Evening times-Republican., 1903-12-23
Governor Cummins Grants Com
mutation of Sentence In
sTom'' Gathers Case
PRISONERS HOPES REALIZED
Willing to Serve Any h;nd of SEN
tence, Providing That He Could Es-
cape the Penitentiary-Has Hopes
Even Vet Of Parole After Part of
Sentence Has Been served-ls In Jail

| Thomas Gather who assaulted Jane!
| II. Ellis With A knife on the morning 81
IJune i 1902. and who was conNictee
for the second time, on December 4
on n charge OF assault with intent z
commit manslaughter. and sentenced
| by Judge Burnham to two years "a
the penitentiary at Ft. Madison viii
have only Jail sentence TO serve. Gov
ernor A. Is. Cummins, who was app
pealed to by petition and letter. for a
parole. has committed the penitentiary
sentence TO a year in Jail, and Gather IS
now serving his time.
The commutatIon OF sentence was
received this morning by SheriH Shoe-
maker and the news was at once 0l,-
veyed TO Gather who was in jan, am :
iously awaiting the governors action
Gathers hopes are realized, even tho
they are not his fondest anticipatlons-
He has hoped that the governor would
see fit to parole him. but he Is salts
fed with the commutation. which
means that he will not have to go TO
the penitentary. That has been the
prisoners great dread since he took the
false step that resulted in his trouble.
He has had great horror in the Thought
that possibly he might have to don the
stripes 1t was not so much for hint
self that he feared the outcome, but
for his little boy and his wife. He
has said many times that he did not
want to have children point to his son,
and say: His father is in the pen.
Gather will willingly serve his jail
sentence, and no appeal will be taken
by his attorney IL Governor Cum
minis had refused to act an appeal TO
the supreme court would have been
taken, as preparations with that end In
view had already been made. Gathers $
attorney still has hopes that after the
prisoner has served a portion of his
sentence. his excellency will see tit to
grant him a parole The official doc .
ument that changes the penitentiafy
sentence to one in the county Jail. is is
follows:
ITO all who may see these presents.
greeting: Know ye, that by virtue of
the authority In me vested by law, and
for good and sufficient reasons to me ap :
pearing. /, Albert b. Cammins. gov
ernor of the state of Iowa. in the narr~
and by the authority of the people
thereof, do hereby commute the sen
tence of Thomas Gather. who was. on
the 4th day of December, A. D., 1903,
by reason OF Judgment of the dis
trict court OF the equity of Marshall
sentenced to the penitentiary at FIT.
Madison, to serve a term OF two years
for the crime of assault with intent
to commit nanslaughter, to imprisol-
ment for one year in the county Jail
OF said county.
"In testimony whereof / have here-
unto set my hand and caused to be
affixed the great seal of the state.
Done at Des Moines. this 21st day
of December 1903
ALBERT B. CUMM1Ns."
Thomas Gather has every reason to
feel that he Will I'VE merry Christ
mas this year. even tho it be spent be-
hind the walls of the county Jail. His
friends have been very active In his be.
half, and he owes them a debt that will
be hard to pay. All that they ask,
however is that he be a man, and live
up to the promises made to those who
to assist him.