The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1903-11-19

"A NAN WALKED FREE out Of the
"A Utah state prison yesterday after
being incarcerated there for three
years, during which time he had twice
been sentenced to death. The man was
Robert L. King. who was convicted of
completely in the murder OF Colonel
Godfrey Prowse fn the Sheep Ranch
gambling house in Salt Lake over three
years ago. For this crime James
Lynch was yesterday sentenced to be
shot. and King, who was convicted
with Lynch. was released upon mo-
ton Of the district attorney who prose
cuted the cases against both men, the
ground for the dismissal of the case
against King being insuficiency of
evidence.
The case Is familiar to all readers Of
The Herald Lynch was slightly
wounded and captured at once King
was arrested several days later. He
was picked up on the street from a
description furnished the police. tried
and convicted. The evidence against
him was almost wholly circumstantiaL
He was more or less positively identi-
fed by a messenger boy and a pawn
brokers' clerk, their testimony being
practically all the direct evidence
against the man, Lynch insisting al
ways that King was the wrong man.
The messenger boys evidence was con-
sidered stronger than that Of the
pawn brokers' clerk. who left the city
almost Immediately afterward. But
yet, after the man had been convicted,
the messenger boy came forward with
an affidavit. after being shown the pic
ture of a noted desperate in the Colo
RADIO pcnitentiary, in which he admit
ted that he had been mistaken; that
the Colorado convict was the man he
had seen running from the direction OF
the gambling house Immediately after
the shooting. Meanwhile King had
been twice sentenced 60 death. King
is an italian, and his countrymen, un-
der the direction of the Italian consul
at Denver rallied I'm his defense. The
condemned mans attorneys put up a
stubborn fight. made necessary by the
fact that Kings record was not con-
sidered good. and finally got the case
before the supreme court which or
dered a new trial on the ground that
the evidence adduced was not suf-
ncient TO warrant conviction. The
dismissal Of the case. amounting prac-
ideally to an admission that the man
is innocent. followed.
This case is calculated to make peo-
pie think Advocates of summary
justice" and those who rail against
"the laws delays" may draw a lesson
from Kings case. Suppose the muir
dered man. instead of being a gam
bier. had been a prominent and es-
teemed citizen of salt Lake, and that
a mob had formed and summarily put
both prisoners TO death. Lynch was
caught red-handed and no doubt mer-
its death, but If King had been lynched
that mob would have had the blood
Of an innocent man on its hands, and
every lyncher would have been a muir
derer. But for "the laws delays" King
would have been judiciany murdered,
because he has now been judicially
declared innocent. AS It Is, the man
has suffered three years imprison-
ment. with all the tOrtures that come
to one condemned to death, yet, for
all one dare say, King IS as innocent
Of the crime Of murder as any child.
The case should serve as a warning
70 those who are disposed to act hast
lily in affairs Of this kind and to brush
aside the barriers the law throws
around a man accused Of a crime. A
terrible mistake might have been made
in the case Of King, just as other ter
rfble mistakes have been made and
may be made IN. other cases. The next
grant. but a useful member Of society,
innocent OF all crime. around whom
unhappy circumstances might throw a
chain Of evidence. that. appeared to
conclusively prove his guilt