The record-union., 1896-12-16
THEY ASK TO Be SET FREE.
The Gibson Brothers, Now in the State
Prison for Life.
Bad rlen of Kern County rIust Make
1t a Delightful Place to
Emigrate From.

William and Charles Gibson who were
convicted in Kern County of murder in
the first degree and sentenced to San
Quentin for life, have applied to the
Governor for pardon, presenting long
petition in their favor.
A strong protest has been also filed
by the family of James and Fletcher
Barton, the two men murdered, and by
j. w. Sumner, Justice Of the Peace.
The petition of the family AYERS that
the Gibsons had made threats against
the lives of the Bartons, and that they
came to the house where they lived, the
night before the murder, and knocked
several times at the door and each time
they knocked the sisters of the Burton
boys saw them put their hands to their
hip pockets. The next day they ac-
knowledged that they had been to the
house and said the Burtons (who in fact
were asleep were too cowardly to come
out. Fletcher Burton was shot in the
right eye, and it had been favorite ex-
preston with William Gibson when he
had grudge against person that "he
would like to shoot his right eye out.
The brothers had on the morning of the
murder, met neighbor on the road to
Kernville. They had guns in their
hands and said they were going to "have
it out with the Burton boys" Justice
Sumner, a few days after the murder,
found that the twigs had been cut on a
little hill in front of Fletcher Burton's
cabin, from which he had evidently been
shot, as he stood in the doorway after
having finished his dinner. In direct
line, as measured by tape line, from
where Fletcher stood and where the but
lets had cut the twigs, Mr.. Sumner found
an empty shell that the bullets fitted.
There was only one gun known in that
vicinity that carried bullet, which was
Of a peculiar size, and that belonged to
Mr.. Allison, who had loaned it to Will
lam Gibson, and William gave it UP
when he surrendered himself. The Glib
sons had also declared they would wipe
out the whole Burton gang.
When James Burton was shot Will
lam Gibson came into the saloon where
James was a few minutes before and
went out. Shortly afterwards James
went to the door and when he came
back told Sumner, who was in the sa-
loon, that he saw Gibson outside with
pistol in his hand loking in at the
window. AS James stood in the saloon
few minutes afterward a shot was
fired through the window, striking him.
His two sisters a few minutes after
ward saw the Gibsons, in STOPPING po-
sition, run around into the yard back of
the saloon, but did not know at the
time that their brother had been shot.
The Gibsons and Burtons had had some
trouble over some mines in which they
were both interested.
Alvin Fay, the District Attorney of
Kern County, has written the Governor
and states that, although the murders
of both the Burtons was as deliberate
and cold blooded as could be, still from
the regulations of the Burtons and his
personal knowledge of them, he thought
the ends of justice would be served by
an Imprisonment for much less than
life While he does not Justify the Glib
sons in killing, he believes 1t was the
only way in which they could preserve
their interest in the mines in which they
were interested with the Burtons. The
Burtons he says, had been interested in
the robbery Of Chinese, stage robbery
and murder and were all around toughs,
and person must take what they
chose to inf1ict or go cunning for them.
He honestly believed that the sentence
of the Gibsons should be commuted to
a few years.
On the side of the Gibsons, the plea
is made that the empty shell was not
4t,n nvsc
jury had inspected the premises. The
Burtons had been concerned in stage
robbery Of Wells Fargo's express with
one Jack Spratt. They were allowed to
turn States evidence and were dis
charged, while Spratt went to States
prison for ten years. He had repeatedly
threatened to kill them when he got out
and his term had expired, and he had
been seen in the neighborhood by sew
eral persons just prior to Fletcher's
murder.
One Dan Walker had also quarreled
with Fletcher Burton over a mine and
had threatened to kill him. He lived
about a mile from Fletcher's cabin and
disappeared Immediately after the MUIR
der and has never been seen since, al
though warrant was issued for him
and he has been sought for.
Affidavits have also been made that
the Burton boys sometimes quarreled
and had threatened to kill each other.
Z. o. Miller. Fresno attorney, came
up yesterday morning and presented the
case of the brothers to Private Secretary
McCabe, and the protests have also
been filed in the Governors office. In
the face of all the evidence, however the
chances for the release of the Gibsons do