The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1898-01-07
JUSTICE BOUND As wELLAs BLIND
FOLDED,

F! postpone IL for a mighty long time is IL
lustrated in an unprecedented fashion by
the case OF Durrant Of California, CON
yicted OF most atrocious murder and
doomed to make reparation with his life
TO-DAY.
Sentence TO be- hanged by the neck un-
Gil he is dead has eeen passed upon Thso-
dore Durrant tour times ana the posi-
bilities in legal machinery to stave of
sentence have been demonstrated as never
before lie was convicted on November
], 1926, OF the murder of Blanche La
mont, after trial lasting more than two
months. The supreme court affirmed the
judgment OF death April 3, 1897. and on
April IL he was for the second time SON
fenced TO death. An appeal was taken,
and on June petition for writ of
habeas corpus was filed In the United
States circuit court Circuit Judge Nor
row denied the writ and appeal was
taken TO the United States supreme
court, thereby staying the execution Of
sentence.
The supreme court affirmed the decis-
ion OF the circuit court on November Z,
1897, and the day following, acting upon
advice by telegraph. Durrant was. for the
third time, sentenced to hang. The day
before the date set for execution the
California supreme court Issued a writ
OF probable cause upon the ground that
the court should not have taken cogDi-
zance OF action in Washington by tele-
graph, and upon the further ground that
at least ten days should have been al
lowed TO elapse between the date of
On November % n writ OF mandnmus de-
nying the writ Of habeas corpus arrived
from Washington. and OH December O.
1897, the supreme court OF California de-
cided Durrant's appeal from the state
courts action on April 10, and the appeal
from the action OF November 10, the first
adversely to the defendant and the Sec
ond. the appeal from hasty sentence, In
his favor, but instructed the supreme court
to proceed with the execution OF the law.
Durrant was ordered to appear for sen
tence a fourth time am on December Is
was sentenced TO hang on ia nuary Z. On
December 27 bill OF exceptions and a
transcript Of the appeal to the state su-
prame court were filed and December
81 the supreme court refused to interfere
either by writ of error. writ of probable
cause or writ of supersedas.
On Wednesday the United States Circuit
| Court denied the final application for a
| writ OF habeas corpus, and refused to
grant Durrant's attorneys leave to ap-
| peal from this decision. Nothing was
lett but an appeal tn the governor. The
legal machinery was exhausted.
4 similar though not so exhaustive
an example of the possibilities of legal
tschnicality is offered In the case of
fornia During the far reaching "Debs
rebellion" railway company in
California attempted to run trains
without Debs' permission, and the
strikers attempted to prevent IL from
doing SO. Troops were ordered out to re
store the railway property to it's owners,
which they did, and as they were going
back to their quarters by train, worden
sawed the timbers of a bridge In order to
wreck the train. One or more OF the per-
sons on the train we're killed by tho re-
sultng accident. worden was convicted
in Yolo county in 1895. but secured a
stay Of execution through an appeal to
the Supreme Court The appeal was
denied and he was sentenced a second
time to hang on June 4, 1897 but, as In
the Durrant case. a petition for a writ
of habeas corpus was filed In the United
States Circuit Court the writ was levied
and the United States Supreme Court ap-
pealed to- The supreme Court affirmed
the Judgment Of the lower court so that
Worden's case takes the same status az
that Of Durrant except that the State
Court has not finally sentenced him to
death.
Instead OF devoting their funds to
strike, the New England cotton opera