Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1906-12-04
Busse Must Hang.

DeS MolneS.-Ine state SupremS |
court has denied Louis Busse, the
Butler county murderer. writ of
| habeas corpus. This means that
Busse, after escaping the gallows on
three previous occasions, will have
to hang Friday, December IA, unless
his attorneys can devise some new
means Of delay.
1t has been reported that appeal
may be taken to the United States
supreme court on constitutional
grounds, but unless such appeal IL
possible Busse is now face to face
with death. The last legislature re-
fused to intercede in Buses behalf,
declaring that it had no Authority to
commute death sentences, and no
hope exists for an appeal to the conf
ing legislature.
Governor Cummins has three times
fixed the date for Busse's execution
after the time set by the district
court had expired. The governors
recent determined stand in the Joseph
Smith case, who was executed April
20, indicates that he will not stay
the death penalty imposed by order
of court.
buSSe Is COnHuCu dS LIE fS0oAAAoO~
peniteniary, where his execution will
take place Sheriff Henry Parrot OF
Bremen county will have to ofactate
as the hangman, the conviction OF
Busse having taken place In his coun-
ty.
The decision of the supreme court
on the last appeal is per euriam.
which means all the judges concur In
denying the writ
Busse was convicted of one of the
most atrocious crimes ever commit
ted in the state. The evidence shows
that Busse coolly and deliberately set
about to murder his wife at the farm
home June Is, 1901, by first sending
his own children, by former wife,
|, a boy and girl, away from home TOT
d the day in company with farm
n hand. Left alone with his wife, with
!. whom he had quarreled over money
affairs, Busse beat her into inseAsi-
= >, bility with chair, crushing her skull.
y Then to make sure of her death he
cut his wife's throat with butcher
knife. Evidently fearing that his
crime would be discovered, Busse
,e dragged the woman's almost lifeless
is body into the kitchen, heaped bed
ii clothing about it saturated with kero
I'd sene and then set fire to the funeral
I'd pyre He then rushed from the
e. house, leaving step-child in the
burning building. A brother OF
Buses working in a neighborine
field, heard his cry of are and ar
J. rived in time to save the step-child
q and the house from the flames. Mrs
s Busse's body was found in the kit
a chen partly burned. To add to the
horror, the flames had burst thu
- woman's abdomen, revealing an un
born babe almost burned to crisp
So intense was the feeling against
Busse in his home county that hi
narrowly escaped lynching, and hl'
trial was taken to Bremen county OF
a change of venue.
Thomas Stays in Prison.
That Charles Thomas, convicted
Of the notorious Mabel Schofield mur
der, must serve his life sentence il
the penitentiary is the ruling OF tn
Iowa supreme court, which ha
handed down its decision AFFIRMING
the ruling of the lower court Eacl
Of the numerous points raised by tn
attorneys for the defense was over
ruled, the court summing up it's find
ld Ing in the following words:
~. Our full duty is discharged an
justice is administered in accordanc
" with our system of law, which grant
&c to defendant the right Of jury tris
and the right to have every dout
resolved in it's favor, when we afirl
the Judgment of conviction based o
ia ftA,, A,,l1 y1ep n
he has had fair trial to an imparti;
Jury, that the verdict of the jury ha
support in the evidence, and that n
error of law to his prejudice has bee
committed during the trial.
1--WE are fully satisfied that defen,
ant has had fair trial, that there
lS ample evidence to support the verde
and that no prejudicial error was con
mitted by the trial court and convi
ton is therefore affirmed"
VIII Urge Divorce Reform.
Senator John H. Jackson Of Woo
bury county will be one of the men
bers of the coming legislature VIII
will offer divorce reform measure
Senator Jackson will propose a bi
fatty prohibiting either party to
divorce from remarrying within 81
months after decree is entered. Jude
4 David Mould has Endorsed this mea
Ia ure.
- The bill also proposes to have a
the testimony taken down and tran
cribed into a record by the court r
porter. At present the record is kel
2 only when one party resists. JUDI
Mould believes that any interests
person should be able to discover {
what grounds the divorce was give
Twenty-one Murderers Ask Pardon.
m Twenty-one inmates Of Iowa per
tentiaries, all convicted Of murder
the first degree, will ask the sta
legislature for pardons at the comb
sission. Pardon Clerk B. W. Garre
has sent out the necessary notices t
publication, as required by law
End of Thomas Case.
~ No motion fled for rehearing
u The Charlie Thomas murder case W
he fled, according to the stateme
of Walter McHenry, his attorns
1.-THE Supreme court practically s.
lied every question raised in its +
m inan The chances are that Thorn
I'LL viii spend the remainder of his I
turai life bahtod the bars He C