Arizona republican., 1906-08-09
LIFE SENTENCE LAID
 TOlNCOMPE TENT LAWYER
E. F. Barnes Petition to President
 Roosevelt.

Some mention was made by The Re- ! publican yesterday of a movement for the pardon of E. F. Barnes, an old man ! serving a life sentence at Yuma for the murder of William H. Hanna, a com panion, with whom he had come to Prescott from Nevada. The two men resided in Prescott for three months ! living together. One fall Hanna left and the following winter his remains, or what was supposed to be his skele- | ton, was found on the Fort WhippIe i reservation.
 A statement by Barnes, accompanied | by blank petitions directed to the pres ident of the United States, has been ! received in Phoenix. Barnes says he is 63 years of age and that he is innocent of the murder of Hanna. He further says that it has not even been shown that murder was committed The iden- tification of the remains of Hanna rests wholly on a fragment of blue overalls and a part of an old blue handkerchief found in the vicinity of the skeleton. Barnes said that his arrest was made for no other reason than that he had come to the country with Hanna. He said he had been in jail for six months before his indictment, and then for the first time learned the precise nature of
 
 time to prepare a defense, and worst of all, no lawyer capable of handling his case.
 Some time after his arrest lawyer called at the jail to see him and told him that there could be no case against him. He would get him out of his trouble for $500. When the case was called for trial it was managed in the most unskillful manner. Barnes says he believes the lawyer was then insane and that not long after that he was confined in an insane asylum in Cali fornia. He subsequently, returned to Prescott and. lapsing again into insan- ity, he was brought to the territorial asylum, where he soon after died.
 One of the witnesses for the terri tory at the trial was a strong witness for him. That was a MT. Goodman, from whom he and Hanna had rented a house while they were living in Pres colt. Goodman testified as to the de- parture of Hanna and as to the re- maining of Barnes. and also as to his employment of Barnes for some months after the leaving of Hanna. He also testified that there had been no trouble between the men. Barnes be- lieves that if he had had proper legal attention at the trial. or if he had none at all, he would have been acquitted.
 The statement contains his own mill itary record. He is native of Maine. entered the civil war in 1863 and fought through it. His father was a soldier in that war, as were nearly all. if not all. his male relatives beside two of his brothers-in-law and his father in-law. one of them came out of the war with the rank of colonel and an- other reached the grade of lieutenant.
 A son took part in the Spanish American war and was killed at San Juan hill. After the civil war Barnes came west. settling in the northern part of the country. He held various of fices under the government. most of them being connected with the throw ing open of Indian reservations to set tlement
 He says he has a daughter awaiting his release in order that she may give him a comfortable home for his few re- maining years.