The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1897-04-21
WHY PARDON DRAKE?
His Application Is Meeting
With Strong Opposition.
Is Serving Life Sentence For
Murder.
Evidence of Bad Antecedents Pro
duced The Family an All
Around Bad Lot

The application Of John Drake of
Abilene for a pardon from the state
penitentiary, where he is serving life
sentence for the murder of Abe Norva1,
is meeting with serious opposition.
brakes crime was the murder of a
man named NorvaI in the spring of
1879. Norval lived with his wife and
the latter's sister in Buckeye township,
on what is now the Kessinger farm, in
Dickinson county. Drake, who lived
with the Norvals, and the sister-in-
law were on terms of criminal intimacy
and Norval accused him also of be-
ing too intimate with his wife. Mrs.
Norval, it appears, was attached to
Drake and wished to get rid of Norval
but Drake affirms to this date that no
wrong existed between them, despite
NOrvaPS jealousy. One day Drake and
NOrval came to town together and got
drunk Rather than go home in this
condition they drove south to the bridge
to stay until sober. Arriving there a
quarrel ensued over the alleged rela-
lions between Drake and Mrs. NOrva1
and Drake says NorvaI assaulted him.
In self-defense he killed him with a
wagon wrench. Another claim was
that NOrVa1 was killed with the wrench
While in a drunken StupOr and entirely
helpless. NorvaPs wounds were in the
head, his skull being crushed with the
heavy wrench. After the assault his
body was thrown into the river, where
it was found several days later by Ed
Little and crowd of boys who were
swimming in the Smoky Hill one
afternoon. Drake was arrested,
tried and convicted, he admitting the
crime but claiming Self-de1enSe. Mrs.
NOrval, accused of completely in the
crime, disappeared before the trial and
has never been located since.
Among the protests filed is one con-
tanning a newspaper clipping published
at the old home of the brakes in Hi
nOis. From that paper is gained the
following information that the family
has always possessed a reputation for
laWlessness.
The men, or the boys, Steve and John,
engaged in wholesale horse stealing in
the neighbOrhOOd, dispOsing of their
plumber in Chicago and elsewhere.
When John and part of the family
finally moved to Kansas they brought
with them several teams stolen from
that locality
But horse stealing was not the great
| est of the crimes committed by the two
! brothers. Each finally took human life
Steve killed a man named Mccormick
at the railway station at DanfOrth. The
victim was the first husband of Mrs.
Anna DanfOrth, whose death occurred
in January, 1896. A dispute arose be-
tween the two regarding the ownership
of a. bag of meal found on the road,
! when Drake struck Mccormick on the
head with a stone. Mccormick fell
to the track and his head struck a rail-
! and it could not be determined whether
! his death resulted directly from the
! blow or the fall. Drake was sentenced
to the penitentiary for thirteen years,
! but after serving eight years was par
/ dOned out by Governor BeVeridge.
For the murder of NOrval, Ohn Drake
was sentenced to a life term in the pen
/ itentiary. Attention is again brought
to the case by the circulation OF a pc
tition at Abilene, where the trial took
place, praying the governor to com
mute brakes sentence to twenty years
Deducting the time allowed for good
behavior such a communication would
be nearly equivalent to releasing Drake
at once, as he has served over seven
! teen years and his record as a prisoner
is said to be excellent.