The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-03-07
JUDGE MoER'S PLAIN WORDS
TANT FIGURE IN THE CUES
PI0N.-
AFTER RAISING HOPE OF LIFE
In the Minds of the Condemned, 1t
Would Be Cruel to Hang Them
Now.

of Joseph Soular and William VerTill,
the Duluth murderefs, from death to
life imprisonment.
The reason assigned is their youth,
both of them being about eighteen
years of age.
Judge S. H. Moer, the judge before
whom the boys were tried, for the muir
der, assigns a different reason for
recommendation of clemency, made in
reply to q notification from the board
that the cases were under Amusement.
The judge holds that the murder for
which they were sentenced was willful;
that it was deliberately planned, and
cruelty executed, and that if the death
penalty is to be inflicted at all, then
these boys richly merited it.
On the other hand, he holds that the
execution has been delayed so long,
and the hope Of communication built UP
so firmly in the minds of he boys, that
to destroy that hope now would be the
refinement of cruelty, and would in
fact, if not in letter and spirit, come
within the constitutional inhibition
against infiicting cruel and unusual
punishment In his letter to the board,
Judge Moer says, after briefly review
ing the facts:
Shortly after sentence was imposed
uI"on the defendants, as l am credita
bly, informed-applicatio was made to
sentence. From the notice this day re-
ceived from the clerk Of your honor
able body, l am informed that an ap-
plication is now pending before you
for the Communication of the death SEN
tence imposed by this court.
1T therefore appears that no action
whatever was taken by the executive
upon the application pending before
him. and the responsibility has, by
operation, OF law, been shifted from
his shoulders to yours.
Our constitution provides that cruel
and unusual punishment shall not be
inflicted. The delay in acting upon
the appHca ton before the governor
(nO matter what the reasons for such
delay may have BEEN has undoubtedly
raised in the minds Of the defendants
an abiding conviction that their SEN
tence was to be committed. This hope
for life has been raised and firmly
grounded by reason. largely. of this
delay. To destroy that hope at this
time would, in my Judgment, be worse
than death. To refuse, to commute the
sentence of the a defendants would
constitute Il refinement Of cruelty
worthy of the most serious eensure.
THE ESTATE, gro through it's executive,
having fer many months held out to
the defendants hope of life. ought not.
at this late day. destroy what 1T has
itself builded.
.'T am of the opinion that, at the time
the sentence was imposed upon the
defendants, and for a reasonable time
after the application was made to the
governor for clemency, that no cir
cumstances existed that would war
rant communication. of such sentences.
"At this time, however, i feel thai,
to refuse their application would be
the imposing upon them Of a cruel and.
unusual punishment in fact, if not
within the strict letter and spirit of
the constitution.
I'm view of this fact, I therefore,
recommend q. to your honorable body
that you; do commute the sentence Of
the said Joseph Soufar and William
Verrill, and each of them, to imprison-
ment for life 31j 10 irt9.3s
STORY OF THE CRIME.
William VerriI and Joseph Soular.
who were convicted of the muir
der Of Samuel De Mars, are but
boys, neither having passed his TWEEN
tieth year; but their crime was pre-
meditated and was perpetrated with q
cold-bloOded atrocity which marks
them as criminals of the deepest dye.
Soular, although the younger of the
two was the originator of the plan TO
commit the murder, and it was he, who,
from the inception of the idea to the
played the leading role in the tragedy
and kept up the wavering determine
ton of his companion by threats and
ridicule.
The crime for which the two
boys were sentenced was COM
mitted near Biwabik, on the Mesaba
range, upon Jan. Il of the present
year Samuel De Mars, the victim, was
engaged in chopping wood a short dis
tance from the village. The boys APP
preached him and engaged him in CON-
versa ton. They passed on and cir
cled around in the woods. Returning
to the spot where De Mars was at work
they found him bending over the log
which he was chopping. Soular raised
his rife, took deliberate aim and shot
De Mars through the neck. The old
man fell and the boy again fired, the
bullet taking effect in the body. Sou
lar then went through his victim s
pockets and secured a pocketbook con-
tanning 1913. He gave the money to
| Verrill, telling him to hide it safely
Then he expressed some doubt that
De Mars was dead, and, upon his sug-
.gestion, Soular fired a bullet from a
revolver into the body. The boys re-
turned to their homes, and Verrill hid
the money in the rafters of his room
where it was found shortly after the
murderers were arrested on the day
following.
Immediately after being brought to
the county Jail at Duluth, Soular and
Verrill made a confession, in which
they detailed the crime. This was used
as evidence in their trials and was
| largely instrumental in securing their
! conviction. VerrilIs trial was held on
March %, lasted two days and the
! jury was out about thirty hours. That
! of Soular followed Immediately and oc-
! cupied about the same length of time.
During his trial and since his SEN
| tence. Soular has shown little concern
! for his impending fate In the court
room he eontentedly ate candy and
/ peanuts as the trial progressed, and
/ laughed and joked with his acquaint-
/ ances during intermissions. He ap-
! peared to enjoy being the center of in
terest for the large crowds which filed
the court room. He prepared a plea
/ for mercy, which he addressed to the
/ court when brought up for sentence.
but when condemned to death was per-
fectly cool and unconeerned. AS he
left the court room he remarked to
! the deputy sheriff IN attendance: THE
/ judge gave 1t to me In the neck. didn t
hep" Soular is between seventeen and
eighteen years of age, Of slight build
and with STOPPING shoulders. His hair
is a. dark red and his heavy eyebrows
| form a dark line across the upper por-
! ton Of his face and give him the ap-
pearance of being always scowlng. A
| protruding upper lip and dropping
corners give his mouth a cruel expires
sion, and his eyes are furtive and
] shiftv. VerTfll ts about year older
/ than his companion in crime. He Is q
| tail sickly looking boy. His complex
ion is bad and his face covered with
1 Il ~