Little Falls herald. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1889-1950, 1904-07-15
ChOUNARD Will HANG
State Pardon Board De-
clineS to Commute
Sentence.

The state pardon board was petit
toned Tuesday to commute to life
Imprisonment the death sentence i'm
posed on William Chounard by tie
district court of Cass county on April
IA, 1904, for the murder of his COM
mon-law wife. The petition was de-
MED, says the Pioneer Press.
Chounard was represented by l.. b.
Bailey of Bemidji and A. T. Larson of
Brainerd. Mr.. Bailey, in reviewing
the case, stated that Chounard had for
several years been living with the
murdered woman as man and wife,
and that at the time of the murder
they were running disorderly house
at Cass Lake.
There had been fire on the morn
ing of the day of the murder. and at
10 80 Chounard went down to the fire.
After leaving the fire he went into a
saloon and spent several hours playing
cards and drinking whiskey. He went
home at in the evening and found
that his wife, Dora, had gone down
town.
He started out to look for her, and
found her In a wine room with
another woman. They had slight
alteration there, but after a few
minutes they had several drinks to-
gether. After leaving the saloon tsey
visited two others. and then the wo-
men went home. This was at about
9 O'Clock, and Chounard stayed down
town and had a few more drinks
He went nome between II and IL
O'Clock and soon afterward some of
those in the house heard the woman
say II am not afraid Of your gun, :"
and a moment after shot was fired.
The woman started to cross the hall
to get out, and Chounard followed
her, firing two shots at her.
She fell to the floor and physician
was Immediately summoned Chou"
nard remained in the room, and asked
that everything possible be done to
save her. She was sent to Duluth next
day, but died there Chounard paid
all the expenses for medical treatment
and the funeral expenses.
Chounard was born in Little Falls
and is twenty-eight> yeare old: He
lived in Grand Forks and Bemidjt be-
fore going to Cass Lake. he had new
or been arrested before. His sister,
Mrs. Hit, and his aunt. Mrs. Young.
were presen at the hearing. They
have worked hard in getting 5000
signatures to the petition for clem-
'ency.
County Attorney De Lury of Case
county appeared before the board and
objected to the granting OF the COM
mutation of the sentence. He stated
that many of the signatures on the
petition are those Of children and
others Of people not residing at Case
Lake.
The petition was considered in ex.
ecutive session and denied.
Mrs. M. j. Hit Of Brainerd, sister
of the condemned man, made strong
effort to secure q communication. The
St. Paul Globe said:
Mrs. Hit, accompanied by Bea'
trice, the little four-year-old daugh'
ter of the condemned man, and Mrs.
j. q. Young, of Little Falls, aunt Of
Chounard, is at the Merchants hotel
waiting the sitting of the board Of
pardons. Notice has been sent to
Chounard's lawyers that the case will
be considered by the board on Tues
day morning, other cases Icing taken
up at the Monday session of The
board.
81 only hope the board of pardonf
will look at the case In the same
light that I and more than 5000 people
of Northern Minnesota do." Mrs.
Hit eaid last night at her room al
the st. Paul hotel.
my brothers. case presents extra
ordinary features. He was 90 drunk
that he did not know what be did
when he shot Dora Chounard, hit
common-law wife, Jan. %, at Cast
Lake. The evidence that We are, pre-
pared to present to the board shows
that by actual count he had taken
eighty.three drinks of whiskey thai
day and was simply crazed by the H.
quor.
my brother, who is still young
man, and I lost our parents when we
we're still very young. he was ter
years old and was eight and after