The age-herald., 1901-03-12
LUC|US BAKER
 WILL NUT HANG Executive CIenency Exercised
 in the Famous Case NEW BOARDS FIRST ACT
Governor Sanford Complies With the Recommendation-Severa Bills Approved, Among Them the
 Money Lending Law

Age-Herald Bureau. Clancey's Hotel Montgomery, March 11.-(Special.) )--Gov- ernor Sanford today commuted the sen tence of Lucius Baker to life imprison- ment. This action was in accordance with a recommendation by the pardoning board.
 Baker is now confined in the Birming- ham jail. He was under sentence to hang next Friday for the murder of John Cot ney in Tallapoosa County some time dur ing the fall of last year.
 The Baker case has become quite fa- nous in Alabama, he having been sen fenced at the fall term of the Tallapoosa Circuit Court last year, and securing re- prieves from Governor Johnston, Acting Governor Jelks and Governor Stanford.
 First Act Of Pardoning Board.
 The case finally went to the advisory pardoning board for decision, and the following document from that board is made particularly interesting because of the fact that it is the first official docu- ment issued by this board. The full text is quoted;
 Montgomery, March 1, 1901-To His Ex- cellency, W. J. Sanford, Goevronr Of Alabama-Sir: In the matter of the ap- plication of Lucius Baker for commuta- ton of his death sentenced to imprison- ment in the State penitentiary for life convicted at the fall term, 1900, of the Circuit Court of Tallapoosa County for the murder of one John Cotney, and sen- fenced to death, which said application has been referred to us as advisory par doning board by your excellency, under a recent act of the Legislature, we re- spectfully ask to report as follows:
 "We have read and carefully consid- cred each paper and data referred to us and our conclusions, briefly, are as follows:
 | The applicant in this case Is young man, about 22 years of age. He is a de- scendant of a long line of ancestors and so far as we have been able to learn, afz ter tracing his history back to his grand father, not one member of his faynily has ever shown the sigbsasG tendency to crimnality. The .oung man himself, un- D 'ti4tt cops1iIssion of this crime, seem tc have borne an excellent character as a peaceable, law-abiding citizen and we find nothing in the record tending to show that he is in any manner morally de- prayed.
 9 The applicant seems to have been paying courtship to a neice of the de- ceased and the deceased had circulated the report that young Baker was mar ried man with family in Georgia, which report is shown to have been wholly un- true and calculated to arouse the resent ment of young Baker.
 3. The particulars of the difficulty show an aggravated and unjustiflable killing of the deceased in his own field: the ugliest feature of which is that young Baker had previously passed the field with a breech loading shot gun and failing to get load ed shells. returned to his home and arm ed himself with a muzzle loading shot gun and went to the field of deceased and brought on the difficulty in which the killing occurred. The killing was done, however, with number six shot and there was conflict as to the particular manner in which it happened, there being some evidence tending to show that the deceased threatened to cut defendant with wheat cradle just prior to the shooting.
 4. We are clearly of the opinion that defendant Is guilty of murder in the first degree, but in view of his youth, his previous good characaer, the absence of any criminal tendency on the part of his numerous ancestors, with which we have been made acquainted, and the unfounded report circulated to the detriment of young Baker, and the conflict in the evil dence as to the particulars of the diff culty, and the further fact of numerous citizens of the county of Chambers, where he was raised, and Tallapoosa County, where the crime was committed, including nearly all the county officials and the attorneys at the bar in Tala- poosa County, recommending this com mutation, we feel constrained to advise that In our opinion young Baker Is a fit subject for executive clemency, and recommend that his sentence be com muted to life imprisonment.
 JOHN V. SMITH.
 Pres. Alabama Railroad Commission.
 W. c. TUNSTALL, A. D. CAFFEE, Associate Railroad Commissioners and
 Ex-Onicio Advisory Pardoning Board
 of Alabama.
 In committing the sentence the Cover nor says that he acted upon the advice of the board.