The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1904-07-12
Four Prisoners Serving Life
Sentences Applyfor Pardon
Sensational incident

lott, or Minneapolis, the pfeSiuliS
judge, and w. E. Culkin, register of.
the Duluth land Office, but prosecuting
attorney of Wright county at the time
Of the commission of the crime, Joined
in recommending a pardon while a pc
tition signed by all the county officers
of Wright county was presented to the
board. fa
1t was shown that Nugent had suf-
fered an injury to his head some years
age and when on a periodical spree
was not responsible for his. acts. c..
and Charles B. Oakley, receiver of the
United States land office at Cass Lake,
who had defended the man on his
trial, Boths argued yesterday for a
Communication OF his sentence. John
Nugent, for many years sheriff of
Wright Ieeunttyl and a brother of the
man for whom the effort is being
action was taken by the board Of par
dons.
Routinesis interrupted
There was a sensational incident
when the ease of Russ Shepard, a
Lyon county prisoner at saltwater
convicted last November of adultery,
was considered. = The father Of the
convicted man appeared before the
board and pleaded for. his. sons liberty,
charging that7shis SON had been the
victim of a conspiracy in which the
husband of the woman had joined. He
said that. the husband desired a .di-
yorce and to procure it had sacrificed
his wife's good name.
The sensation came when the hus-
band interrupted to denounce the
story. Hes insisted with heat hat no
man had ever had a happier home
than he until the tempter in the per-
CON nf- SI0norl had inyododE IT Chief
Justice Start said that the sentence of
eighteen months was light in view Of
the circumstances; that in many
places bloodshed would follow the dis.
coyery. The father, at the unexpected
development, bea a hasty departure,
and while the Shepard case was taken
under adyisement it was generally UNI
derstood that the board would take no
FrederfcK Il. Fischer, twenty-one
years old. sentenced from Ramsey
county Nov. "a. 1903, applied for n
pardon from the state reformatory.
He was convicted With two younger
ings from the Chicago Great Western
| yards on the West Side. The two
younger a were given into the GUS
tody of the probation officer and the
older man drew a term at Saltwater.
| County -s&ttorney .T.afR Kane and
JudgesE. A. Jaggard recommended the
! pardon and .Dr.5EDhageslalso sent "a
letter to the board detailing the cir
cumstances and advising the pardon
that young Fischer might help. his
parents, The family lives in the Fifth
ward. The case was taken under adj
visement.s slt ~
Eife5Prisoner Wants Pardon
Robert owens, who has served five
years of a life sentence at Saltwater,
having pleaded guilty Of abusing a
~six-year-old girl al, Austin, renewed
his application for. pardon. His at
torney said that Owens had pleaded
guilty under force of circumstances.
He had entered the court room after
several days debauch. had declined
the services of an attorney. and had
entered a plea of guilty with no I'M
derstanding. of the possible severity
of he sentence. The trial Judge had
admitted that he had made a mistake
in accepting the plea, but feeling was
threats. of personal violence to the
prisoner. s
owens the attorney said, was so
drunk as not to- know. whether, or not
he was guilty, but now protested his
innocence. The county attorney had
board of spardensa continued the case
until a more complete record of the
facts at the trial could be had. The
prisoners sistery Ewllo geame. from Sc
attic to assist inesecurang1 the pardon,
appeared before the beard, and prom
ised to take her brother home with
her If he were released.
The William Chounard application
for communication of death sentence
to life imprisonment was continued
until 10 o'clock today but Daniel Du
Lury, county attorney of Cass county,
appeared before. the board In, opposi-
ton te.tfe application. Nothing had
occurredsat the trial. he said. in favor
OF the DEFENDANTS plea. He, declared
that many of the signers to the petit
ton, alleged to contain the names Of
5000, people, asking for the commuta-
tion of sentence, were little boys and
girls of families living near Walker;
while 1t contained the names of some
people not living nsCass county at all.
all We're names of men ana women
resident in.the 6unty.s
Asks Reductions Of Life Sentence
The case of William Fitzsimmons.
sentenced on his plea osyguilty of mur-
der In the second degree, to life: I'M
~prisonment at saltwater, came before
the board again yesterday. Fitzsim-
mons kifledsa EreehuasEsaaNad Joseph
Veigues in a street light at Hinckley In
1921 faiS EAEtgfHSA MSkeQ Tor q conf
mutation 81 the sentence to some def
mite term of a seAfhat the board of
control might grant a parole to Fitz-
simmons. ssAtterney FsNs..is Stewart, OF
before the Boafd q psraons, inttmated
that the saltwater attorney who had
defended Nitzsimmnns at his. trial ad-
vised himsfo, pieadegailty that he might
save a large expense to. thescoursty, and
promised that he would use his best
efforts with the autheriHesAsto secure
his parole after two or three years In
prison. Qn.sthfs understanding Fitz-
simmons had pleaded guilty to murder
in the second degree.
His attorney Yesterday argued that
the evidence obtained since the trial
showed that Yeigue swasschoking Fitz-
simmons and he, In a cowardly. fashion
but with no generalization, had drawn
a knife and showed the blade into his
heart. Thesboardstook no action.
The case. has oncesbefere been sub
mitted to the board Of pardons and or
the recommendatiea of w b. Douglas
then attorney general, the petition was
denied. Douglas had advised Fitzsim-
mons attorney, however, to renew the
application at this Fine.
Applies for Pardon for Pickett
A hearing was hadao n az petition fol
the pardon Of Reuben e. Pickett. who