The Brunswick daily news. [volume] (Brunswick, Ga.) 1903-1906, 1904-06-28
PREACHER WANTS
To GET PARDON
.-sass '-Ii Il .--.--4--
Serving a Life Sentence
for the Murder of His
Wife
INTERESTING CASE CONES up
Board Of Pardons of Indiana VIII De
eide Case Today-Preacher Hin.
shaw Murdered His Wife
in 1895.

/
principal matter to. come before the
quarterly meeting of the board OF par
dons al the capitol tomorrow is a
strong petition for the pardon OF vii
liam G. Hinshaw, the Methodist minis
ter who is serving a life sentence In
the state prison at Michigan city for
the murder of his wife. The petition
Is signed by persons of prominence
and influence throughout tho state
and strong hopes are expressed that it
may result in the release of the con,
Iyicted man.
The Ilinshaw murder was one OF
the remarkable crimes in Indiana HIS
tory, and, although Hlnshaw was con
yicted, and the supreme court ap
proved the findings of the trial courl.
there are many persons who continue
to believe Hinshaw innocent Of The
crime.
Tho murder occurred at Belleylle
Hendricks county, a few miles south
Of Danvil!e, about | a. m, January i0
1895. Hihshaw's story was that bur
glars get into the house, and that
he and HIS wife had desperate fight
with them. Mrs Hinshaw was found
dead on the back steps Of the parson-
age, where they uyed. and Hinahaw
was slashed eighteen times with a
razor and shot twice.
The trial occupied five weeks, the
theory Of the prosecution beng That
Hinshaw pnd his wife quarreled over
another woman; that Mrs, Hinshaw
threw herself down on the bed ana
wash shot by her husband, who in
tiieted the wounds on himself to carry
out the bnrglar story; that he carried
her to the place where she was found
and then gave the alarm,
After the penitentiary doors had
fclosed on Hinshaw his friends and
relatives hired PinRerton detectives in
an effort TO run down the alleged huY
glars and thereby prove the innocence
Of the convicted man After working
for several weeks without accomplish.
ing anything the detectives Informed
those interested in the case that it
was useless to search further for the
robbers: that there was not the slight
est clew from which 70 start, The
killing had been done with Hinahaw's s
revolver. Hinsbaw had been sashed
with his own razor there was not
anything on which an investigation
could be based,
HOPE was given to the convicted
mans friends about three years ago
when notorious burglar who had
been coqaaed in the Michigan City
lpriaon nude an alleged confession in
which he stated that he was a mem.
her of a gang that entered the Hin.
lshaw home on the night Of the crime
land That they perpetrated the murder
[or MRS Hlnshaw and the assault on
Ethe minister. This led to a reopenlng
of the celebrated case. Hinshaw was
brought back from prison and the man
who made the confession was brought
to Indianapolis and subjected to a rig
i'd cross examination After the fullest
Investigation the authorities we're con
vinced that the confession was pure
fake concocted for the purpose of oh
tanning notoriety or possible release
from the term Of Imprisonment h(
was then serving. Hinshaw was re-
turned to the penitentiary where h'
remained until last fall. when he wa'
given a sixty-day parole by Governor
Durbin, that he might visit his ageC
mother who was then thought to b,
on her death bed