Kansas City journal. [volume] (Kansas City, Mo.) 1897-1928, 1897-12-10
NO RESPITE FOR WILLIAMS.
IF THERE Is NOT COMPUTATION HE
WILL HANG TUESDAY.
Governor Tells the Gentlemen Who
Presented the Murderer's Case
That There VIII BE No
Respite.

William WllldIuS DelicNtS lldI lie MIL 10
hanged next Tuesday. The signs of his
mental suffering are pitiful to see. He does
not shed a tear or talk much about his
case. but he cannot eat and he stands near
ly all day with his overcoat thrown loose
ly over his shoulders and stares stolidly
at the floor. When he is not standing in
this position he sits on the edge Of his
Yesterday morning he hardly tasted his
breakfast He tried to eat. but it seemed
as If he could only swallow with a great eff
fort. He ate only a few bites Of bread.
porter for The Journal asked him yester-
day IL he thought he would be hanged.
He put ~s his head d. down q close close to ! the the bars asess
cret:
Course they'll hang me. The governor
DO you believe in any church?"
more favorable to the catholie than any
see me, and [ guess I'll be a Catholic"
The delegation which went Wednesday
to see the governor In behalf OF Williams
returned yesterday morning. They say the
governor gave them no announcement and
neither did he discourage them. They came
ernor believed that public sentiment in this
city was strongly In favor of saving Will
aams he would do It, He did tell the dele
under any circumstances. If he interfered
at all 1t would be to mmut his death
sentence to one in the penitentiary.
Each of the twelve jurors who returned
the verdict Of guilty against Williams has
signed a petition to commute his sentence.
The senior class of Kansas City school of
law drew up a petition to the governor
yesterday to save Williams from death.
AT Williams trial his lawyer did not
save a single exception to any of the rul-
lnRS OF the court or the avtdanra The
witnesses who convicted Williams were bad
negroes who Were in the crowd when the
had been in the p~enitentiary; one was
wanted In the Indian Territory for crimes
II William Williams is hanged next Tues
day he will be the eighth man legally
hanged in this count
away back in the '4Os. when one Gasteil died
on the gailows in Independence for tine
Inurder Of MI. Hawkins. This was a pub
Woodson's pasture. and people came neH from
mcny miles to see the execution, and
Green, March L. 1878, for the murder of
Henry Hughes. James Liggett was county
lie affair. too. The. gailows was built
against the outside of the wall of the old
jail at Second and Main streets: A great
through the gaiIows, trap broke Green's
Ieth, III ne uleO WIFI scarcely a SlTuRSlC.
Ed Sneed was the third man hanged in
this county, and his was the first hanging
which was made private. and only those
was hanged inside the Jail at independence
in 1857. Hugh MCGOWAN was marshal.
sneed killed a man on the Southwest boule,
The fourth hanging. was that of Martin
Reed. a negro. who killed his wife at Four.
the present jail at Missouri Avenue and
Oak streets. which was then new. He was
SMa fnIEeas on MT, the els sam N e. g "a upon which
John Clark and Harry Jones. who killed
Hail building at Ninth and Main streets
Madam Wright was an employment agent
Clark had lately been released from tbs
out of work. They had applied to Madam
Wright for work, and learned that she
the evening. when she was alone, and pre-.
pairing TO go home, they went into her of
ice, choked her to death and robbed her
Within twenty-four hours they were ar
hanged in 1884. Clark was hanged on the
EaainlGG@sdi an t heu lai later In TINS IN the fies; jai io at in Ma.
Phil Martin. a negro boy, was the sew.
He stabbed and killed Eli Stilwell July 4
1893, and was hanged February s. 1895, OF
broke down completely when the time came
fer him 10 die. and had to be carried TO the
scaffold. Nearly everyone who saw tina
hanging and heard the pitiful shrieks o.
the miserable negro became opposed theI
and there to the death penalty.
Williams. If he is hanged. will be thu
fourth man to die on the gallows in thi
jail. 1t stands. n permanent thing in a cor
ner of a vacant wing of the Jail. Its wood
en- frame Is painted black The platform
Which has the trap in its center: Is on
level with the second tier of cells in tn
wing adjoining. An iron door, hides III
but the cell where Williams is confined ]
within ten feet of 1t. and through the bar
the door is in plain sight Williams ca
scarcely avoid seeing this door many. time
a day. He spoke about this yesterday I
the guard. who sat in a chair in front Q
his cell, keeping a constant death watcI
upon him. He SAID he couldn't help lookin
nj fhe iron door.