Albuquerque evening citizen. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1905-1907, 1905-12-16

II man was ever justified in parri-
eide, Fred Graham was justified in
killing his father, William James Ora
ham at Frisco, Socorro county, on the
night of October 4, 1897, and the
action of the jury in acqultting him
is commendable.
According to the evidence of every
witness placed on the stand, the de-
ceased. w. j. Graham, was a moral
degenerate of the worst character,
and when the woman, made a widow
by his death, told in her simple way
of what she had suffered at his hands,
how he had beat and kicked her, and
exhibited scars resulting from the
abuse she had received nine years
ago, the way was made easy for the
son to tell the jury how he had fired
shot after shot into his father, caus-
ing his death, and still expect suffer
ance.
Few juries would convict under the
circumstances
Graham was a cattleman of fair
circumstances, residing at Frisco, and
ranging cattle in the prairie-nountain
district. Frisco is 1876 miles from So
corro, to the southwest. Just prior
TO the killing of Graham by his son,
e and Mrs Graham had been on a
trading expedition to Socorro and
Magdalena. AS Mrs. Graham testified,
they were returning home when the
trouble which led to the killing be-
gan. Graham had purchased two gall
Ions of whiskey while at Magdalena,
and had sampled it freely on the way
home. They were on their way up a
steep place going over the divide,
when Mrs. Graham got cut of the
wagon to place a stone under the
wheel to allow the horses to rest. In
stead of stopping TO let her back in
the wagon, Graham whipped up the
horses and made her walk home a
distance of eight or ten miles. The
day following he beat and kicked her
until she was confined to her bed
Witnesses testified that her hair was
pulled out, her face was black and
blue, and a great cash was bitten in
one hand. Fred Graham, the eldest
son. was not at home when Graham
first began beating his wife, but came
late that afternoon. He testified that
he found the house all torn up and
his sisters terrified The mother was
IN bed, covered with bruises and al
most dead.
That night Fred Graham slept on
pallet just outside the room occu-
pied by his mother and father. Early
IN the evening he heard his mother
groaning. Entering the room, he dis
covered that his father had been beat
ing her again. He requested his
father not to do it again, and return.
ed to his pallet. In about two hours
ne heard the grOans and noise of
blows again. AS he entered the room
the elder Graham raised up in bed
and said "I1l just kill you, now"
at the same time throwing a double
narreled shotgun across his arm. The
son grabbed the gun, and holding the
muZzle away from his body, backed
INTO another room, where he secured
22-caliber rifle. Holding the shot
gun away from him with his left hand,
he fired at his father with the rifle
in his right. He fell with his head
against the sewing machine" the son
testified. Then in a few seconds he
got up and came after me. Just out
side the house | shot a second time,
and he fell with his head against a
log. Then he came after me again,
and / shot again and again. At the
last shot he fell, and | circled around,
going back toward the house. | no.
ticed that he didn't move any more. %
The body contained seven bullet holes.
Immediately after the killing the
coroner's jury acquitted the son of
killing his father. A year or so after
the killing, a prosecuting attorney
tried to have the son indicted, but
public sentiment was too strong, and
nothing came of the effort, and until
Vt was sprung on the late grand jury,
the killing of W j. Graham by his
son has been little thought of these
many years
j. e, Grifith, of Socorro and w, II,
Winters, OF Fl Paso. ably defended
Graham in the case while District At
)rney Baca conducted the prosecu-
on for the territory.