The Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1???-1928, 1907-08-14
HARRINGTON NOT
10 Be HANGED
GOV. FOLK COMMITTEES BOGUS
LORDS SENTENCE FROM
DEATH TO PRISON.
MANY DATES WERE SET
Fot the Execution But Event Was
Postponcd--several Say preju-
dice Had Prevented Fair
Trial.


St Louis, Aug 13.-@L Lord +
Seymour Bennington when Informed
Tuesday afternoon that Gov. Folk hal
commntcd bis sentence ,cf death y
E life Imprisonment, received the a I
nouacement in sullen silence.
Eic was la his cell in the Clayt II
Jail, where he has been a prisoner
since the murder Of James r. McGaaa
moro than fcur years ago. He showed
no pleasure in the prospect OF re.
moyal. only a few days distant, ta
jefferson City His execution, averJ-
ca by the governors action had beel
set FOR August 25.
He refused to say whether he won i
make further efforts to obtain pa
don Other questions he snappishlY
declined to answer He said he w1s
i'll and asked the jailer to send for o
physician
Gov Folk stated that his decision
TO show clemency to Darlington was
due to the recommendation of Judges
Graves and Valiant of the supreme
court, who held that harrington di,f
not have fair trial In the st. Louis
county circuit court
Both recommended the reduction
Of the sentence Of life Imprisonment,
as did Pardon Attorney Mosby.
GOV. Folk also referred to the law
enacted by the last general assembly,
which gives uTies the option of in
flicting the death penalty or life inn
prisonment in cases of first degree
murder He holds that the lawmakers
ot Missouri designed, by these laws,
to abolish capital punishment excelt
in tho most extreme cases.
Murdered Benefactor.
- darlington, whose Identity as the
nctorius George Frederick Barton a
crook OF international reputation, has
been established by police records OF
st. Louis and London, lured his bene
factor James p Mccain from his
home at 29a1 Franklin avenue in the
summer of 1903 and killed him at
Bonflls quarry. st. Louis county.
The body was thrown over high
embankment into a quarry pond, and
was discovered week later Bar
rington was convicted on what law
yers have held to be a perfect case OF
circumstantial evidence.
It was shown that he went to the
quarry with McCann, that he wore
home his clothes and carried his
watch and revolver and other articles
and that he resorted to schemes to
deceive Mrs Mccain as to McCann's /
whereabouts. and finally. that he
started to flee from st. Louis upon
the discovery OF the body.
Judges Graves and Valiant dis !
sented from the majority opinion OF
the supreme court affirming the first
degree murder sentence. They con |
tended that it had not been salts
factorily proven that McCann WAS
dead, and that Darlington was not
fairly tried. on account of the preju- /
dice against him. harrington appeal /
ed TO the supreme court of the Uni |
ted States. and the death sentence I
was again affirmed. Several persons
titU DtEdH W MOlk lOi a NOlhHlhAti /
tion of the sentence TO life imprison
ment.
Death Day often Set.
The date of Barrington's execution
has been fixed no less than half a |
dozen times. He has been in the /
Clayton jail four years.
He made his appearance in st. |
Louis In January, 1903, and advertised /
for a wife A few weeks later he mar
ried Miss Wilhelmina Grace Coeh-
rane. representing himself to be
British nobleman with big estates and
castles.
His wife left him. after discovering
that he was a fraud. In March, 1905,
harrington was sentenced to serve q
term in the workhouse for disturbing
the peace of his wife's brother He
was pardoned out OF the workhouse
by Mayor Wells, and a few weeks
later was arrested for the McCann
murder.
Ills record shows that. as Bar
ton" he had married two women
before coming to st. Louis, and that
he left a record OF many crimes be-
hind him in England