Omaha daily bee., 1896-11-20
SIX YEARS FOR REV. JC. HULL
St. Paul Preacher Sentenced for Attempted
Wife Poisoning,
DRAMATIC ENDING TO SENSATIONAL CASE
Letter written by the Prisoner Com
Nicts Htm-Hc Loved " Pretty
Niece and Wanted His Wirc's
Insurance Money.

ST. PAUL. Mimi. Nov. 19.-The case
against Rev. James c. Hun, accused of at
tempted wife poisoning, came to sudden
and sensational end in the district court
| this afternoon. Hull had been on the wit-
ness stand since yesterday afternoon, and
had entered categorical denial to all the
| states evidence in regard to the administer
ing by him of arsenic mixed with medicine
his wife was taking. Then the state sprung
a surprise in the shape of letter which
Hull had written while in Portland, Ore,
last February to Rev. l. L. Spence an
intimate friend, who was then in Fer
ando, Cal. In this letter he stated that his
wife was very sick that she was suffering
from cancer, and that he expected to be
called home at any time, and that he thought
she would not live through the year. He
also stated that an operation had been per-
formed for the removal of the cancer, but
that it had broken out again Spence and
Hull had been old friends and chums, and
when the former heard of the charge against
Hull he remembered the letter. and, think
ing its contents would exculpate his friend,
he enclosed ii to some one in Minnesota.
Hull was at first inclined to deny that
he had written such letter but upon being
urged by his own attorney finally admitted
witnesses and Hull's own admission in his
previous testimony showed that there had
been no talk of a cancer for year previous
to the date of the letter, and that the
surgical operation had simply been the
dressing of a slight laceration The state
claimed that the letter placed in evidence
was written with the intention of preparing
his friends for the death of his wife and
to provide a plausible cause therefor.
At the opening of the afternoon session
nf tnT 4 4 81,
court. stated that the last evidence pro-
duced (the letter. was of such character
as to remove all further doubts as to his
clients guilt, and that upon his advice Hull
had agreed to withdraw his plea of not
guilty and to throw himself upon the mercy
of the court He further stated that he
now believed that Hull's mind was unbal-
anced. and asked the courts merciful con-
sideration of the plea.
Hull then formally withdrew his plea
OF not guilty, and Judge Egan sentenced |
him to six years in the Saltwater pen
tentiary Hull had been pastor of the Clin- |
ton Avenue Methodist Episcopal church !
until about a year ago, and at that time |
achieved considerable notoriety by charging |
that the trustees of his church were mem |
bers of the A. u. A. and were seeking his |
removal in order to get minister who was |
in sympathy with that organization This !
resulted in charges being brought against |
him in the state conference, and ultimately |
d
year. Last August he was arrested on COM
plant Of his wife, who charged that for
year or more he had been slowly poisoning |
her by the administration of arsenic mixed |
with her medicines and with articles of
food. The motive as shown by the evil
dence of the state in the trial Just ended
was life insurance policy for 81 500, which
Hull had prevailed upon his wife to take
ont in his favor. 1t was also shown, and
Hull admitted it on the witness stand that
he had been criminally intimate with his
wfe's niece, a girl Of 16, who was living
with them Mrs. Hull testified that her
husband. upon being charged with this mis-
conduct, finally admitted it, Hull has
claimed all along that his wife had been
subject to fits OF insanity since childhood
and had treated him harshly. The couples
1i-year-od daughter was an important wit
ness for the state. The scene in court to-
day when Hull changed his plea and was
sentenced was an extremely dramatic one
and strung the nerves of all present to a
high tension. Judge EGan, in sentencing
the prisoner expressed his opinion that he
was not altogether of sound mind and
accordingly imposed light sentence, the
punishment prescribed by law being from
five to ten years.