The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1902-10-31
He WILL NOT HANG
PRESIDENT COMMITTEES DEATH SEN
TENCE OF SOLOMON HOTENA.
CASE AN EXCEPTIONAL ONE
AS ATTORNEY GENERAL KNOX
STATES IN HIS REPORT.

The Petitioner "A ChOctnw Indian.
Well Educated in His own
Tongue and the English Language,
Rich and Independe nt-His Habit
Was Getting Drunk and This Led
Him to Believe in Witchcraft--A
Lawyer, n Judge and "a Presbytc-
rian Minister.
Washington. Oct. 30.-The President
has committed to life Imprisonment the
death sentence pronounced upon Solo
mon Hotena, convicted in the eastern
district of Texas of murder committed
in the Indian Territory on Nov. 20,
1901.
The case is an exceptional one. In
his report to the President recommend
ing the Communication of the death SEN
tence Attorney General Knox says:
THE petitioner is a Choctaw Indian,
we'll educated in his own tongue and
in the English language. He has been
a lawyer judge, a Presbyterian min
lister and a man of wealth and high
standing among his people. 1t is also
shown that he was very charitable, and
took an active part in all public mat
tiers looking towards the education and
well being of members of his tribe, as
well as of white persons who lived
with them. 1t is shown that for many
years he had been in the habit of get
ting drunk, but that aside from this
his life has always been exemplary.
1t appears that a short time before the
murder he lost, by death, several chill
dren in rapid succession and, belieV-
ing in witches and witchcraft, he con-
ceived the idea that certain persons
whom he believed to be witches were
responsible for the death of his chill
dren and for misfortunes which had
happened to other members of his tribe.
On the morning of the killing,
being more or less under the
influence of liquor, he started out with
the expressed intention of killing GER
tain persons whom he declared to be
witches. He first went to the house of
Vina Coleman, an Indian woman. for
whose murder he now stands convicted.
1t appears that this woman was re-
lated to him; that he had always been
on most friendly terms with her; had
furnished her and her family with pro-
sons to give her work in order that
she might support herself and her chill
dren. Going to her house. he accused
her of being a witch and shot her tc
death with a shot gun, at the same
time wounding a small child that was
near her. At the same time he shot
and badly wounded a 15-year-old boy
who was running away to give the
alarm. He thereupon mounted his horse
and proceeded to the home of a man
whom he accused of being a WITCH
and shot him to death. He then pro-
ceeded to another house and killed an
other woman, whom he accused of be-
ing a witch.
aside from the brief statement here
inbefore set out, l may say that alb
solutely no rational motive is shown
for the killing of these people by the
petitioner. 1t seems to be clearly es-
tablished that the petitioner killed
them because of his deluded belief that
they were witches and he was justified
in removing them.
81 am clearly of the opinion that
the sentence of death should not be
carried out in this case. and am as
clearly convinced that this petitioner
should never be permitted to go at
large"