Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1903-04-02
Mrs, MAVERICK Again.

Mrs. Maybrick Again.
This time it is an official announce
ment from London that the authorities
have decided to release Mrs. Maybrick
next year. The American people, anu
in general all who have followed this
remarkable case. fervently hope that
the pardon will actually be granted at
last. This unhappy woman, who has
been so long imprisoned, unjustly as
everybody believes, has been often de-
luded by the hope that her tireless
friends had at last accomplished some
thing in her behalf. English sentiment
it seems has finally been aroused and
this, much more than all the pressure
which the people in this country have
brought to bear, has caused the Eng
lish government to decide to right its
great wrong. 1t is slow business un-
winding British red tape and it was
never better illustrated than in this in
stance.
Mrs. Maybrick was the daughter of q
Mobile, Alabama, banker named
Chandler and became the wife of James
Maybrick a Liverpool merchant, when
she was II years old. They lived to-
gether for nine years and it was gen.
orally believed that their life was a
happy one. Mr.. Maybrick died in May,
1899, after an illness of a few days,
during which he was attended by his
the widow swooned and was uncon-
scious for forty eight hours, during
which time she was placed under arrest.
The trial brought out the fact that
Maybrick had quarreled with and
struck his wife in March previous to
his death and that he had made will
by which all the property was left to
his brothers to hold in trust for his
two children. The doctors who treated
Maybrick during his illness admins
tered several poisons to him, includ-
ing arsenic. A post-mortem examina-
ton disclosed the presence of IL grains
of arsenic in the body and the prose-
cution then produced a package OF
arseiic which had been found in
the house. Evidence was introduced
showing that Maybrick was in the
habit of doctoring himself and, believ-
ing that arsenic was a cure-all Tor MS
ills had bought a package of it short
time before his death.
But for the charge of Justice Stephen
the jury probably would have dlsa-
greed, if it had not acquitted the de-
PENDANT. Sir Charles Russell, late lord
chief justice of England. who was Mrs
Maybrick's counsel, addressed an in
dignant protest to the home office in
which he said Justice Stephen had
'passionately and vehemently' invited
the jury to give the verdict it did
Even the crown counsel up to the very
last said a verdict of guilty could not
be brought on such evidence. Mrs
Maybrick was sentenced to death, but
later the sentence was committed to
life imprisonment. Interest in the case
was so widespread that many move
ments We're soon organized for the pur-
pose Of having the case reopened. One
of these was the formation of the
Women's International Maybrick AS
ISOLATION. The case has been debated
in parliament and has repeatedly beer
brought before the British and Ameri-
can governments. 1t is remarkable
that the home office has refused to
reopen it in the face of all the pressure
which has been brought to bear. Ever
now there is not to be a retrial, but a
pardon, which leaves Mrs. Maybrick
under the stigma of a conviction.