Los Angeles herald., 1906-08-20
SLAYER GIFTS
LIFE SENTENCE
continued from pnne one.


that At an moment he might be called
to face the hideous unknown, he re-
NAMED quietly in his cell and the
other criminals watched him. watched
the placid forehead of the alleged mur-
derer and his strong, steady hands,
and they marveled at his steel nerves
Saturday night he slept like a baby
and he was awake early Sunday morn
ing. He ate a hearty breakfast a good
dinner and waited for the call for the
jury room. Many a man, strong and
nervy. has fallen during the terrible
strain of waiting and has been led into
the court room sobbing and moaning
like hysterical woman. but Stackpoe
seemed to pay no attention to the con-
dition of his affairs.
When he was told that the jury had
agreed he put on his hat, held out his
hands for the cuffs and walked stead
lily over to the court house.
Jurymen Appear
At 4 o'clock Judge James appeared
In court and the turymen were called.
Out of the semi-darlSness of the small
jury room they walked, like men in a
dream. Their eyes were swollen and
strained from the long siege, and they
looked unnatural and uncanny. Most
of them were old men, unused to the
hardship of jury trial as tedious as
that in the Stackpole case, and the
strain had drawn their features -and
shattered their nerves. All seated
themselves quietly and Foreman
Worth Kean handed the verdict to the
bailiff, who transferred it to Judge
James.
y And think Of what strain it must
have been on the prisoner to see that
scrap of paper which meant his doom
handed out before his eyes, to feel the
draught from 1t as 1T was flashed past
him, to see the judge read it, and yet
be kept in suspense! 1t was heart
breaking. but the mans iron nerve
won and he looked quietly at his
judges.
The Verdict Is Read
Read the verdict, Mr.. Kean." said
Judge James, and Stackpoe leaned
ever so little forward.
The foreman started wrong and was
compelled to begin over, causing added
suspense
I'm the case of the people of the
state of California VS.. Ernest G.. Stack
pole. defendant" came the sonorous
voice of the old Kentuckian, as he
stood straight as an arrow in his cor
ner of the jury box.
I'VE the jury in the above entitled
action find the defendant, Ernest G..
Stackpole, guilty of murder in the first
degree"
There was a deathlike pause and
every eye was on Stackpole. Accord
ing to the law of the state, if the jury
report ended there. there was but one
thing to do and that was to hang the
prisoner.
The accused man sat very still, the
pulse in his neck increased it's throb
ever so little, his eyes narrowed and
his mouth twitched at the corners
But the pause was for just second,
and mans fate hung in the balance.
Then the foreman's voice began again
and Stackpole's face went very white
from the reaction:
And we fix his punishment at inn
prisonment in the state penitentiary for
life" finished the foreman.
stackpoIe Visibly Affected
It was a horrible thing to sit there
quietly as a spectator and hear a sem
tence of that kind meted out to
young man, as bad as he had been.
To Stackpole who had served two
terms in state prison and who knew
the horror of sleepless nights in q small
iron cage, the terror of monotonous
days and the misery of being cast out
from the world. the sentence must
have sounded like a commitment to the
inferno.
1t fell upon him like a blow from
heaven. crushing him down. To go
behind the stone walls and iron bars
for the remainder of his life, to enter
that dark gate and know that never
again would he leave there until his
body was carried out in a narrow black
box for burial, and to stand at those
gates like condemned soul of Dante's
hell and look upon all that was fair
and good and yet be shut out from it;
that was what that sentence meant to
Ernest G. Stackpole and his head sank
slowly forward like the dropping of a
tired child and his face flushed until it
looked as though the blood would
fairly burst from it's encasing mesh.
Over in the detention home band of
youngsters were having afternoon
Sunday school, and their childish
trebles rose strong and sweet and their
song waited over and echoed in the
court room:
Trust and obey, for there's no other
way,
To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and
obey"
The last note of the song sobbed
itself out, and Stackpoies body shook
with a convulsive shudder, and Attor-
ney Thompson patted his client on the
back.
The names of the jurymen were
called and they all answered, giving
their verdict verbally as they had
written it,
Stackpole Speaks
Then Stackpole spoke for the first
time. "What do you think?" he asked
of his attorney.
"We'I reverse it easily" came the
cheerful reply and Stackpole was con-
tent.
But there seems little chance of re-
versing it, for Attorney Fleming, who
conducted the case for the prosecution,
and who is responsible with CAPTAIN
Flammer of the police department for
the conviction of Stackpole through
brilliant and effective detective and
legal work, watched every step of the
trial carefully, and 1t is thought that
he made no mistakes.
Following the reading of the decision
Stackpole was handcuffed and taken
back to the Jail by his guardians. He
went slowly to his cell and dropped
quietly back on his bunk, where he re-
manned for hours, still as death and
staring up at the dark shadows
above him.