Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1907-01-05
Governor Outlines Reasons For
His Action Committing
Sentence
SUPREME JUDGES RESPONSIBLE
Fact That High Court Divided Equally
on Question Of a Fair Trial and the
Petition Of Judges for Communication
Moved Governor to Exercise His Au-
thority-Health Board Gives Up Job.
snecial TO T,mes-Republican.

Special to Times Republican.
Des Moines, Jan. 5.-The following
is the decision of Governor Cummlns
in the case of Louis Busse, giving his
reasons for cummuting the sentence to
life Imprisonment. The decision was
given late last evening and 1t ends
the Busse case. The sentence of death
will not be carried out and Busse will
remain in the prison at Anamosa. The
governor said:
1.-THE only fact that seems to me
worthy Of serious consideration relating
to this application is the even division
of the supreme court upon the original
appeal. Three members of the court
held that the jury had not been prop
erly instructed and that there should
be a new trial. Three were Of the
opinion that the trial was fair one
and that the judgment ought to stand.
BY operation of law, therefore, the
judgment was affirmed.
1T is urged that one whose prayer
for new trial was sustained by three
Of the six judges who compose the
appellate tribunal ought not to suffer
the extreme penalty Of the law.
Five of the six judges have rec
commended the communication of the
sentence to Imprisonment for life upon
the ground that it would be contrary
to public policy to execute man
who, according to the opinions in
half the court, had rot been lawfully
convicted, and should have been grant
ed another trial. The remaining judge
says the fact that the court was even
ly divided should b.. carefully and
gravely considered in determining the
application for Communication.
ut becomes my duty to decide
whether the circumstances have just
stated fairly require me to change the
sentence Of death into sentence of
imprisonment for life. / want to be
distinctly understood that I find no
merit in the application unless it be
in the circumstances above recited.
have made myself familiar with the
testimony and 1t seems to me that a
more cruel, brutal and atrocious crime
was never committed than the one of
which Louis Busse la guilty. My de-
cision must be approved or condemned
upon one proposition fair trial is
one Of the rights guaranteed to every
person accused OF crime, whether
he be high or low, rich or poor and
without regard to the character of the
crime charged against him. In the case
before me- cannot doubt that the Sec
ond trial would have resulted in con-
viction of murder in the first degree;
but I cannot assert that the penalty
affixed would have been death.
I'm view, therefore, Of the fact that
one-half Of the members Of the SUI
preme court held that Louis Busse did
not receive a fair trial. coupled with
the recommendations that are now be-
fore me, I have reached the conclu-
sion that It is my duty to commute
the sentence of death into q sentence
OF imprisonment for life"
After trying for several sessions Of
the legislature to get a law on the stat
ute books that would work in the mat
ter Of vital statistics the state board of
health has decided to give the matter
up for the present as a bad job. 1t is
dCkIlOWlcQSSu lIldI Lic pISSOuI dW dOCS
not work and that the statistics gath
cred are practically worthless, but the
legislature is asked not to take any ac-
ton for fear of making the matter still
worse.
Formerly the physicians were re-
equired to report the births and the un-
dertakers and coroners the deaths.
There was no compensation for the
work and no penalty for failure to
make the reports. The undertakers did
better than the doctors and more
deaths We're reported by double than
there were births
Then the legislature was asked to
make a change and they put the duty
on the assessors and required the re-,
Perts to be made thru the county clerks
ana auditors. This did little better,
but 1t was evident that the assessors
did not get them all. Their reports
were made but once a year, and they
gathered the information but once a
year.
In the hope Of lettering things the
Legislature was asked to put it up to
the doctors and undertakers again, and
this was done on the Recommendation
of the state board Of health. The doc
tors made worse failure than ever !
They kicked because there was no
compensation for making the reports,
and case was carried to the supreme
court, and, that court held that the doc
tors could be made to make the rec
ports but still the doctors didn't re-
port, so the Thirty-first general as
sembly decided to require the under
takers to report the deaths and the as
SCISSORS the births. This system ac-
is not working. Nothing
like all the deaths or births are report
ed, but for fear Of making the matter
worse the state board Of health has de-
cided that there had better be no
change for the present They are
steadying themselves with the idea of
devising some kind of system to rec
ommend to the legislature that will
work before they make any more rec
WEDDING AT INDEPENDENCE.
Miss Virginia Bibby Bride Of Walter
Arnold, Of LeGrand.
independence, Jan "a pretty |!
home wedding was celebrated on New
Years night at the home of R. B. |