Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1903-02-10
GETS FIVE YEARS.
Thomas I. Jebb Sentenced to Pen
itentiary For Forgery.
ONE OFTHE OLDEST CASESON RECORD
Jury Found Defendant Guilty and Also
Gave its Opinion to Effect That He
Is lnsane-Judge Says Some Facts
Were omitted-Napier Case on.
From Mondays Daily.

From Mondays Daily.
Five years at hard labor in the peni-
Tertiary is the sentence pronounced
today upon Thomas |. Jebb, who was
found guilty of forgery Saturday
night in the Wapello county
district court. Thus closes one of the
oldest cases which has ever been tried
before the district court in this coun-
", and one which has attracted more
widespread attention in the city than
any that has been tried before for
year or more. There were seven
cases against Mr. Jebb on the docket
OF the court but they have all been dis
posed of.
Jury Calls Him Crazy.
Although the jury in the case de-
clared that Jebb is now suffering from
slight form of insanity the verdict
was that he is guilty of the forgery
with which he is charged, and the
conclusion is that he was, according
to the way in which the jury looks at
the matter, sane at the time the notes
were written and passed, The case
was finished at o'clock Saturday aft
ernoon and the jury retired at once.
The first ballot showed an almost
equal division of opinion among the
twelve men as to the innocence or
guilt of the defendant, but by o'clock
all had agreed upon a verdict of gull
ty. Questions had been submitted to
the jury by Judge Roberts, asking if,
in the opinion of the twelve men the
defendant is now insane These ques-
tons We're answered in the affirmative
but by so doing the jury did not say
that the defendant was insane at the
time he signed the notes and passed
them, if he did
A verdict was reported to the court
at about 1880 o'clock Saturday night,
and the defendant, together with his
attorney and Seneca Cornell, prosecut-
ing attorney, were present in court
when the jury filed into court and an
nounced its verdict. Mr.. Jebb heard
the report with the same lack of ex-
preston that has characterized him
throughout the trial, and Judge Rob-
erts fixed the time for sentence as this
afternoon.
Cases Dismissed.
Immediately upon converting court
at 1:30 o'clock today, there being no
court during the morning, Judge Rob-
erts again took up the Jebb case.
There We're seven indictments against
the former life insurance agent, and
as he had been tried and convicted on
only one charge, that of forging the
name of Very Rev. +. w. Hoppman to
note for $3.50, there We're still six
awaiting action. The first one of
these, in which the defendant was
charged with uttering the Hoppman
note, was called, and Attorney w. w.
Epps, for Mr.. Jebb, entered plea of
guilty to the charge, after which the
remaining five were dismissed.
Plea for Light Sentence.
Attorney Epps then made plea for
mercy on behalf of his client, going
over briefly the reasons for making
such request. He stated that Mr..
Jebb is, according to the opinion of
the jury, suffering from mental NAL
ady and not responsible at times for
his actions. He referred to his clients
past record and the testimony of the
witnesses in the case to the effect
that he was affable, and a perfect gem
tleman, and asked the judge to eXer--
else leniency as much as possible in
pronouncing sentence. He suggested
that Mr.. Jebb be sent to the insane
hospital for treatment instead of to
the penitentiary.
Given Five Years.
Judge Roberts then asked Mr.. Jebb
to stand, and in reply to the question
as to whether he hadsany reason to
offer why sentence should not be pass
ed upon him, the defendant replied
briefly in the negative. The judge
then proceeded to give his reasons for
the sentence he was about to impose.
He said that judging from the evil
dence at the trial Mr.. Jebb had been
well educated and reared, and that he
had doubtless been taught the differ
ence between right and wrong while
still young. He said that his opinions
of the case We're in accord with those
of the jury, and that, in his Judgment,
Mr.. Jebb was guilty and deserved pun
ishment. He stated also that during
the trial he had had a suspicion, from
the action of certain witnesses on the
stand, that there had been an omission
of important facts.
Club" Associations.
Judge Roberts said that in his opin.
ion there had been something which
| was not told regarding the club" as
| sociations of Mr.. Jebb, and intimated
| that the defendant had lost money ir
gambling which could be replaced o,ey
by dishonesty, and that he had seaect
| ed forgery as means of replacing it
After thus stating his reasons for pro
nouncing sentence, and saying that the
governor has complete power to trans
| fer prisoners from the penitentiary to
| insane hospital when deemed neces
sary, he imposed sentence of foul
years in the penitentiary upon the de
PENDANT in the first case, the one upon
| which he was tried, and added to this
a sentence of one year, to begin after
| the expiration of the four as punish,
ment in the second case, in which a
plea of guilty was entered by the de
| Tense.
Napier Case Begins.
The case of the State VS. Greeley Ma
pier, who is charged with larceny, was
begun Immediately after the closing
of the Jebb case. Attorney F, G, Or
lup is conducting the defense, ant
IT. H., n ,,,I1 I. -.