The herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1893-1900, 1898-08-28
HABEAS CORPUS ASKED
TO RELEASE MRS. BoTKIN FROM
PRISON
The Battle May Be Brief or Long But
It Will Certainly Be Very
Bitter One

SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. N.-Mrs- Corde-
liza Botkin has taken the offensive and pre-
cipltated the legal fight that will'res I'LL
timat ely in her acquittal or conviction on
the charge of having murdered Mrs. ]. P.
Dunning and her sister. Mrs. Deane, by
poison. 1t may be brief battle or long
one, but 1t will be bitterly contested by both
parties. .-. ga 3D. ~ rF.L
At noon today Attorney Frank MCGOWAN
applied to Superior Judge Cook for writ
of habeas corpus to procure the release
from prison of Mrs. Botkln. The application
alleges that Mrs. .Botkin. is unlawfuly de-
tained In prison and deprived of her liberty
by the chief of police; that no public of
Tense has been charged against her In this
state. and that she is not fugitive from
justice. The hearing of the application has
been set for Monday morning. At that time
the chief of police will have to justify his
| action OF arrestlng Mrs. Botkin.
II the writ of habeas corpus Is denied,
the attorneys will take their next stand
before Governor Budd to prevent him from
signing the mandate of extradition.
Candy Identified
STOCKTON, CAL, Aug. 27.-A dispatch
| from Dover, which appeared In the San
Francisco papers this morning giving a
description Of the contents Of the fatal box
of candy which caused the death Of Mrs.
Dunning and her sister. was shown by an
Associated Press reporter this afternoon to
| Frank Gattrell. the salesman at the Wave.
On being shown the dispatch, Gattrell
said: Il recognize the olive-shaped choco-
late creams, the oblong bon-bons and the
tongs. AS to the flat waters, I am not;s
sure, unless it has reference to some fiat
chocolate drops covered with sugar pei
lets. Perhaps the fiat waters referred to
were put in by the woman herself. AS the
dispatch states the tongs were ornament
ed. They were about three inches long,
and silver-plated or washed with silver
A Tangled Case
SAN FRANCIsCO,s Aug. 27.-The appii-
cation for writ of habeas corpus has
opened the legal battle to prevent the ex-
tradition of Cordela Botkin.. If the de-
| Tense fail utterly in Its purpose. she must
face Delaware jury and answer to the
charge of numbering Mrs. j. P. Dunnlng
| and Mrs. ]. d. Deane. Victory will mean
that she may walk forth from the San
Francisco prison a free woman.
There may be, still another ending to the
batte-a half victory for the defense. Her
lawyers may convince the court that the
California judiciary has Jurisdiction In the
| case, and thus may save the relatives Of
Mrs. Botkin the expense of carrying the
| fight to Delaware.
| Only the discharge of the prisoner will
end the struggle, for if the rrequistion Of
the governor of Delaware be honored, the
| defendants attorneys will, If necessary,
take the case to the highest tribunal of Del
| aware. and possibly to the supreme court
| of the United States. However the battle
goes, rulings will be made during it's prog
ress that will decide long disputed points Of
law and establish precedents for the guild
ance Of judges In similar cases which may
| arise In the future. -~.-- .-.,, q
The main contention In the writ issued
today on the application of Senator Frank
| MCGOWAN, one Of the attorneys for Mrs.
Botkin, Is that the prisoner, never having
been in Delaware, cannot be restrained Of
her liberty. ON, an allegationathat she Is a
fugitive from Justice from that state. AL
though the writ is returnable Monday morn
ing, no action will be taken at that time,
both, sides having agreed to await the arri-
val Of the requisition papers. -f
After the matter is disposed of in the
local courts, the defense, If defeated, will
seek to prevent Governor Budd from af-
fixing his signature to the documents Of ex-
tradition. r.- r-s .t
While Mrs. Botkin's attorneys are pre-
pairing for the many. contingencies that
may arise, the prosecution, represented by
the acting district attorney and his assist
ants, Is busying itself with authorities
touching extradition cases, and will hotlv
contest every inch of ground that may be
gone over during the proceedings in the
California courts. r-I.-. M