Sunday morning globe., 1901-10-27

No'Hpahy anu 'he rest rom the disgusting
and laborious job ia the snath shop
Time rolled ON, the routine of prison
has such sameuess about Il that aftera few
months inurement the prisoner is unable
TO tell with certainty whether he has been
Injured years, weeks, days or months. and
/ he loses all idea Of time, has no continuity
/ OF thought and moves around like piece
/ of mechanism with an occasional outbreak
/ Of temper when he realizes, as he does oc.
casionally, his hopeless and degraded con.
dition This condition is principally due to
the fact that men give way TO their misfor-
tune and PRINT themselves to 20 with the
current instead Of standing up and breasting
the stream OF evil fortune and other ills
which overtake them in prison.
But the day of days for me was almost at
hand when the syllabus Of the Supreme
Court would either restore me to assured
liberty by reversal Of the trial Judges find.
ings or confirm that farcical affair and con.
sign me to this living hell for life. Ire.
member the day, the hour and the man who
first informed me that the Supreme Court
by vote Of three to two had confirmed the
lower court and sustained Judge Pugh's
rulings.
The CoiHMbHS Press made quite displav
INIT the filing Of a writ Of error The State
Journal was particularly rabid and desired
to be informed Upon what grounds the
Supreme Court acted"2 It then went on to
state. Did not Elliott commit the murder
Did not hundreds Of citizens see him COM
init the crime? His trial cost the taxpayers
over $4,000, and he had the ablest counsel
at the Columbus bar 10 defend him. Whv
a "a
derer's petition is a mystery to the Law
citizen, as every fact was seen proven and
substautiated by hundreds of reputable
citizens. ltwould be the grossest mscar-
riage of justice and bring our courts into
contempt if this cod-blooded murderer
taken red handed in the act should be again
permitted to occupy the time of the courts
with a case that is so clearly established By
testimony that even the murderer himselfis
astouuded at saving his neck"
Judge David T. Pugh kept writing such
editorials as the above sample during the
weeks In which the Supreme Court had my
case under advisement He did more eff.
fective work than this however My read
ers will recall the mention I made of lot
adjoining Judge Marshall williams resi-
dence, which Pugh refused to sell him.
Well this lot passed into the hands of
Judge Williams, and ] noticed in the trans
fers of real estate published in the papers
that he became the owner of il the very
week that the Supreme Court handed down
its decision denying me a new trial and
affirming Pugh's rulings was, therefore.
interested in ascertaining how the court de-
cided on my case when their decision was
handed down in the latter part Of Decem.
Der, and when the Press Posi- reporter who
had sought me out in the prison to acquant
me with the news and to watch and report
my actions and words, unbosomed himself
of his important information, the only
comment he could report as having been
made by Elliott" was How did the
court staud?"
Yet, If at the moment knife were driven
in my body do not believe a drop of blood
would follow its Withdrawal so indescrib-
ably shocked, dazed and disappointed did
feel over the blasting Of this my last hope.
had always, through every phase of my
public life and in every partisan campaign
in the press or out of it, expressed and felt
a sublime confidence in the unimpeachable
integrity Of the judges Of the Supreme
Court Indeed, / had the strongest and
most abiding faith In Our courts Of Justice.
and that in criminal trials especially. the
written statutes governing such were strictly
adhered to in letter and in spirit. And
though
mo rogue ere felt the halter draw
But hath a poor opinion of the law
Istiu believe thatwit the exceptions of such
notorious or celebrated cases as Dr. Ken
nedy, Carlyle Harris, NIolineux. and other
prominent lalleged) criminals, the average
1ntrr kr.aIr.r g.Hf f-. g.
criminal, has a comparatively fair trial in
our criminal courts, at least In the large
cities Of the country.
The judges decided three to two, and thus
by the majority vote Of one Judge. was
condemned to life imprisonment. Judges
Bradbury and Minshall the former the
chief justice, decided that Pugh made two
errors, viz: Refusing a change of venue and
impanelling a jury in violation Of the
statutes. They had only examined these
two points, they stated in their decision, and
had not even looked at the hundred odd
other errors my counsel claimed These
two were sufficient and they reversed Judge
David T. Pugh and declared that did not
have a legal trial and was therefore illegally
convicted, The majority of the court led
by Marshall Williams. simply affirmed by
their three votes the rulings of Judge Pugh
and issued no syllabus, Notwithstanding
that they had reversed the rulings of the
Supreme Court in the case Of Parsons We.
The State and that my trial was the most
important and the longest criminal trial in
the legal annals of Ohio.
The Parsons case was the law, or rather
the rulings of the Supreme Court in his
case, was the law Of Ohio Parsons was
granted a new trial, and the Supreme Court
held in his case that juror was disqualified
who stated on his J0f-aite that he believed
the accused guilty but would assume his
innocence The Supreme Court very prop.
erly held that such a duality of mind could
not exist or that ii was incompatible with
the qualifications of an impartial Juror.
Hence the trial judge was reversed in the /
Parsons case and the accused was granted
a new trial in which he was subsequently
acquitted Messrs. Bradbury and Minshall
held 10 this ruling In my case, but Williams
and his colleagues afir.-ed Pugh, and by /.
not issuing a syllabus, left the original .
ruling in the Parsons case still the law Of T.
Ohiol And 1t was precisely for this reason /
that Williams and his two colleagues de- /
clined to issue a syllabus. They did not .
want n rgrarga ia. Tn.gsf,t, g,c tt.,t. .....-