Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1906-11-26
Death Sentence Will Be
COMMITTED to Life.
Has Lived For 4 Years and I
Months in the Death Cell.
Most Remarkable Fight For Life
In Prison History.

new 1CTk, NOV. -o.-lIdWyer Albert
T. Patrick has Won his fight for life
His end will not be in the electric
chair.
Before Gov. Higgins gives up his Of
fee as chief executive of the state he
will sign a communication Of the death
sentence. and life Imprisonment will
be Patricks fate.
Whether the communication of the
death sentence will be brought about
without a further hearing on the part
of witnesses for Patrick or whether a
commission will be appointed by thu
governor to look into'the mass of med
ical and other expert testimony sub
mitted TO him RECENTLY has not been
fully determined upon. Gov. Higgins
however. will not permit the sentence
of the law in Patrick's case to be car
ried out.
Patrick all along has declared that
he did not want to have his Sentence
commuted to life imprisonment. H,
has told his friends and his attorneys
that all he wanted was justice and if
that was denied him he would rather
march to the death chair.
Patrick even went so far some time
ago as to address letter to Gov Hig-
gins. In which he told the executive
that he would refuse any kind of elem
ency that might be offered to him.
L VIII accept no compromise" Pat
TICK wrote to the governor
Patrick has not yet learned Of tho
governors decision.
Patrlck's fight for !ifc is the most re-
markable Of its kind ever made in this
country. No other person has ever been
conflned as long in a death house await
Ing execution as has Patrick For moro
than four years and seven months he has
been living within the shadow of the
electric chair. During that time he has
been present when II other unfortunates
were taken from their cells and marched
along the narrow passage which scpa-
rates the condemned cell block from the
execution chamber.
For more than four years Patrick has
kept up his fight for life Several times
he has seen the death watch close in
upon him. He has heard the state a,I-
thoritdes they were testing the cleo
trio current in the room adjoining the
one where his cell was located
During all these trials Patrick has never
permitted himself to be talked into the
Suc1 sIlqt tIc Slti was really dI mana,
but. on the contrary, he has always kept
UP his struggle. and in doing so has sur
prised his keepers, who have come t.
look upon him as the most remarkable
murderer ever confined In the Sing Sing
lighthouse.
Patrick has maintained from the day
Of his arrest that he had nothing to do
with the death Of William Marsh Rice
the Texas millionaire. for whose murder
the condemned attorney is now in tho
death house. Patrick has claimed right
along that if Mr.. Rice was killed il was
by his former valet. Charles +. jones.
But Patrick holds that Rice died ratu-
raj death. that neither he nor Jones' had
anything to do with it, and that experts
whom the defence called told the exact
state OF affairs when they sworc at the
time Of the application for new trial
for Patrick that absolutely nothing was
proved by the district attorneys that
death was the result of chIorofG"m r'ris-
oning, as alleged in the Indictment.
His fight for life has been an expensive
one. II is said that more than $4,000
has been spent in the endeavor to save
Patrick from the death chair. The man
who has stood by Patrick. who has sup
piled him with funds with which to carry
on such a remarkable battle. is John Mil
1iken Of st. Louis. his brother-ir-law. Mr..
MillIken became convinced from tho out
set that Patrick was innocent of the
charge Of which he was accused and vol
unteered to aid his rciatve with his for
tune. Mr.. Milliken never did give up hope
that in the very end Patrick would come
forth victorious. Mr. Millken hoped that
a new trial would be granted his broth
er-law. because it was the general belief
that if such n new trial should he had
the verdict would he one Of not guilty.