Los Angeles herald., 1905-12-09

tended to start the death procession I'M
mediately after 1 O'Clock. Soon after the
news was brought to Mrs. Rogers that
Governor Bell had declined to grant her
further reprieve Matron Durkee went
to the condemned womans cell to pre-
pare her for the execution. Mrs. Dur
kee assisted Mrs. Rogers to dress in
simple gown of black
"All Of the deputies were at the
prison more than an hour before the
time Of the execution. In the street in
vicinity of the prison just before
O'Clock a small crowd numbering per-
haps 30 persons gathered, apparently
hoping to get glimpse Of Mrs. Rogers
as she was led down the stair from the
woman's section of the prison to the
scaffold. Nothing could be seen of the
gallows, as a curtain had been drawn
across window near which It stood"
story of the Crime
The crime for which Mrs Mary Mabel
Rogers was sentenced to death was the
murder of her husband, Marcus Rogers,
at Bennington August 13, 1902. At the
time the crime was committed Mrs.
Rogers was only 19 years of age. She
had been separated from her husband
for some time and was desirous of
marrying a young man named Maurice
Knapp. On the day of the murder.
hdICuS ItUBeTS went u LO
visit his wife, and that night she ar
ranged to meet him in the woods near
the Walloomsac river. While caressing
him she induced him to allow her to
bind his hands and while he was
powerless she chloroformed him. In
this she was aided by Leon Perhom, a
half wltted boy who was the son of the
woman with whom she boarded. An
other woman Estelle Bates, was pres
ent After chloroforming Rogers, Per-
ham and Mrs. Rogers rolled the body
into the river, where It was found the
next day. In order to divert suspicion
the woman wrote a note to which she
signed her husbands name, giving the
impression that he had committed sui
eide.
Immediately after the murder Mrs.
Rogers endeavored to collect her hus-
bands life insurance, amounting to $500,
and also made arrangements to pur-
chase furniture for the house where she
expected to live when she married
Knapp. A few days after the murder,
Mrs. Rogers, Perham and the Bates
woman were arrested. Perham made a
complete confession and both he and
Mrs. Rogers were found guilty of mur-
der in the first degree Perham was
sentenced to imprisonment for life,
while the sentence in Mrs Rogers case
WAS uedtn on the Rdl1OWS,
Under the Vermont law the power of
commutation of sentence rests with the
Legislature and the law also provides
that when a person is sentenced to
death a session of the legislature may
be held between the time of sentence
and the date set for the execution. Att
the last session of the legislature various
attempts were made to commute Mrs |
Rogers sentence, but all failed. Then
an attempt was made to pass a law
abolishing capital punishment in Ver-
mont, but that also failed. An attempt
to secure a pardon for the woman
shared the same fate. A bill was then
introduced providing for the appoint
ment of a state commission to examine
into the Woman's sanity. This bill |
passed the house unanimously, but was
defeated in the state senate
Granted a Reprieve
The date set for the execution was
February 3, 1906. on February 2, after
Mrs. Rogers had received the last rites
of the Roman Catholic church, Gov. |
Charles ]. Bell granted her a reprieve |
until June 2 so that the claim of her |
attorneys to newly discovered evidence |
might be heard before the Vermont |
supreme court in an effort to secure
for the woman new trial.
On May II the full bench of the Ver-
mont supreme court heard the evidence
on which the petition for new trial
was based and a. little. more than
week later denied the petition. On
June / a second reprieye by Gov. Bell |
removed the doomed woman again from
the shadow of the scaffold. This re-
prieVe was granted in order that the
United States supreme court might
pass upon the legality of the conditions
governing Mrs. Rogers sentence. The |
supreme court was then petitioned for
a writ of error in order that the case
might go before the highest tribunal
but this was denied. On June 10 habaes
corpus proceedings were instituted. |
Further legal activity on the part of !
the condemned woman's attorneys re- |
suited in the case being carried before |
the supreme court of the United States
on appeal from the rulings of the Ver-
mont court. On November 27, last, the !
United States supreme court refused
to stay the sentence of the Vermont |
court.
With the decision of the highest |
court in the land, Mrs Rogers last |
hope for life vanished, as Gov. Bell
had announced that he would not in
terefere with the sentence of the court. |
Certain disclosures regarding scan
dals in the Vermont state prison at |
NilluSuii WhGIc MTS. 1tOBerS mas Deen |
confined, have, it is claimed, affected |
public sentiment. According to the
testimony before the prison investiga-
tion committee of the legislature, one |
of the conVfcts at Windsor had ac-
cess to Mrs. Rogers cell some time
after the first reprieve was granted |
by Gov. Bell. 1t was alleged that this |
was part of a conspiracy on the part
of certain prison officials to bring about |
such condition as would further post
pone the execution.
Mrs. Rogers is the first person sem
fenced to death in Vermont within the
PAST thirteen years who was refused
clemency. The last murderer executed
In the state was Sylvester Bell, who
was hanged in 1892 for wife murder
The last woman to be executed was
Mrs. Emiline Keeker, who paid the
death penalty at Windsor on March
80, 1883.
GOVERNOR BELLS STATEMENT
Says He Is Glad the Law Has Been
Enforced