El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1899-03-20
DEATH OF ida PLACE
Avenged By "Life For Life y
The Prison Was Thronged
With People In Expect
ancy Of the Occasion.

SING SING. N. Y. March ZO.--Mrs
Martha Place of Brooklyn. convicted
of killing her step-daughter Ida, Feo'
Z. 1898, and whose execution has been
several times postponed il order that q
medical examip alton as to her sanity
might be made, is rapidly approaching
the end of her career in this world.
Within a few days at most, aud prooa'
bly within the next twenty-four hours,
she will have to forfeit her life in the
death chair and all arrangements for
the electrocution have been completed
by Warden Sage.
Since she was first locked up mere
last July her case has attracted the
most widespread attention owing, not
SO much to the enormity OF her crime
as. to the fact that she was the first
woman sentenced to die in the electric
chair. Despite the strenuous efforts
made by her attorneys the Court OF
Appeals refused to grant a new trial
and Governor Roosevelt likewise de-
cliped to interfere with the courts
decree by exercising his power OF par
don.
Warden Sage announced at $50 this
morniug'thatMrs. Place had passed the
night about the same as other nights
since she learned she was to be eXecut-
ed. She spent the fore part OF them in
religious devotion. A number OF times
after reading chapters of the olole
Mrs Place knelt with her attendant in
prayer.
She apparently fell asleep quickly
after lying down at 2:3O a. m, and her
slum ber was without intermission. Up
on arising and completing her toilet
she seemed reasonably composed and
ate some breakfast with apparent re-
lish.
The crime for which Mrs, Place
was executed was one OF extreme
brutality and atrocity. The woman
had been house keeper for her bus band
William M. Place, at Brooklyn be-
fore she married him. Prior to that
she was the wife of a man named Sava
coil by whom she had son. After
Savacoll died she MADE
her home with her brother
Peter d GarretS0n OF New BRUNSWICK,
NJ. More than five years ago and 1o
months after the death of Places fret
wife the mother of Ida Place the girl
who was murdered, Mrs. Savacoll
entered the Place home as house keep
er. Two months later she became
Places wife.
1t was not long until there was
trouble at home. Mrs. Place was not |
liked by other members of her hus- |
bands family who did not approve the
marriage. She was of g mOrose dispo
sition and possessed Cf an uugovern-
able temper which frequently >oroke
out in an alarming way. She was an
imm aculate housekeeper but possessed |
no other accomplishments. No person
al attractions. Place was devoted to |
his daughter and his wifc's jealousy of |
her caused the murder of her step |
daughter with pick axe and at the |
same time she tried to murder her |
husband with the same Instrument.
February g. 1898 she was tried, and |
convicted of murder in the first degree |
and sentenced to death. An appeal was
taken but it was not sustained, Gov
ernor Roosevelt was then appealed to.
He refused to commute the sentence
saying his sympathies were with the
in criminal cases and that he
was opposed to discrimination between
sexes in the punishment of crime.
Warden Sage speaks of Mrs Place as
! model prisoner during the long pc
,iod of her confinement in Sing Sing.
Her needle has been her greatest con-
ISOLATION: next 10 that her books and
1er bible. Since the decision of Gov
srnor Roosevelt was told her, however,
,he has been moody and despondent.
The arrangements made for the
do not differ materially
fLom those made in the cases of men
condemned to the chair The woman
will wear a plain black dress, one