The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1900-10-31
James F. Hodgdon's
Sentence COMMITTED.
Story Of Strange Compact of
jurors COnEiCting Him.
ESPECIAL TO THE PREss.l

l6CG OF nearing at Une november meet
Ing. The council had an adjourned
meeting this afternoon and among 9TH
er matters presented were two petitions
asking pardon for the men convicted
u years ago for the murder Of Treasurer
Barron Of Dexter Savings bank. One
of these petitions is that Of the con-
victs themselves presented by their coun-
sci. Lewis A. Barker, Esq, of Bangor.
The other is signed by William H..
Drury, Boston lawyer. Mr.. Drury's
petition is a long document, setting
forth that he believes Stain and Crom-
well were unjustly convicted Accom-
panying Mr.. Drury's petition is the fol-
towing letter:
209 Washington street,
Boston, October II, 1900.
Hon. LleWellyn Powers, Governor of
Maine, Augusta, Me
herewith 1nclOse a petition for my
self in behalfOf others for the pardon Of
David l. Stain and Oliver Cromwell,
now confined in your state prison under
sentence for an alleged murder. For
almost IL years L have known they were
innocent. Why have 1 not spoken before?
and before the sentence l did everything
l hOnorably could to aid the defence
and to aid the court and to prevent the
many deplOrabIe mistakes there Tere
made in this unfortunate case Of which
the prisoners are the innocent victims.
1 was exceedingly careful to disburden
myself of responsibility ere it was too
late.
desire to be heard upon my petition
of
petition for the same object which l
understand is to bs filed by the prison
ers counsel, Lewis A. Barker, Esq Z,
Of Bangor. L have aided him in procur-
ing evidence of innocence and have pre-
pared my own affidavit in the matter,
and should like to avoid the necessity
OF preparing a separate set OF affidavit5
sincs the evidence in support OF either
petition will support the other.
Very respectfully
VIM. n Drury.
The ground on which Mr.. Drury bases
his petition is indicated in this section
OF that document.
That on February %, 1888. your pc
titioner, while acting in an official re-
latiOn to said court as commissioner to
take certain testimony relating to the
case tried as Aforesaid, received infOrma-
ton voluntarily impaired as aforesaid tO
him by witness whose deposition he
had taken In said case which infOrma-
tlon made it appear probable that said
prisoners were 1nnOcent.of said crime,
In brief, the evidence which the Pc
t1tioners in behalf Of Stain and Crom-
we'll Will produce, is that they were in
Medtord, Mass, on the day Of the Dex-
ter robbery, and so could not have COM
mitted the murder. Only part of this
evidence was admitted at the trial and
the petitioners claim that what was
admitted, standing alone without the
rest OF. the evidence. hurt rather than help
the cause Of the prisoners.
After assigning the Stain Cromwell
case, the council heard the petition for
the Communication OF the sentence OF
James F. Hodgdon OF Bath, now serving
a life sentence at Thomaston, for murder
in the second degree. AS brought
out by Frank L. Sta pies, Esq, Of Bath,
counsel for the petitioners, TIE story of
Hodgdon's crime and trial is a remark.
able one Hodgdon was a seafaring mar
and bore a good reputation, but when OF
shore he sometime drank to excess. Dur
Ing one of his spfees, in the spring o
1885, he shot his mother, going into TIT
bed room where she was lying Ill and at
ter asking how she felt, drawing a pisto
and fired, with the remark that he had
something that would make her feel bet
ter. HodgdOn had always been a duti
full and loving son and there was n,
cause Tor the shooting. He claimed
that he was not responsible at the tim
and had no recollection OF the shooting
The jury which heard the case believed
that a life sentence was too severe unde
the circumstances, but as they under
stood their duty they were obliged t
render a verdict of murder in the sec
ond degree, unless they believed Hodgdol
insane. The jurors were out all nigh
and only reached an agreement ate
they had promised one another that /
the prisoner had a good record at tn
prison they would unite in an effort t
procure his pardon at such time as the
thought he had bsen sufficiently pun
1shed That time has now come and MIR
Staples presented a letter signed by An
drew Curtis of Portland. the foreman 0
the jury, and seven other members, tell
ing Of this agreement among the juror
and asking that Hodgdon be set at libe1
ty. Other members OF the jury wrot
from San Francisco and Lincoln. Neb.
to the same effect and Hon. F. 5. Adam
OF BoWdoinham, who served on the jury
told of their all night session an
unique compact to move for a pardon
when HodgdOn had been sufficiently
punished. Then a letter was Rad iron
William E. Hogan Esq saying that the
late Judge Virgin, who presided at tn
trial, had told the writer that he though
ten years would have bsen an ampl