The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1895-02-02
STORY FROM PRISON.
George Levi Another Man
Guilt and Got Eighteen Years.

UeOEEe AeEl assumed AnOtnGF Mlan'0
Guilt and Got Eighteen Years.
special to the indianapolis Journal.
JEFFERsONvILLE. Ind. Feb. LA
statement made to-day to Warden Patten
by convict George Levi. Of the notorious
observation-disclosures gang of horse thieves, re-
veals a strange prison story and incidental
ly shows the heavy cost of Lewis perjury.
Levi is now serving eighteen years for. an
assault on a little crippled girl Dearborn
county, and it seems from his story, which
the warden believes, that Levi accepted
this heavy punishment one the promise of a
$1,000 reward for shielding NJ. F. Nelson.
Levi committed the most fragrant perjury
ON the witness stand in admitting that he
assaulted the child, but r~etributive justice
was not to be baked, and both Levi, the
perjurer, and Nelson, the man who really
assaulted the child, are serving time in the
Prison South, with a future Of eighteen dark
years before them
Three years ago Nelson, who is an old
soldier, was brought to the Je~sfersonville
penitentiary to serve twenty-one years, his
crime of assault being a revolving one. The
crippled girl lived near Lawrenceburg. Levi
was just beginning a short sentence in the
prison for horse stealing when Nelson was
brought in, and the fortune or fate of pris-
ON life threw them in close contact. In a
short time the active brain OF Nelson was
scheming a plan for his release, and Levi,
who is an ignorant criminal of the unre-
laimabl type, was to be the tool. The
warden was much surprised one day when
Levi appeared before him and claimed that
he was the man guilty of the crime for
which Nelson was paying the penalty. Mr..
Patten gave little credence to the story,
but Levi insisted on signing affidavits, pro-
faexipo much oanfrifopo-c fha< a., ,oooz-
man should suffer. Feeling obliged to, take
the aInuavlt, the warden questioned him in
detail as to the CRIME, requiring MIN to go
into many particulars, which the convict
furnished without confusion. The afi-
davis were laid aside for awhile, and some
months later Lew called attention TO the
warden asked him to make another set of
~affidavits, going into, as minute details as
to compromise his first story, and the sec
ond afndayft did not vary from the first,
thus convincing the prison official that the
convict was telling the truth or else had
been remarkably well drilled by Nelson,
who was a companion in the same squad.
The prosecuting attorney of Dearborn
county was given the aftidavits, and Levi
was consequently a~rraigned for the crime.
In court he repeated the story given the
child lived, the paths leading to it and the
surrounding country. The child was brought
fed by him. He failed to recognize her
among a number of others, and she was
certain Levi was not the man who had in
jured her.
1t was the plan Of Nelson. as afterwards
developed, to ha ve Levi confess and be
punished, expecting that his own release
would follow shortly. A thousand dollars
was a large sum to the horse thief. and
when Nelson promised 1T to him on condi-
ton of the vicarious punishment, Levi had
no hesitancy in boldly perjuring himself.
Yet the slip came between the cup of free
dom and the lips Of the shrewd Nelson.
The little girl, while unable to identify
Levi, admitted she heard the voice of a
mar on the outside of the house the night
of the assault, and, in the face of Lewis
confession, the court readily took it for
granted that Nelson had q partner in crime.
This testimony, brought Gut as the case
was about 10 close, and almost accidentally.
Before Levi could see the effect of the
testimony, sentence had been imposed on
him. too. Punishment was fixed at eight
cen years, SO that both men would be given
an opportunity to be released at the same
time, the second trial occurring three years
after the conviction of Nelson.
Levi is duly %penitent of the crime of per-
jury. He expects no clemency. To-day he
appeared before the warden and told, as
the warden believes. the truth. He saws
Nelson persuaded him to make the aff-
davits, promising him $1,000 from the pro-
ceedS OF the sale of q house at Lawrence
burg and a portion OF the pension money
which the government allows Nelson for
war services. The description OF the scene
of the crime and the details were furnished
by Nelson. who thorousnly reaearsed the
horse thief in the recital OF them before
the first a~fidavits were signed. Neither man
had calculated on the accidental evidence
of the little girl that she had heard the
voice OF a man outside the house tbs ni~.st