The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1898-06-18
WILL CONTEST A PARDON
THE WIFE OF THE MURDERED
MAN LOOKING UP EVIDENCE.
Williams, Convicted of the Murder of
Hutchins, at Mammoth, Fifteen
Years Ago, Now Doing a Life Term

Eureka, June 17.-Mrs. Sara Hutch
ms was in the camp yesterday seeing
witnesses and parties who remember
the particulars of the murder of ]. E
Hutchings by Thomas Williams in Feb
ruary, 1883, and for which crime Viii
liams is now serving a life inprison-
ment in the state penitentiary. Will
liams is now trying to secure a pardoI
and preliminary hearing will be held
Saturday.
Attorney S. P. Armstrong will rep
resent Williams and Judge o. w. Pow
erS will act in behalf of those opposed
to granting the pardon.
The particulars as CLEANED from the
evidence in the case at that time are
as follows:
Prior to the time when the murder
occurred Williams was shift boss at the
Mammoth mine and Hutchins had been
employed in the mine. but had been dis
! charged, and Williams declared that he
had heard Hutchins make threats
against his life, and procuring two re-
Volvers. started after Hutchings. After
searching for some time Williams met
his victim on the Silver City trail and
! he Immediately ordered him to get
down on his knees. Hutchings pleaded
| for his life on account of his wife and
children, but Williams shot him in cold
/ blood and left him lying in the path.
| Several parties heard the shooting and
went to Hutchings' assistance, bringing
him back to his cabin, where he died
the following day. Williams was ar
rested and taken to Provo Jail to await
his trial, which was continued from
time to time until September, 1884,
When the trial was held in the dis
trict court at Provo he was found guilty
of murder in the first degree, with a
recommends ZION of mercy, in conse-
quence of which he was sentenced to
life Imprisonment.
There are many old residents in Tin
tic who remember the men and circum
stances and all seem to speak in high
est terms of HutchingS as a peaCeabie
and law-abiding citizen, and are unani-
nous in the opinion that his murder
was one of the most cold blooded out
RACES ever perpetrated in Utah. Since
his incarceration in the Utah peniten-
tary, a number of efforts have been
made to secure his pardon. and it has
even been alleged that money has been
offered to secure important signatures
TO the petitions. AT one time ii was
thought that perhaps Williams had re-
pented of his crime and had suffered
sufficiently. He was called upon in his
cell by parties who took an interest
in the case, but it was found that he
was Stlll Sulieil ana VlnO1cIlVe, even go
ing so far as to say that he would do
the same thing again under the same
circumstances. Relatives of the muir
dered man, as well as those who were
instrumental in conVicting Williams,
are thoroughly convinced that he is a
dangerous man TO be turned upon the
public and that he would not hesitate
to take the lives of others in as cold
blooded a manner as he did before It
has been stated that during Williams
imprisonment he has made numerous
efforts to escape, attempts to set fire
to the prison and in other ways shown
that he never has been subdued.
The murder created great excitement
in Mammoth at the time, and lynch
ing party was formed for the purpose of
having a necktie party, but wore fus-
trated by Bob Martyr (now of Silver
City,, to whom Williams surrendered,
who met the crowd with a, shot gun and
pursuaded them to deSist and let the
law take its course.
The affair occurred at a time when
considerable ore was being taken from
the Mammoth mine, and it is said that
Hutchings had been sent to work in the
mine with the object to succeed Will
liams as foreman.
Mrs. Hutchings left this morning for
the valley town to secure additional in
formation. Our citizens will eagerly
watch the columns of The Herald to
see the final outcome of the matter.