The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-05-24
Special Dispatch to the Standard.

Helena, May 23--"Tn not serve half
the time" exclaimed Thomas ]. Riley
in the district court to-day when Judge
Smith sentenced him to the peniten-
tiary for life for killing Patrick A. Lar
gey in Butte. Jan. II. He delivered him.
self Of this threat. IL It can be called
such. in q defiant tone. glaring 1t the
court and everybody else in the court
room. Then he took his two crutches
and hobbled from the room.
where one week ago to-day he was
placed on trial for murder in the first
degree. 1t was the last statement Of
Thomas Riley in court. probably the
last he will ever make in this world
In which the public will be interested.
With the doors of the state peniten-
tiary staring him in the face, after a
remarkable escape from the hang
mans moose. he uttered this defiance
as coolly almost as he did his famous
interview in h Butte Jail directly aft
er firing N fatal shot. when he had
no word of regret for his awful act.
Whether his words predicted self-de-
struction or the possibility of release,
or whether ii was simply an angered
mans idle boast, time lon will tell.
1t furnished a sensational ending to a
memorable trial.
1t was 40 minutes past 10 O'Clock this
morning when Judge Smith entered
Department 1 OF the district court, as
cended the bench and ordered u
opened. Every seat inside the railing
was occupied, while there was a large
gathering of spectators in the seats re-
served for the public, both upon the
hoor of the court room and in the gal
lery. After the minutes had been read
and a minor matter disposed of. the
court turned toward Thomas Riley,
who sat between two officers on the
long bench reserved for criminals at
the left of the court room. and said:
Thomas Riley. stand up"
By the aid of his crutches the con-
victed man raised himself n faced
the court, who continued: AN infor-
nation has been filed In this case.
charging you with the crime Of muir
der in the first degree. To that infor-
nation you interposed the plea of not
guilty. You were tried by a Jury and
a verdict of murder i'm the second de-
gree was returned by that jury. / am
now about to interpose sentence upon
you. Have you any legal cause to show
why sentence of the court should not
be pronounced upon your
The color left Riley's face for the
'hS hS ail ltIc u De
tried. His crutches appeared to sway
with him and there was a slight trem-
or in his voice as he replied: There is
nothing that / can say that will re-
lease the sentence, but / will say that
i am in a very bad state of affairs
when the state cannot try a mai with
in the limits of where he has commit
ted his crime. There is something
wrong with that stage of society. That
is all 1 have got to say"
Then he sat down.
Judge Smith promptly ordered him to
stand up again. Then in a clear voice.
distinctly heard all over the court room,
the court in passing sentence said:
Il think L I'M safe in saying that
never in the annals of criminal juris-
prudence was a trial conducted by the
law officers of the state on fairer lines
than was yours. The conduct of the
states attorneys was, in my Judgment,
a model Of fair, honorable, yet vigor-
Gus. prosecution. No undue advan-
tage was sought; you were given
every opportunity to make your de-
tense; and at the same time the states
case was presented fully and clearly.
And you were defended ably and well.
Never in my professional life have /
listened to a finer. stronger or more ell
oquent address than that made by
Judge Clements in your behalf. Your
counsel made the most of your defense.
You hav been convicted of murder in
the second degree, and l am informed
that a great many people are at a loss
to account for the verdict. Your con-
viction of any crime dispels the idea
of your insanity.
In many jurisdictions capital pun
ishment has been abolished, and in
those jurisdictions the punishment
which we impose for murder in the Sec
md depree ia inflicted for p,,rr1ar Il,
the first degree.
1T may always be a mooted ques- |
tion whether capital punishment is
wise from a social standpoint. Statis-
tics show that its moral effect is no
greater than hat of Imprisonment.
Testimony was introduced in your
Ease bearing upon your physical suf-
fering produced by the injury to your
leg. Presumably this testimony was to
be followed by other evidence showing
that your physical suffering had af-
fected your mental faculties. h con- |
nection was never shown, put the jury
had the evidence Of you bodily con
dition before them. 1t excited their
pity. The story would arouse any
mans sympathy. The effect upon your
jury was that 1t caused them to re-
turn a verdict of murder In the second
degree, when, under the testimony,
discarding the defense of insanity, you
were guilty of a deliberate. wilfui and
premeditated murder with malice afore- |
thought. Physical suffering is no ex-
use for homicide, unless it Is present !
at the time of the act to such a de-
gree as to affect the mind. thereby
either celebrating the sense Of right
and wrong, creating an impulse too
strong to be overcome. or forming
a delusion that the act committed is
either right or of a different nature