The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-11-25
WIFE MURDERER HANGED
Brooks Met Death With Song
on His Lips.
HIS BRAIN WAS SOUND
A Post Mortem Proved That He Was
Not Insane-It Took Twelve Min
utes for the Negro Assas-
sin to Die,
Special Dispatch to the Standard


Billings, Nov. 24.-Brooks the negro
wife-murderer. was hanged at 7O3 this
morning. He spent quiet night, all
though he slept little. Brooks kept
singing hymns from the time he was
awakened this morning until the drop
fell He refused to eat the breakfast
that had been prepared for him, and
would not speak to anyone. Rev Jas.
| Opie attempted to draw him into con-
| versaton, but failed A few minutes
| before I the condem ned man was led
out of his cell, and Sheriff Hubbard
| read the death sentence. Brooks wa4
singing all the time he was reading.
| When the prisoner was led out to the
gallows the people flocked into the jail
| yard, and buildings in the neighborhood
were thronged with the people The
| signal for the drop was given at 30;
| a. M, and the big 450-pound weight fell
| without a sound. Tine body arose about
Is inches. and tiaen rebounded until
the toes almost touched the ground: 12
minutes later the physicians pronounced
Brooks dead. The body was then low
cred into coffin, and conveyed to the
| morgue, where his brains We're remov-
ed and examined by the county physi-
| clan, assisted by other doctors of the
| city, to determine whether there were
| any traces of inSa nifty, but his mind
was pronounced perfectly sound
Brooks crime was the murder of
| his wife, Jennie Brooks. in She
city of Billings on Nov. IS. 1898.
| The crime was committed between
and 5 o'clock in the afternoon in the
| public street, and in the presence of
several witnesses. There was, there
fore, no dispute as to the killing, and
| the defense rested solely on the ques-
| tion raised as to the sanity of the ac-
| cused. On this point his attorney, G.
l.. Harris, has made his strenuous
| fight, which has prolonged the life OF
his client for over year after the
| commission of his crime. Brooks was
a negro and his wife, mulatto.
| The Quarrels of Brooks and his wife
| had furnished police court gossip for a
| considerable portion of the six years
| they lived in Billings and the blame
| was about equally divided. Both were
| Industrious when sober, and for sew
| eral years before the period of the last
| fatal quarrel Brooks had abstained
| from the drinking habit. He was en-
| ployed doing odd jobs and cried auc-.
| tion sales a job for which his stem
| t0rian voice eminently qualified him.
| Before coming here Brooks served in
| the 10th United States cavalry, rising
to the rank of sergeant. in the uniform
of which he is depicted in the photo
SFdpn from WHICH tIle ABOVE cut is
| made. He obtained his discharge at
Fort Custer, Mont. He was in receipt
of a pension.
The couple had quarreled and sepa-
rated for some days. On Nov. IS, 1898,
between 4 and 5 O'Clock in the after
noon, cry of murder was heard ia the
neighborhood where Mrs. Brooks lived.
Brooks was seen running across the
yard after his wife. He fired shot as
| he got to the gate of the house in which
| she lived, and followed the woman until
| they reached the middle of the street,
where she stopped, and they had q
Scutfle, in which she was down on her
knees part of the time, reaching out
| as if to Wrest the revolver from his
| hand While in this position he pushed
| her back and got away from her, and
| fired another shot at her, asking her:
| Are you shot?' She said something
| in a low tone, then ran away from
| him and fell dead. He then fired sew
| eral shots, apparently at his own head,
| but each time lodged his head away
| from the bullet. After doing this he
! went up to the body of his wife, lying
on the face, reached over and looked
at it, and then put the revolver to her
ear and deliberately fired, saying:
Nov, you are dead.
After the commission of this brutal
act he again attempted to shoot him
self, but again lodged the bullets. He
then called to an officer, who had come
up and told him to take him; that they
could hang him just as soon as they
liked, and that he was ready to die.
The trial was commenced in the dis
trict court at Billings before Judge
Loud on Feb. 8. The county attorey.
w. M. Johnston. prosecuted the case,
and Brooks was defended by c. l.. Har-
rs. Insanity was the principal defense
and the defendant acted his part, if it
We're acting, with some skill, apparently
taking no interest in the trial. The trial
lasted four days and was submitted te
the jury on Feb. Z at 10 a. m. They
returned 20 minutes later with a ver-
dict of murder in the first degree
Although Brooks had no money for
his defense, his attorney Immediately
set to work to secure a new trial, which
was. after lengthy arguments. refused
by Judge Loud. An appeal was then
taken to the supreme court, and last
July the supreme court refused to set
aside the Judgment An appeal to the
governor for executive clemency met
with firm refusal from his eXcellency.
Judge Loud thereupon fixed the 24th
of the present month for the execution.
The unfortunate man has had the bene-
fit of all the delays which the law al
lows.
Since the verdict Brooks has appeared
to take little or no interest in the result
of the various steps taken by his coun-
sci on his behalf. physicians appoint
ed by the court have examined him
and pronounced him of sound mind His
appetite continued fair, but he has lost
weight He refused to converse with
visitors and all the clergymen who
have visited him have come away with
cut making any impression although
he kept continually singing Moody and
Sankey hymns whenever he was al
lowed.
Washington Notes.