The Grenada sentinel. [volume] (Grenada, Miss.) 1868-1955, 1901-03-09
SAMUEL MOS[R GUILTY.
Verdict of the Jury in the Case OF
the Exter minator of Wife
and Family.
TWENTY-ONE YEARS IMPRISONMENT.
The Convicted Man Sat Through h
of the Verdict without n
TremOr or Sign of Fear, ahs
when 1t Was All over Expresses
Himself as Satisfied.

Pekin, ILL.,, March 5.-After III
ating for IL hours the jury IN Il
Moser murder trial arrived at a YER
dict at ) a. M, and at $40 the verdlct
was read as follows:
"'We, the jury, find the defendant.
Samuel Moser, guilty in manner II
form as charged in the indictment
and we fix the punishment of the said
Samuel Moser at 81 years in the pen
itentiary.'
Samuel Moser sat through the read
ing of the verdict without a sign or
tremor of fear. He had remarked
that he did not believe they would
hang him and he would be satisfied
with a pen%itentiary sentence. AS the
jury was polled, Moser's eyes were
fixed with anxiety upon each juror as
he answered to his name. When the
verdict was read he gave a sigh of re-
lief and a halfway sort of a smile
crept over his ~countenance.
Il am satisfied is all Moser would
say in reply to a question as to what
he thought of the verdict. \ few min
utes later he retired into an ante
room to consult with his attorney
and was later taken back to the Jail.
His steps was as elastic as formerly
and his face showed more signs of in
telligence and life than had been WISH
bic all during the trial. That he VAS
pleased was plainly evident.
The first ballot stood ten to two
FOR conviction. ten being, for the in
Fiction of the death penalty. Finding
the two would not agree to the death
penalty seven ballots were taken be-
fore an agreement was reached.
The Indictment failed to fix the age
of Moser and Attorney Green inter
posed a motion for a new trial. The
law in this connection is as follows:
"A person shall be considered OF
sound mind who is not either an lido,
nor lunatic.not affected with insanity
and who hath arrived at the age OF
IA years, or before that age if such
person know the distinction between
good and evil
Back of the crime that Moser com.
mited lies a story of peculiar religion.
fanaticism-the driving to quadruplt
murder of a man who desired to 10y.
his wife and children in violation Of
n of the prime tenets of the New
Amish sect to which he belonged anC
for which he was banished from theii
church. On the night of May 10, driv
EN- almost insane by his expulsicI
from church, Moser shot down in COLI
blood his wife and three sons. Aftcl
killing his wife and two sons Mosel
le9ned over the smiling baby in tn,
cradle, kissed ii, then fired. The bull
let did not strike a vital spot. Th,
groans of the child, however, wer'
soon stopped by two additional bul
lets. His terrible work finished, tn
father and husband gathered up hi
dead and laid them in a row in tn
humble parlor. lie then fed to Utah
but, overtaken by remorse, gave him
gel up TO an officer in Satl Lake an
was brought back to Pekin for tria
The defense set up the plea of l.
sanity, alleging the peculiar tenets O
the New Amish church for his Grim,
alleging that he was denied the RICH
TO love his family. Benedict Moser,
wealthy farmer near Morton, Ill, ii
not assist in the defense of his so
On the ground that his religion pr
vented him from so doing. The Amis
faith requires that ali love be given I
God alone.