
the question in my mind as to whether
that unwritten base for criminal law. the
command thou shalt not KILL and the
assumption. based on the best experience
of ages and found necessary to the prop
er preservation of the liberty of the indi-
vidual and directly in line with the spirit
of the constitution that man is con-
sidered innocent until he is proved guilty
is interpreted the same in Montana as
elsewhere In these United States. The
Durrant case shows crime so atrocious
as to be Incompatible with the one of
which Gay has been convicted. Yet IN
the former from what we read in the
papers. the entire burden of proof rested
with the prosecution. Indeed. IL seemed
likely that unless the chain of evidence
was entirely complete the prisoner. Dur
rant, would be given the benefit of the
doubt and acquitted. Fortunatel the evil
dence in his case was complete and de-
cisive. Yet that crime was infinitely
worse than the killing of James Macke,
but In the latter case Gay Is convicted
on evidence that is not only incomplete
but in many points untrustworthy and,
with the exception of the statement Of
the dying man, wholly circumstantiaL,
The penalty is the same in both cases
death. ms
1.-The history of criminal law shows so
many instances of erroneous conviction on
circumstantial evidence that II is right
that accused persons. especially for
crimes punishable with death, should be
surrounded by every safeguard possfble
in order to avert that saddest of all
casualties. the execution Of an innocent
person for a crime that they never COM
mitted. The matter does not concern me
personally and I view 1t entirely disinter-
estedly, but knowing from my own ex-
perience in school days what IL is to
bear the blame OF deeds of which one is
innocent. wish to raise my voice in pro-
test against the carrying out of a sem
tence so manifestly unjust. In this view
all fair-minded men will surely agree
with me.
I'm order that you may understand the
grounds upon which this conclusion is
based. let me review a few of the very
many weak points In the chain Of evil
dence brought out at the trial. The gen.
eral acceptance of the term murder In
the first degree is that malice and rre-
meditation aggravates the offense. Moth
ing in all the evidence goes to show that
such is the case. But the admissions
made by nearly all of the members of the
posses witnesses show that even IL guilty
of the crimes accused of that they were
given no chance to surrender such as the
law governing arrests clearly indicate.
Deputy Sheriff Lewis practically admits
that he fired first in the skirmish at the
Gross ranch. Peter Westbrook SAYS that
the posse fired first where RAIDER was
killed. The men. hunted like a couple
OF wild animals without the due process
of law guaranteed to every citizen by the
constitution. at last turned like the pro-
verbal worm and shot first at the battle
OF the Musselshell. as II is called One
Of the men did the killing. evidently.
Which one can only be de.crm ned by
the testimony OF the dying man and
George Williams. The later was sire
1t was Gay principally beca I've he had
terribly sharp eyes. II could very readily
be proved that most peoples eyes become
! sharp when under the Influence of in
tense mental excitement. Gross eyes
would undoubtedly have 10 olsed as sharp
as Gays under the circcm ssanccs lie
also saw q dark beard. What with two
or three days dirt. the powder sIucke.
preparation. and perhaps even In. man
may have been In the shade: all OF which
would describe the one as the other A
great point is made OF the dying mans
statement that II was Gay. IL seems
very extraordinary that the the woa,ded
man lived two days. and infer sll the
fuss that was made about II. that no one
thought of having an ante-mortsm state-
ment taken. II every one expected him 10
die. a. II II now claimed. The very evil
dent presumption Is that very consider
able hopes were entertained O. lis re-
oovery. The man himself. II sure that ne
was going to die. would certainly have
thought of IT, Almost any man In SINH
lar circumstances would want 10 write
his statement down that IL might live
after him. The feeling OF having that
nearest approach TO ones living SELF
there b so natural that 1t is almost uni
versai IN SUCH cases. A dying man viii
almost invariably want II written down
According TO the testimony given the
man who shot was behind an entrench-
ment and IL would have been as hard for
Macke 10 see who II was as for Williams.
The latter said that the former syiited
down when shot and certainly could not
see from the ground who did the shoot
ing The smoke and fash would prevent
n before he sank He certainly did not
see him before the shot or some cry or
sudden move would have revealed that
TO his companions. Therefore that evil
dence cannot be called conclusive at all.
Without, particularizing each instance Il
can be readily seen by a review of the