Fergus County argus. [volume] (Lewistown, Mont.) 1886-1946, 1905-08-25
IN
HOWELLCASE
PROTESTS GOING TO GOV. TOOLE
AGAINST PARDON FOR RoZ.
LING'S SLAYER.

1t now appears that the petition re.
Gently forwarded to Gov. Toole, ask
ing him to grant a pardon to Milton
o. Howell, now serving life term
in the penitentiary for the brutal MUIR
der of Thomas Rolling on Swimming
Woman in 1899, is not going to be
passed upon by his excellency with
out a strong protest reaching him.
While there is no organized effort to
defeat the petition, number of prom
inent citizens who are entirely famil-
lar with the facts, will individually
inform the governor of their view of
the case and protest strongly against
any clemency being shown him. How
ell it will be remembered, was SEN
fenced in 1900 to pay the death pen.
atty, and was only saved from the
gallows through the action of his at
torney, w. E. Cort, in exhuming the
body of Howell's victim and taking
the head to Helena to exhibit to the
governor, in support of the defend
ants contention that he did not shoot
Rolling from behind. 1t was upOl
this showing that the sentence was
commuted to life Imprisonment. The
petition recently sent in asking for
the pardon represents months OF Ia
Dor, every part of the county being
secured to secure signatures. The
counter statements that are going In
will present the other side of the case,
and it is believed that with his mem.
ory refreshed by the presentation Of
both sides of the case, Gov. Toole
will not interfere in the matter. The
petition has awakened considerable
interest in the case, and has called
forth from the Great Falls Tribune
the following editorial utterance:
Opposed to a Pardon.
1T is understood that petitions are
being circulated asking the governor
to pardon man named Milton Howell,
convicted of murder in Fergus cOun-
ty, and at one time sentenced to be
hanged. 1t is a pardon that should
not be granted, but unless some one
will really exert himself to see that
the case is not misrepresented to the
governor and the board of pardons,
the pardon is not unlikely.
"This man Howell killed a man
| named Rolling in the course OF a row
over some trivial matter. It appear
ed from the testimony that the MUIR
derer had been the aggressor, and was
altogether to blame for the row, or
at least that he was armed and the
other man was not. Howell left after
the murder and the officers failed to
locate him. The employer Of the
murdered man, P. l. Moule, Of Meagh-
er county, took the matter in hand
and after the expenditure of good
deal of money located the murderer
in Alberta and he was brought back
TO Fergus county to stand trial..
"At the trial he was convicted of
murder in the first degree and SEN
fenced to be hanged. The usual mo-
tions and appeals failed to save him
and as last resort the governor was
appealed to. In making this appeal
to the governor the attorney for the
defense went and dug up the skull OF
the dead man. and claimed to have
found conclusive evidene that Roz
land was shot from the front, while
all the evidence at the trial tended
to show that he had been shot in the
back as he was trying to get away
from his assailant. The attorney duf
up this skull without permission O
} the state and it was in his possession
for some time without protection o
! any sort. But be that as it may
; the governor was induced by tn,
!, grewsome evidence to commute tn,
sentence to imprisonment for life
Now the natural result is that Their
is further effort to get the man out o
Jail. It is to be hoped that the move
. ment will not be successful. but tina
/ Is not saying that it won't be. for tn
: best of governors are strangely len
/. lent to criminals who get into tn
? penitentiary."