Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-09-01
EARLY IN PAST CENTURY
Ordered by Court Soon After It Was
Constituted in 1901.
CONDEMNED MANS 0FFENsE
Stamped His Wife to Death for Re
fusing to Do His Work
for Him.

The Circuit Court OF the District of Co.
| lumbia, established by the act OF Con-
gress Of February q. 1901, was soon after
1t was established called upon to act on q
capital crime and impose the sentence of
death. the first in the jurisdiction. This
court was composed OF William Kitty. chief
justice. and James Marshall and William
Cranch as associate judges Daniel Carroll
Brent was the marshal and Uriah Foonst
the clerk.
The court held its sessions in the north
wing Of the Capitol, in the old Senate cham
Der. now that Of the Supreme Court of the
United States. No court house had been
erected and the marshal being responsible
for the safe-keeping Of prisoners. had to
provide Jail. Quarters were provided
therefor In q smll brick building fronting
on the alley in square 400, portion Of the
walls standing today in the rear Of a res
taurant near the mail bag repair shop"
on street west of 9Th street. 1t is said
that Mr.. Kenan was a deputy marshal in
charge.
In the second year after the court opened
to
employed on the Capitol and with his wife
lived in a cabin. in February, 1902. beat his
wife 80 severely as to cause her death.
The minutes Of the March term of the
court show that the grand jury was COM
posed of sixteen members, the number re-
CURED to be present to find an indictment.
| the votes of twelve being necessary. Wal
ter Smith was the foreman and the jurors
| were John Mofret. William Lee. John
Keintzel, Valentine Keintzel. William
King. William Profut. Ninian Magruder.
Burch. David Slater. James Hoban. James
Grymes Samuel Hanson of Sam and
Jesse Bayly. On the evidence adduced the
jury found an indictment charging MUIR
do ErA1A al ID&&- n
Margaret Wright. John and Sophia Scamp
and Isabella McClain were the government
Trial Takes Place.
The trial came of before Judges Kitty and
Cranch March %, when Anon B. Wood
ward appeared as the counsel for the pnis-
oner. A plea Of not guilty was entered.
The jury empaneled was composed of
Joseph e. Rowles Daniel Renner, Henry H.
Young. Nicholas Hedges. Charles Thomp-
son, James Maxwell, Alexander McCor-
mick, George King, Samuel Speake, Will
liam Smith, John Thompson and Thomas
Saunders. The witnesses were those who
had appeared before the grand jury. and
Edward Frithy, Ezekiel King. Robert Nc
Claim, Drs. Frederick May and Elisha Har-
rison for the United States, and James
Mclaughlin and David Caffray for the de-
PENDANT.
The trial resulted in a verdict of guilty,
and the accused man was sentenced Ito be
hanged by the neck till dead" but Mr..
Woodward noted an exception and the case
went to full court. when the exception
was overruled. August following, before
Judges Kitty and Marshall he was resen-
fenced.
The minutes read that McGuirck was
brought before the court and that not hav-
ing shown any cause why the execution
of the judgment of death should not be per-
formed on him. 'it is ordered that the mar
shall do cause execution to be made against
him on the public ground near the Capitol
on Saturday, the 10Th of the present month,
between the hours of and II o'clock ante
meridian" He was not hanged at that
time, however, his counsel securing a re-
prieve by which his life was prolonged until
Thursday, October %, when the law was
carried into effect.
That event is thus noticed in the Intelli-
gencer Of the following day:
Yesterday was executed James Nc
Guirck sentenced to- death for numbering
his wife"
The date of the crime, locality, time and
place Of trial and execution were not given
as would appear In a modern newspaper, es-
pecially as this was the first capital case,
and that the culprit had been employed on
the Capitol building. in whose walls he was
tried and near whose doors the gallows did
It's work. 1t is presumed the terse account
satisfied the public, and that the details
were spread by word of mouth.
An old resident some twenty years ago
said to the writer that he saw the hang
ing by accident. That morning, bcylike, he
strolled from his home east Of the court
house. IT saw" said he some people
leaving the Jail. There was cart, car
rage and two or three men on horseback,
with a few following. A man sitting on
a box in the cart 1 got hold of the tail gate
and hung on. They stopped a little SOUTH
FOR GENTLEMEN OF LET'S