The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1900-11-12
PRISON DOOR Will
OPEN FOR BEZEk
Board of Pardons Has Recommended
That He Be Released from the
Eastern Penitentiary.

The state board of pardOns has rec
commended to Governor Stone that
Frank Beck. who five years ago was
convicted of numbering his sweetheart,
Maria Kersac, of Olyphant, be granted
a full pardon. and as the boards rec
ommendation is usually final, it is ex-
pected that he will be released from
the Eastern penitentiary within a few
days.
The credit for securing BcZeks re-
lease rests largely upon Edmund Bartl,
who took an interest in the mans
case from the time Of his arrest. and
Bezell's attorneys. George Horn and A..
j. Colborn, jr., who, since his convic-
tion have been untring in their efforts
to bring about this result. Beck
came of an aristocratic Austrian FAM
this country fell madly in love with a
servant in the employ of his family,
named Maria Kersac.
His parents would not listen to a
marriage and so he determined to come
to this country and agreed with Maria
that he would send for her when he
had made sufficient money to enable
them to start out in life together He
came to the United States and went
to board with sister of his sweet
hearts, Mrs. Kramer, living in Oily
phant. Miss kersac was sent for in
time and upon her arrival date was
set for the wedding.
Mrs. Kramer. however. did not favor
the marriage and so influenced her sis
ter against Beck that three days be-
fore the wedding Miss Kersac declared
the engagement broken. Beck, when
he heard this, became almost frantic
with grief. He purchased a revolver
and( returning to the house. he showed
it to his sweetheart and declared that
if she did not marry him he would
kill himself.
Exactly what happened then is not
known. At any rate Miss Kersac was
shot to death and Beck was arrested;
tried for murder; convicted and SEN
fenced to death. He contended that he
was just on the point Of shooting HIM
self when the woman grabbed the re-
vOlver and that she was snot acci-
dentally.
Dr. Parke, the Jail physician, testi-
fed at the trial that there were cer-
tain wounds and powder marks on the
prisoners chin when arrested and that
he believed there was fragment of
the bullet in his chin, it being con-
tended that it struck him first and
then the woman. Several witnesses
swore that the wounds We're caused
by Beck coming in contact with a
barbed wire fence.
Mrs. Kramer gave evidence to show
that the crime was premeditated. but
it was afterwards shown that her tes-
timony was biased and on this ground
Bezeks sentence was commuted from
death to life imprisonment. During
the past few years he has spent in
the penitentiary he attracted the at
tention of the resident physician, DIR.
John d. Bacon.
He told his story to the doctor and
so impressed him that the latter per-
formed an operation upon his jaw and
removed therefrom several pieces of
lead which confirmed Bezek's story
that he had attempted to commit sui
eide and that the shooting Of the wo-
man was accidental.
The doctor identified these particles
of lead before the board of pardons
and minute though they We're, they
were the indirect cause of Bezek's re-
lease.
The Successful Candidates