The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1904-12-02
THOMAS HALL is
VIOLENTLY INSANE
He Is a Prisoner at Sioux Falls
Penitentiary on Life
Sentence.
AN INTERESTING CASE
Hall Was Convicted of Murder Afte,
Several Hard Fought TriaIs--Ac-
cusations Founded on a Letter
Written at Brookinas.

Sioux Falls. $ d., Nov. 2S.-'rhe am
nouncement by the authorities OF the
Sioux Fails penitentiary that Thomas
Han, life prisoner, has become vio-
lentlY insane, is of more than passing
interest for TIE reason that Halls case
is one of the most Interesting in the
criminal annals of South Dakota
The .dementea man, unless an in-
proVement in his conditia. speedily
takes place, vii! be removed to the state
hospital for the insane at Yankton.
where he viii pass the remainder of
his days. Han is a Missourian and
WAS sentenced To life Imprisonment in
November ISIS, for the murder of
Charles LeMay, whose body was dis
covered al Lake Ponsett Hamlin
county, in September, 1897. His trial
and conviction took place in Hamlin
county.
LeMay's body was accidentally found
lying in pool OF mud and water un-
der a culvert iii a lonely bit of unfre-
quented road. The dead man had been
shot in the head With II shotgun. and
his pockets had heen ritied The victim
of the murder WAS u settler AT the
time he met his death he was travelling
overland through the country
1t WAS shown NJ the trial that Hall
had been seen with him a short time
before his dead body was found. Lee
May had considerable money in his
possession. and robbery was doubtless
the motive for the crime.
Hall, ii was alleged. about two weeks
before the finding of LeMays body,
sold the team that had been driven by
LeMay to parties living ut Mellette, S.
D.. and, after purchasing money or
der at that place payable to himself
at Tarkio Mo. left the country.
After the discovery of LeMay's body,
and upon asoertaining the above facts
with reference to the movements of
Hall after he had been seen With the
dead man, large rewards were offered
for the capture of the fugitive, and spe
cial detectives We're soon securing the
country looking for him
The search for Hall continued from
November 1897. until March 3. 1898.
Half a dozen states were systematic
ally secured until the last mentioned
date, when the fugitive was arrested
At Tarkio, Mo, as he was about to es-
cape from the town.
The prisoner was brought back to
South Dakota and in due time was
tried for the murder of LeMay. While
i'm Jail at I3rookings, Hall was alleged
TO have written letter to w. w. Jones.
proprietor of the hotel at which he had
lived at Tarkio, asking that his entry
on the hotel register be changed from
October 4, 1897 TO September 20. 1897.
a date prior TO the finding of LeMaN's
body This, the letter said, would en-
able him to establish an alibi.
The Hamlin county authorities OBJ
tanned possession of the letter, and at
Halls tlial it MAS i'm possession of the
states attorney who introduced it in
evidence. 1t appeared thai the founda-
ton for the Introduction of the letter
was not properly laid. the prosecution
having inadvertently neglected TO first
establish Halls handwriting by the
testimony of those who We're familiar
With it, and thus falling TO clearly
prove that the letter in question was in
reality in his handwriting.
Halls attorneys carried the case tu
the state supreme court, and were able
to prove before that body Mat the
authenticity of the letter, which had
been the principal evidence in securing
the conNictioe of Hall, had never been
established.
The conviction was therefore So,
aside by the supreme court and new
trial ordered. This was in March,
1901, and was again convicted His
defense in the second trial was based
almost wholly upon the authenticity of
the letter written to the hotel keepe,,
at Tarkio by which he sought to es-
'tabish an alib.