Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1905-02-03

Sequeh'ly told in court he an3 AT.
i,''''S went by pre-arrangement n ,t9
pidce where Rogers was to pao, LIZ
wife. tL mis-
Mrs. Rogers followed Then, ava
htf husband appeared she gra,,a<, 49,"
unfortunately. After nra,a.n I'LL
reconciliation had been affected MI
Rogers drew from her breast =. nit.
rope ana told her husband thar sbo IN,
learned new game and thar sb. ,'','
snow 1t to him. Tying his hands II
hind his back she had him liz
with his head in her Ian VIII
caressihs him she slyly took bortlA IL
chIoroform out Of her pocket Iii
Saturatlng her handkerchief appliad ~
ahesthetic to his nose and mouth
Rogers managed to say. "Nr,rio
what is this? 1t smells like .bIora
form. She pressed the handkerchief
lighter to his face and applied moro
chlorofOrm at the same time wrar,,ina.
her shawl over her own nOstrils IN nj
vent herself from being overcome b.,
the fumes. As the dying man strug-
Sled TO get away, Perham seated him
. 'I'''' '@'ociH itet' Dtd In enSup,i
W'thlh few moments. The rope was
taken off and Perham and Mrs. Rooers
threw the lifeless body into tile river
Ihen the rope. the empty bottle .n3
the handkerchief We're hidden undar ]
stone nearby and Mrs. Rogers, Miss
Bates and Perham returned n
Mrs. Rogers rooms. The han1ker-
chief. bottle and rope We're found nm
der the stone by the authorities 1atar
According to Perham. Estella Rates
was not an active participant in Inc
murder. although with Perham and
Mrs. Rogers she was indicted on
murder charge.
MIS-. Rogers was convicted Of rnur-
der in the first degree and sentenced 10
death; Leon Perham found guilty of
murder in the second degree and son.
fenced to imprisonment for life while
the case against Estella Bates was
nolle pressed and she was allowed 10
go free.
Mrs. Rogers was convicted and SEN
fenced to death on December I'D. ,TO}.
Owing to regularity in the Vermont
law condemned person cannot be ex-
ecuted until a session OF the Legislature
has interviewed between the time of sen
tence and the date set for the execu-
ton. which. III this case, was February
3, 1905. When the Legislature net in
October, last fall. d bill was introduced
providing for the communication of Mrs
rogers sentence to Imprisonment for
life. At the same time another bill
the death penalty was also
introduced. Both bills vert down TO
defeat, the first by vote of 49, to 81
and the second by vote of l3g to 81.
The next step in the fight for Mrs.
Rogers lite was the introduction of Il
bill providing for the appointment for
= commission to inquire into the wo-
mans sanity. This bill passed the
house unanimously but was defeated in
the state senate. The vote on the bill
was not made public, but it was an
nounced that it was defeated in the
ratio of 3 to /. After this the only
hope of Mrs. Rogers friends was for
Governor Charles j. Bell to grant re-
prieve. Governor Bell asked Attorney
General Clarke c. Fits for an opinion
on the matter and the attorney general
itpoi leu tIlstl llle SONeinOT Hdu III
power to reprieve.
Since it became known that Mrs
Rogers must die upon the gallows Gov
ernor Bell has been besieged with let
tiers from all sections of the United
some entreating and Others de-
that the woman be not exc
cutel. The sheriff. upon whom fell the
duty of executing the woman. also re-
ceived hundreds of letters requesting
him not to hang Mrs. Rogers.
Mrs. Rogers was the first person con-
victed of murder during the past thir-
teen years who was refused clemency.
Sylvester Bell of Fairfax, was hanged
in 1892 for wife murder. Mrs. Rogers
will be the first woman to be hanged IN
the state since Mrs. lifeline Meeker was
executed at the state prison at Wind
sor on March 80, 1853. In Vermont all
are held at the state prison
and by a popularity of the law the
duty of hanging condemned murdererS
devolves upon the sheriff of Windsor
county regardless of the section o. the
state in which a crime is committed.
When the elactrifcation of the rail-
WAYS which run underground in Lon