The Eureka sentinel. [volume] (Eureka, Nev.) 1902-current, 1903-01-03
PETGrIONINe FOR PARDON
OF ANDREW sEUFERr
Efforts Being Made For HIS Release
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An effort is being made by Charles Lay
Of Chicago. . stakeholder IN the Whslsn
Con. Copper Mining Company. to secure
the pardon Of Andrew Seufert from the Ne
vsda State Prison.
The petition hes been circulated during
the week in Eureka, and the SENTINEL 10
informed that besides receiving the sigma
lures Of . number Of Eureka citizens, ell
the jury who convicted Seufert. with the
exception Of Leonard Ivy. now absent from
the county, have signed il.
Seufert, 10 will be remembered. 10 now
serving . Eve years sentence in the State
Prison for an assault to kill William Whs-
len near Alpha during the 6rst part Of last
year. He was convicted in the District
Court here last April, so that he has not
yet served nine months Of his term. The
evidence st the trial proved the defendant
to have been guilty Of . most atrocious
crime, and any effort to pardon Seufert so
early 10 the day seems rather . bad preoe.
dent to establish.
The day following Seufert's departure for
the State Prison additional evidence Dame
to the knowledge Of the District Judge and
District Attorney, which Judge Jones de-
clared would have insured the defendant .
much heavier sentence bad it been brought
10 evidence against him at the trial.
The following extract is from the Court
proceedings of the case and published in
the SENTINEL Of April 26, 1902:
Before passing sentence the Court asked
counsel on both sides il they had any sug:
g~estions to make before judgment was pro-
nounced, and Attorney Bartlett. on behalf
Of the prisoner. made an eloquent and sym
pathetic plea for mercy, stating that the
defendant had wife, daughter and son in
Chicago, where defendant had resided for
many years, the son having lost his mind
since his fathers imprisonment, and that
the prisoner was the only bread winner Of
the family, and that Mrs. Seufert had fully
expected that her husband would be &C.
Quilted and soon return home. The Dis
trics Attorney did not offer any suggestions.
The Court ordered the prisoner 10 stand up
and reviewed the testimony and alluded to
the several sad features OF the case, to-
getber with the fact that the jury had rec
or mended the defendant to the mercy OF
the Court stating that they did not ask for
the minimum penalty. The Court informed
the defendant that Providence alone had
prevented his taking the life Of the pros
ecuting witness, and that it was diff cult to
determine whether the prisoner deliberately
intended to kill VIM. Whalen when he shot
him, or was too drunk to fully realize what
be Was doing, and that il was exceedingly
difficult to determine the exact punishment
proper to inHict. The Judge also informed
the defendant that he sympsthized deeply
with him in bis situation. and finally sen-
fenced him to Eve years in States prison.
During the entire procedure the defendant
did not manifest any remorse or nervousness.
but stood as stolid as . monument, and was
removed from the courtroom by the Sheriff,
the large audience present maintaining
bresthless silence. but when the Sheriff
turned the Jail key on the prisoner he broke
down and wept like q child.
Friday morning Charley Wittenberg told
Sheriff Burdick that he rode with the pris.
oner ON the train en- route to Alpha from
Eureka on February IL, before the shooting
on that day, and that the prisoner told Wit
tsnberg then that he intended to kill
Whslen before he left Nevada, and the tes.
timony at the trial showed that he told
Wittenberg the truth.
1t is probable that If Wittenberg had tes-
tilted at the trial the sentence Of the pris-
oner would have been much more severe.