The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1905-08-30
NO CLEMENCY FOR
| A WIFE MURDERER
Hammons, of Forsyth,
Must Die.
PREMEDITATED CRIME
Former Law Partner of Governor Glenn
Was One of the Criminals Attor-
neYs. Jealous Husbands Should
Beware, as This Man is an
Example of Their Fate. y

J. w. /Hammons, the Forsyth coun
ty wife murderer, will not receive fur
Their executive clemency and on Sep
TENDER End he must give up the ghos
for the life he took from another.
Hammons was convicted at thu
May term of Forsyth criminal court o
murder in the first degree, and his sen
tence was that of death. His attor
neys Messrs. W. NJ. Hendren, S. E
Hall and Charles Holton made strOn&
efforts to save the murderer from the
gallows and one of the gentlemen
Mr. Hendren, was the former laN
partner of Governor Glenn. Ham
mons was sentenced by Judge Cooke
TO the Governor was made and re-
spite until September End was Sc
cured.
In refusing to grant com
mutation to life Imprisonment the
Governor states that there was sufii'
cient evidence of premeditation, anC
the question of generalization was the
only one he would consider.
The following statement was made
by Governor Glenn:
"This defendant had a fair trial, and
w
Hall and Charles Holton were assigned
counsel, they did all that lawyers could
do. The judge carefully charged the
jury in regard to the difference be-
tween murder in the first and second
degree, leaving both issues to the jury
THE only question presented for
my consideration was, did the prisoner
sufficiently premeditate to be guilty OF
the crime of murder in the first de-
gree, or did he have sufficient reason
to have the premeditating mind.
There is no question that he was
Jealous of his wife. He married her
IN six months after his first wife's
Heath. They did not live happily to-
gether He wanted her to live with
him, and yet mistreated her when to-
gether She finally left him and re-
fused to live with him. He sent her
messages. begging her to return, and
IN one or two instances threatened
her, if she did not. He finallv met her.
she refused to live with him ana
started to leave him. AS she left he
said that "she had drawn her last
lam breath or step" Then he fired.
On the first shot her child fell and
hollered the woman stopped to pick
up her child, and he fired the second
-ime inflicting a deadly wound. After
he had shot her he stated that she did
what he aimed to do, and was not sor-
ry for it. After carefully reading the
testimony and hearing what counsel
had to say i1 his behalf, | am thor
oughly convinced that the prisoner
met his wife with the intention of try
ing to persuade her to live with him
md that in case she refused to kill
her His purpose so deliberate makes
UNI guilty of murder in the first de-
gree.
81 have viewed this case from every
aspect, and given it my best thought,
IS human life is very sacred. If tha
evidence showed that the prisoner for
want of reason did not know what h"
was doing, 1 would reprieve him again
in order to try to get more light, but be-
ing satisfied that he knew what he was
iong, | can not commute this SEN
.ence. And the sentence of the court.
hat the prisoner at the bar be hanged
must be carried out according to law.
"R. B. GLENN, Governor.