The Paducah sun. [volume] (Paducah, Ky.) 1898-1906, 1902-08-21
JOHN HOLLY'S FATE
He Never Speaks to His Fellow Con-
victs About His Crime.
Has Never Asked Favor of Any OIL
oial and Has Never Written or
Received Letter.
HIS CRIME WAS MURDER

The attempted escape from the
Frankfort penitentiary yesterday OF
desperate criminals makes q recent ar
ticle by Mr.. Sam B. Maxey, of the
Scottsville Times, who is now a guard
in the Eddyville prison, of unusual
interest, as it gives some additional
history Of John Holly, sent up from
Lyon county for a most atrocious
murder. He says:
Does John Holly, lifetime con-
Wet, possess the vices of both savage
and civilized man with the virtues Of
neither, is question which could
not be solved by the jury who heard
his case, and likewise has never been
fsthomed by the officials of this in
stitution, where ne has been confined
for the past four years, and will in all
probability remain during his natural
life. Some years ago Comic Askew, q
shanty bostman, who piled his trade on
the Tennessee river, was murdered
and hacked to pieces on the Kentucky
side, and within the borders of Lyon
county. A clew was obtained which
led to the arrest of Will Cato and
John Holly. The former was man
of bad repute, and the latter boy of
sixteen years.
"when placed upon the stand to tes-
tify in mis- own behalf he recited in a
cool, calculating way the manner in
which the murder was planned and
executed, and although examined at
three separate and distinct trials by
lawyers of pronounced legal attain
ments, who used every srtitice known
to criminal Jurisprudence in an effort
to divert him from his original state
ment, it is a matter of court record
that every syllable and, in fact, every
word uttered by him in the confession
made to the arresting officer were
sworn to each time when placed upon
the stand. There was nothing added
and nothing substrscted. His story
WAS doubtless literally and verbally
true, and the jury of twelve men who
heard the awful recital decreed that
the remainder Of his natural life
should be spent inside the prison
walls. When the inner door swings
upon the criminal all trace Of his
crime is left on the outside, but the
irony of fate decreed that even this
boon should be denied Holly.
Shortly after his removal to the
institution, Cato was given a final
trial and sentenced to death. 1t so
happened that the gallows upon which
ne paid the death penalty was erected
in the ravine to the rear of the prison
ground and not thirty yards from the
shop where Holly was at work. By
a natural arrangement Holly was
transferred only a few days before the
execution to a window nearest the gal
lows. and casually lifted his eyes
from his work and watched a man
who had aided him murder a fellow
mortal swing into eternity, without
moving muscle or appearing in the
least concerned. Stranger still to
those possessed of knowledge of the
attributes of a convict will be the
statements that during his term Holly
has never been reported for failing to
make task, never wrote or received a
letter, never asked a favor of the
warden or any subordinate officer,
never spoke to prison official unless
first addressed and has never to the
knowledge or belief of those connect
ed with the institution referred to his
crime since leaving the witness
stand"
or the Oldest convict he says: 1.-THE
oldest prisoner in point of service in
either of Kentucky penitentiaries is
confined here. To use the prison ver-
he has put up 81 years,
and is as stubborn today as any Allen
comfy striped legged mule. He
might get out IL his makeup was
iifferent, but SO long as George