Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1900-03-28
HURST IS REFUSED A
BEPRlEVE BY Governor

STRUNG and administering the law, and
the executive department with seeing
that the law is enforced arl discharging
such ministerial or quasi judicial func-
tions as may be invested in the eXecu-
tive. The legislative power of the state
has prescribed the punishment to be in
flicted for the crime of murder i'm the
first degree.
"If this penalty is not right and the
people are dissatisfied with it they should
appeal to the legislature to change it.
LAS a part of the judicial system of our
country the constitution and the law de-
clares that jury of twelve men, peers of
the offenders, shall try any and all Of
fenses amounting to felony where the
plea is not guilty."
'"These men and this jury are prescrib-
ed by the law as the persons and tribun-
ais that shall determine these facts as
well as the credibility of the witnesses. l
am now asked without bringing forward
any new facts or any new evidence which
was not susceptible of Introduction on
the trial to reverse the findings of these
sixteen men and pardon the petitioner.
While the law vests in the executive the
power to pardon and extend executive
clemency believe such power should be
exercised only in legal way and not ar
bitrarily.
If allowed sympathy or my own per-
sonal feelings to control my actions in
the exercise of the pardoning power there
would be no necessity for courts or juries.
nor If / am called upon to try again a
case upon the same facts on which the
jury have acted would I be warranted in
exercising arbitrarily the pardoning pow
er. Such exercise of the power would be
legal and judicial anarchy.
THE whole case made by the petitioner
and his counsel is an attack upon the
witness, Gilmore. l have read his evil
dence through the three different trials
at which he was called to testify, and
while there may be some slight CONTRA
dictions, upon the whole the story stands
unshaken from the first to the last. He
gave such minute and perfect descrip-
tion of the man he saw following Cava-
naugh only few minutes before his
death that 1T was impossible to escape
the conclusion as to whom 1t was. 1t is
true he says that for some time he tried
to evade giving any Information which
would lead to an accusation against
Hurst, but he explains his evasion on the
| Anal trial by saying that Hurst was his
friend and that he did not want to
ldivulge, the facts he knew SO as to inn
plicate Hurst, but the evidences submit
ted to me clearly demonstrated that on
the day after the murder OF Cavanaugh,
Gilmore. speaking privately to two OF his
friends, told them that the man he saw
following Cavanaugh through the alley
was Joseph y. HURST
The governor prints in his letter let
ter that Connolly received from Myers
and evidently sent the governor by mis-
take as it is damaging. 1t is to the ef-
feet that Hurst was not placed upon the
stand nor evidence introduced as to his
character because there were witnesses
ready to swear that his character was
not good.
This is different from the claims made
to the governor that Hurst did not tes-
tify because his attorneys did not believe
1t possible for a conviction to be had.
In conclusion the governor says:
1T would be useless for me to continue
at greater length citing the evidence
which tended to establish the identity
OF Hurst and that is the sole question to
be established. If he is in fact the mur-
derer as twelve men have said beyond
a reasonable doubt and their verdict has
been approved by the trial judge who
heard all the evidence and the supreme
court then this is not case that appeals
for sympathy or executive clemency ex-
| cept in so far as it may affect those who
| are left behind to mourn the untimely
end.
After the most patient and careful
consideration of all the facts that have
been submitted to me / cannot believe
| that l would be justified in interfering
with the judgment of the courts in this
cause but that the law must take it's
course"