The free lance. (Fredericksburg, Va.) 1885-1926, 1905-02-14
WANT CASE REOPENED
Petition of Samuel Greason Filed
With Supreme Court.
sAsso ON EDWARDS CONFESSION

W ~ ~ fANAAN
sAsso ON EDWARDS CONFESSION
colored Man Has Had Twelve Death
Warrants Read to Him, and De-
cIared He Knew It Would All Come
Right.
Reading. Pa, Feb 1.-THE petition
lf Samuel Greason, colored, asking
that his case be reOpened and sent
back to the Berks court. was filed with
the Pennsylvania supreme court in
Philadelphia by John IL. Rothermel
and William II. Sadler, his attorneys.
The petition covers six typewriter
pages. all of which is based on Mrs.
Edwards confession to Attorneys
Lentz and Deisher This confession
they will not give out for the present.
She at that time made the following
statement clearing Greason, which Is
attached to his petition:
State of Pennsylvania, county OF
Berks:
Personally appeared before me, the
undersigned authority, a notary public
for Pennsylvania, residing in the city
OF Reading. Kate Edwards, who. being
duly sworn according to law, doth de-
pose and say, that Samuel GreasOn,
now under the sentence Of death for
the murder of John Edwards the hus-
band of deponent, is entirely innocent
of said crime; that he had no knowl-
edge of the preparation thereof, and
did not in any way, manner or form,
participate therein, nor did no by any
word, act or deed aid or abet therein;
deponent AYERS that the testimony
given at the trial wherein she alleged
that said Samuel GreasOn was present
on the night OF July 3, 1901, was I'M
true. MRS. KATE EDWARDS.
Sworn and subscribed before me
this 9th day of February, A. d. 1905.
wv. A. c. OAKS, Notary Public
The colored man has had IL death
warrants read TO him. He was In
formed OF the turn that affairs had
taken. and said he knew It would all
come right-that God would not let
an innocent man hang.
Greason's petition contains some
startling charges as to how his case
was juggled with while he was on trial.
and this feature has caused a sensa-
ton. Greasons appeal proceeds to re-
view the various steps in his case, and
then says:
Kate Edwards now exonerates your
petitioner, but insists to her attorneys,
Oliver Lentz and F. H. Deisher, that
inducements were held out to her, 10
the effect that II she would tell the
truth by placing the responsibility Tor
the commission OF the crime upon
your petitioner, that leniency would
be shown to her by the officers OF the
commonwealth when she would make
her APPLICATION before the board OF par
dons for Communication OF sentence 10
life imprisonment
Your petitioner Is further Informed
that Oliver Lentx and Abraham IL.
Rothermel the district attorney, went
to see Kate Edwards with view OF
ascertaining the truth as to the guilt
or innocence OF your petitioner. In
said interview with the said Kate Ed
wards she was told by oliver Lentz
and the then district attorney that she
should tell the truth. whereupon she
told the said Lentz and Rothermel
that she and her daughter, Mary, had
committed the crime.
1.-The said Kate Edwards was then
told by the district attorney that he
did not believe that story, and that the
officers OF the commonwealth believed
who committed the crime, and that 1t
would be better for her TO tell the
truth about the matter, whereupon
the said Kate Edwards tainted"
A number Of other documents were
filed with the supreme court These
include an appeal from Mrs. edwards,
in which she asks the supreme court
TO reopen the case in order that JUS
tice NAV be done to Greason. The
document which she has signed Is In
line with what GreasOn enumerates
in his appeal to the supreme court,
and in II she confirms his allegations
that representatives OF the common
wealth induced her TO swear that
Greason was the guilty party In order
TO save her own neck. She says that
she stuck to this story until her con-
science forced her to admit the truth.
In her petition she asks that she be al
lowed to correct the testimony she
gave at the Greason trial. At the trial
she said the family went 70 bed on the
evening Of July 3. 1901, leaving her
husband in a drunken stupor on the
front porch During the night, she
claimed, CreasOn, after killing her
husband, called to her, asking her to
come down, and that they threw the
body of Edwards into the cistern.
Greason denied this testimony point
blank. and claimed that he was not
there that night He testified he was
i'll that evening with cramps and was
not away from his shanty, which was
a mile away. Witnesses saw him at his
home until about 10 o'clock, when he
said he went to bed.