The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1906-04-17
WADMAN'S PLEA.

1
| Atkinson. Honolulu, H T.
! Sir: AS one deeply interested in the
| welfare OF the Korean immigrants,
among whom I am endeayoring to
| carry on educational and missionary
| operations under the auspices of the
| Methodist Episcopal church. and hav-
! ing learned of the fearful and atrocious
murder committed in kukaiau. Hawaii,
| last December by a number of these
| people on one OF their feilow-country-
men, five of whom were found guilty
| in the Hilo criminal court and SEN
! fenced to death. / beg herewith TO ap-
! proach your Excellency, whose I'M
i pleasant duty it is to sign the death
! warrants which are soon to be exc
cuted, with plea for mercy.
I was not present at the trial in Hilo
nor have I had access to the legal
documents in the case. I am not,
+, therefore, confident of all the facts.
My sources of information are the
convicts themselves and one or two
Korean eyewitnesses of the trial. 1t is
only with the sincere hope that, IL
possible, justice may be tempered
with mercy that I seek most respect
fully to call your Excellency's atten-
ton to the few facts which 1 have
cleaned.
The names of the men condemned to
die are
Shin Myeng Ok,
Kang Yong Box,
Kim Yong zee
Chang Chi Yuel
Woo Myeng Sock
The motive of the awful crime OF
which these men are guilty is clearly
made known in the confession which
they made after the preparation of
the cruel deed. The victim was no.
torious thief. He had stolen not only
a large sum of money-$70 in all-but
+, their passports as well. These pass
+, ports are certain papers the immi-
grants receive upon leaving their coun-
try and are regarded as documents of
very precious value, without which
! they could not return to Korea and
claim citizenship. Considerable use is
made of these passports among the
! planters as pledges of security in buy
! ing and selling borrowing and loan
ing money. 1t was, therefore, the loss
of these papers which cut such fig
ure in their awful deeds of violence
last December. Four or five times
these men had caught the thief, 1t
seems, and extorted his promise to re-
fund the money and return the pass
ports, Their anger against the fellow
was greatly incensed by his oft-repeat-
ed lies and misrepresentation. AT last
they capture the wretch and begin
their work of torture in true Korean
style, hoping thereby that he will yield
to such painful methods and surrender
the stolen property, especially the
passports. The final scene is enacted
at the Japanese cemetery, where the
victim claims to have buried the money
ard papers. After digging for an
hour or more without avail, the muir
derers. having drunk 70 excess, proceed
to put the man to death. 1t is even
ing and the hour is late, but early the
next morning. as soon as they know
the manager of the plantation is in his
office. they go at once and make con-
fession of the crime. pointing out the
Whereabouts of the dead mans body
and, without any resistance, quietly
surrendering themselves to the officers
of the law. Each mans confession is
carefully taken down word for word
and agree in substance. When ques-
toned as to their confession and sur
render, they answered as follows: !
PLEA OF MURDERERS. |
we knew we udC, VI COul OOAiO
wrong, but the victim was a thief and
liar. BY torturing him we hoped for
his repentance and confession. In this
we were disappointed and So greatly
inf1amed with anger we thought it best
to kill him and save ourselves and the
plantation from such a vile wretch.
Upon questioning them as to their
knowledge of our laws and customs,
they are found to be densely ignorant.
Indeed these poor fellows represent
class of Orientals not so desperate and
dangerous as is generally supposed, but
wretchedly ignorant and depraved-t
more 70 be pitieo in way than TO be
actually blamed.
/ find, also, that among these five
men the two first named in the above
list, namely Shin Myeng Ok and
Kang Yong Box, were in a sense the
ringleaders in the fearful tragedy and
committed most of the outrages on the
victim before they dealt him the fatal
ly. Kim Yong zee, Chang Chi Yuel and
Woo Myeng Sock, were accomplices, to
be sure yet they We're more or less
by the first named and are
not guilty to the same degree at least.
at matter of strict justice. Indeed.
Yuel at one time protested against the
torturing process and endeavored to
1iSSuade the others to deSist, but with