Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1901-07-12

At a meeting of the West Virginia
Pardon Board, at Moundsville, yester-
day, w. w. Brannon was elected presi-
dent of the Board for the next two
years, and the Board not being ready
at this time to elect a clerk, that mat.
ter was postponed for the present. The
day was spent in further examination
of the Lud Madison murder case and its
final determination so far as that body
IS concerned. Unless the Governor dir
fers in opinion on the case, Madison
will be hanged about September Sd.
A great deal of time has been spent
IN the examination of applications for
pardon in cases of Jail sentences and
remission of fines. This is the first
meeting of the Board since it had jur-
tsdiction in remission OF fines, and in
most of such cases 1t cannot now act
on account of absence of notice to the
: Prosecuting Attorneys. 1t holds such
notice to be indispensable in all cases.
There are about forty such cases pend
ing. When the present session began
there were only about three cases
ready e. hearing undetermined, but d
large number of new applications are
being presented.
The Board will still be in session to
Say, and will probably not meet again
for about a fortnight, during which time
the members will examine new cases.
Following is the finding of the Board
in the
Lud Madison Case.
At the October term of the Criminal
Court of Fayette county, Madison WITS
indicted for the murder Of Peter Sau-
der, and was at that session put upon
trial, which resulted in a verdict OF
guilty as charged and he was sentenced
to be executed at Moundsyille. ACCORD
ing to law, on the 10Th day or Decent
Der. 1899. He applied to the Circuit
Court of that county for a writ of er-
ror, but it was refused. On his appli-
cation the Board of Pardons, on the
18th day of December, 1899, advised the
Governor to grant him a respite Of
thirty days to enable him to perfect and
present his petition TO the Supreme
Court of Appeals for a writ of error, and
he respite was accordingly granted
He obtained a writ of error to the
Judgment of the Criminal Court, but on
consideration OF the case upon its
merits, the judgment of the Criminal
Court was affirmed. Madison being
confined in the pentitentiafy awaiting
the action OF the Court of Appeals on
his writ of error, was by order of said
Criminal Court taken to Fayette county
after the affirmanee of the judgment,
and on May 4. 1901, he was taken be-
fore the said Criminal Court, and being
identified as the same person who had
been sentenced to death, the court APP
pointed July ), 1901. as the date upon
which he should be hanged.
When Madison was led to the bar On
May 4th, as 1t appears from his petit
ton. his counsel moved the court 10
arrest the judgment, assigning as rea-
sons therefor that the court was with
out jurisdiction because the court of APP |
peals had simply affirmed the judg-
ment of the trial court, and did not
remand the case, with direction to enter
judgment. but the court overruled the
motion and fixed the date of execution
as above indicated. Madison'S counsel
then moved tine court to set aside the
judgment upon the ground specified in
the motion in arrest of judgment, and
the following additional grounds:
First-That the indictment and YER
dict against Madison were not produced
or present in open court during the pro-
ceeding had in the matter of resen-
tec.
L.5econd-That he was not called upon
TO know whether he had anything to
-o- - 49, 4A.,- -. @.J1 -
the sentence of death against him.
But the court o%verruled the motion,
and Madison, by his counsel. excepted,
and procured bills of exception to be
signed and made part of the record.
All these matters touching the motion
bent on mischief. He humbly prays