Oregon union. [volume] (Corvallis, Benton County, Or.) 1897-1899, 1897-11-19
RESPITE FOR DURRANT.
Condemned Murderer Given
Another Lease of Life.
LAW ALLOWS so DAYS OF GRACE
Supreme Court of California Hears His
Petition and Grants Stay
of Execution.

San Francisco, Nov. 15.-William
Henry Theodore Durrant will not be
hanged at San Quentin tomorrow morn
ing, after all, the supreme court of this
state having granted him another
respite at the eleventh hour.
Up to 4 O'Clock this afternoon, when
the news was flashed over the wires
from Sacramento that the court now in
session there had granted writ of
probable cause, and had instructed
Warden Hale not to carry out the exc
cution of Durrant until further orders,
there was apparently no further hope
for the condemned murderer of Blanche
Lamont, as his attorneys, Messrs. Dick
inson and Boardman, had made futile
effort to secure another writ of habeas
corpus in the United States circuit
court, and had not even been granted
permission to appeal from that decision
to the supreme court of the United
States.
Meanwhile, however, Attorney Deu-
prey FASTENED to Sacramento and ap-
piled to the state supreme court for a
writ of probable cause for the purpose
of staying the proceedings against his
client, upon the grounds that no official
knowledge of the action of the supreme
court of the United States in the mat
ter of Durrant's appeal from the decis-
ion OF the federal court had yet been
received; that the superior court had
acted too hastily in sentencing Durrant
to be hanged tomorrow, as the law re-
quired that he be given at least 60 days
of grace, and, consequently, that the
pendency of another appeal in the
supreme court affecting the condemned
man is of itself sufficient cause of stay
of execution.
The matter was partially argued in
chambers, and later argued before the
full court and taken under advisement.
Shortly afterward the court announced
it's decision, granting the writ applied
for, in which all the justices concurred.
Shortly before midnight. Attorney
Eugene Deuprey, of counsel for Durrant,
arrived from Sacramento, having crossed
the bay in steam launch. The pur-
pose of this trip was to make personal
service on Warden Hale of certified
copy of the order of probable cause
iSsuSu Uy luO 81 piCIAC COuA db CetCi d
mento. The precaution was taken that
there might be no pretext for executing
Durrant tomorrow. The warden was
asleep, and was deaf to all efforts to
arouse him. Captain Edgar accepted
the service and agreed to deliver the
documents to his superior in the morn
ing. Warden Hale had stated in the
evening that he was in doubt as to
what course to pursue. He said that,
in any event, he would delay the exc
cution until the latest legal limit of
time-noon tomorrow-but that he had
been advised that he should proceed to
hang the prisoner, as he had received
no personal service of the stay of execu-
tion. However, he finally decided to
act on the following dispatch, received
from Prison Director Devlin, of Sacra-
mento:
Supreme court made an order and
has stayed all proceedings until further
orders of the court. Accordingly you
will postpone the execution.
After reading this, Warden Hale said
he would retire, and there would be no
hanging in the morning. No further
developments are expected tonight.