Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1907-09-03
HapIeSs Murderer Held in Cha
yes County Jail Sees Nothing
but Visions of GaIIows and
Eternal Punishment.
CLAIMS KILLING WAS
DONE IN SELF-DEFENSE
Officers Trick Prisoner Into a.
Confession by Bringing Wife.
of His Victim Before Him I'M
Chains,
Especial Correspondence Morning Journal !

UndInS,
Especial Correspondence Morning journal. |
Roswell, n. NJ. Aug 31.-unlet-
tered. uncounth and uneducated, there
is hapless murderer in the ChaVes
county Jail who has no hope of es-
Gaping the gallows and no hope of es-
Gaping eternal punishment in the here
after,
This man is Moses l.. Lewis. who
slew his cousin, Leland S. Terhune,
burying the body of his victim In an
irrigating ditch. Lewis does not as
sumo the attitude of many murderers,
and especially condemned prisoners, in
claiming that as soon as their souls
are released from their bodies they
will be waited to the realms of eternal
bliss. Lewis Is penitent and does not
say he Is going to perdition in the
Dragging manner of many condemned
victims who ascend the gallows claim
ing utter Indifference To death and the
hereafter.
Contrast to Harry Orchard.
The story of Harry Orchard Is in
striking contrast to that OF Lewis. Or
ehard IS now calmly baslting I'm what
he calls divine forgiveness for the
numberless murders which he claims
he committed for hire. Unlike Or
chard. Lewis feels that his crime in
taking the life of fellow being is
beyond forgiveness. He feels that God
will not forgive him for killing his
cousin, notwithstanding the fact that
he claims the killing was done in self
defense Lswis ie rot anxious TO lie.
but declares he would rather be in
the place of his dead cousin than in
the county Jail with the terrible charge
Of murder hanging over him.
The prisoner, when boy back In
Fayetteville Ark, attended Sunday
school, and had some ideas of his
own I'm regard to religion He Is the
child of poor parents and was born in
Fayetteville in October. 1873
His Remarkable story of the Murder.
The story Of this murder is as re-
markable ms any In the history oi
American criminology, and undoubt-
edy many mind experts" Will come
here from the east to study the pris-
oner
The remarkable part of the mans
story Is that while he claims the kill
ing was done I'm defense of his own
life, he yet processes to believe that
there is no hope for him, either here
or In the hereafter. He reasons:
There Is no hope for me when ! die.
The Bible does not say anything about
killing man In self-defense. | have
violated the command, Thou shalt not
kim / killed this man and ! must 60
10 everlasting punishment when
die"
AT his preliminary hearing Lewis
waived examination and was re-
manded to the county jail wit.1ut
bail to await the action of the e. nd
jury He was seen later in the jail
By a representative of the Morning
Journal who interviewed him at con
siderable length and obtained good
photograph of the prisoner.
AT first Lewis received the newspa-
per man coldly and seemed disinclined
to talk but after "A little time changed
his mind and concluded to relate MS
version of the crime for which he
nov lies within the shadow OF the gal-
lows.
When arrested and confronted with
HIS victims wife. who was handcuffed
and apparently a prisoner accused OF
the murder of her husband. Lewis con-
fessed that ne had knocked Terhune IN
the head with a shovel and atterWard I
cut his throat. At the inquest il de-
veloped that the dead mans head was
filled with buCkshot. When confronted 4
with this fact. Lewis admitted that he
had shot his cousin In the head.
The Prisoners story.
The story Of the murder, as told by I
the prisoner is as follows;
Il have never told the truth about 4
this vet. | did not intend to untii !
got into the court room or on the gal f
lows, but you have struck me right T
and I viii tell you for the first time 4
how IL all happened.
..The man j killed was my first +
cousin. and / have wished ten thou~-
and times over that / was the dead
man Instead Of him.
we had always been friends, and
since We were boys had gotten on fine 1
together. There had never been se-
rious rupture between my cousin and
myself. beyond the little ordinary Jill
ferences. until three or four DAYS be
fore the killing occurred. We had al
WsVs baen friends and worked TO
getber in Texas before We came to
New Mexico. We came to the Pecos
Valley about five years ago and were
partners We were partners ln thf
farming og 220 acres Of land belonKlhE
To Mrs America Bowman ana @-V
acres belonging to Bud Wilson ~ k"s-
well. About fifty acres was under cut
tivatiom. In Kaffr corn and alfalfa.
We had q half interest I'M the alfalfa
and 0me-third interest IN the
Kafdr corn on the Bud Wilson land. 4
We had q full interest in the crop on z
the Bowman place. Mrs Bowman De-
ing Terhune's gFandmufher- 4
we could not make "a living 10 this
wav and both Of ue worked out Tor
wages For three or four DAYS De-
fore the killing. my cousin seemed un-
usually cool toward me. one day.
" hen his wife was on the homestead. I
ten miles away. he and I were in lhe
yard and h. accused me of wrouginE +
his wife Upon my denying tne acru-
aafion. he shouted.
'Tu kin you.
He then started toward the house y