Evening star., 1898-04-01
STRANGE CONFESSIONS.
Wen Who Have COnfesaed to Crimes
Which They Never Committed.

which They Never Committed.
From Wonderful Events"
That a man on the rack, with every
nerve quivering. with every nerve drawn
to It's utmost teEsicn, with the pain in
creasing in intensity and violence. should
confess himself the perpetrator of crime is
natural enough. The prospect of relief
from actual pain is temptation that
blinds the sufferer to the future. But it
may seem strange. and is indeed one OF
the most inexplicable things in human his
| tory, that men have been induced by re-
ligious exhortations and other means of
persuasion to sign their own death war
rants by confessing crimes actually never
committed. Such in England was the case
of John Perry. executed near Campden in
ltb1. with his mother and brother for mur-
dering William Harrison. steward for Lady
Campden. The testimony against them
was chiefly the confession of John Perry
himself but. to the establishment of ali,
Harrison, who had been kidnapped and
execution.
In 1872 man named Russell Colvin, liv-
ing at Manchester, VT. disappeared, and
81 rspicions of foul play were entertained.
Public opinion attributed his murder 20
stephen and Jesse Boorn. Still. as there
was no definite ground on which to arrest
tEem. the excitement gradually drew away
In 1919. however. a Mr.. Boorn dreamed
whom he fixed upon as his nephews. Ste.
phen and Jesse. The ghost of the murder
ed man even specified the place of the
murder and the old cellar hole where the
mangled body had been thrust Here n
knife and buttons were found which were
identified as belo1gine to Colvin. On this
tne men were arrested. Stephen and Col
win had quarreled just before the disap-
pearance of the latter. and Stephen had
been seen to strike him with a club and
knock him down.
In short time Jesse confessed that he
and Stephen, with their father after St.-
phen knocked him down. had carried him
to the old cellar and cut his throat with a
1ack-knife. He further stated that the
next year they made away with most Of
the bones of their victim. Stephen. after
time, admitted the truth of Jesse's con-
ression. On this they were convicted and
sentenced to be hanged on the 28th of jan
uary: 1920. They applied for Communication
or the sentence and, as some believed
their innocence advertisements were in
serted In Various papers for Colvin Not
lcng afterward a letter appeared in the
New York Evening Post. signed by a Mr..
Chadwick. and dated Shrewsbury, NJ,
December 6. 1919. stating that slightly
deranged man named Russell Colvin had
been there five years before. This was
generally gen looked upon as hoax. but Jas.
Whelpley of New York, who knew Colvin,
resolved to follow ur the clue and actual
ly found Colvin at the hose of William
Polhemus. at Dover NJ. where he had
been since April, 1913.
Mr.. Whelpley took him to New York the
common council gave him means to pro-
coed to Vermont, and he arrived at Man
chester on the 22d day of December.
The whole place was in a state of wild
excitement. People gathered in from all
the surrounding country to see the dead
alive. A cannon was brought out, and
Cclvin was saluted with a discharge of
cannon and small arms, Stephen Boorn
firing the first piece. There was much dis
cussion as to the motive for the confess
sion. some attributing 1t to the effect of
imprisonment, a general sort of panic, ter
ror, and others to the injudicious advice
and exhortations Of a clergyman.