The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1907-12-01
CITIZEN PLEADS
FOR DAY'SLIfE
Houston Comments Warmly on
Failure of Law Firm
to Appear.
DECISION AGAIN DEFERRED
LET LAW TAKE ITS COURSE SAYS
coLoRED PREACHER.

The state board of pardons yesterday
heard arguments on the question of
committing the sentence of Albert T.
Day, colored. who is to be shot Deem
Der Is for the murder of H. H. Voss,
also colored. After two hours spent in
executive session the board was unable
TO reach an agreement and adjourned to
meet Monday morning at II o'clock.
when the matter will be taken up again.
The hearing yesterday morning was
IN the supreme court chamber, the
members of the board of pardons, Chief
Justice McCarty. Justice Straup and
Justice Prick of the supreme court; NJ.
A. Breeder, attorney general, and Gov
ernor John c. Cutler occupying the
court bench.
Among those present were w. L.
Dunn and Walter Little. attorneys for
Day; Arthur Pratt, warden of the pen
itentiary; f. c. LOofbOurow, district at
torney; Mrs. H. II. Voss, wife of the
murdered man, and Rev. j. c. Bell of
the colored NJ, e. church.
The absence of any representative of
the law firm of Dickson, Ellis & Ellis
was noted, as when the petition to the
board was submitted two weeks ago
1t was accompanied by a statement
from these attorneys that Justice de-
manded that Day be given some Glenn
ency and offering to appear before the
board and speak in his behalf. For
some unaccountable reason the firm
was not represented and Messrs. Dunn
and Little, the younger men who have
SO diligently fought for the life of their
charge, were the only attorneys to
speak for him.
Houston's Tart Comment.
J. W. Houston commented quite bit
terly upon the failure of any represen-
tatives of this firm to appear after
they had made such d ''splurge," as he
called it, and said that it was not just
10 the condemned man.
Walter Little opened the argument
for the defense by reciting all the Incl
dents of the Voss murder at his home
on Franklin avenue a year ago. He
said that Day and Voss had been quar-
reling and that the shot resulted from
an attack made on Day by Voss.
Mr.. Loofbourow urged that the SEN
tence of the court be carried out, say
ing that the evidence clearly showed
that the murder was a deliberate one
and had been premeditated for some
time. He cited statistics on the num-
Der of murders in the United States
compared to the number of executions
and contrasted the record here to that
in other countries. In only Mexico and
Italy is the number of murders to each
1000 population in excess of that in the
United States.
I'VE Americans are killing each other
at the rate of 5000 a year" he declared
land / believe the only way to stop this
carnival of crime is 10 enforce the let
ter OF the law
J. w Houston has known Day for
some years. In his remarks to the
board he said that Day was considered
in the 'Black Belt of Texas, from
which he came, a peaceful negro.
''Of course we must take into cOnsld-
Grafton in this case the mans capacity
for crime" said Mr.. Houston. "a man
should be judged that way and his
penalty made to fit such conditions
rather than the crime itself. I am il
favor of the death penalty and am not
here to argue against il. but in this
case / am talking from humanitarian
standpoint This man was brought VI
where IL was thought manly TO carry g
gun and his ideas have never beer
changed. He does not know right from
wrong as you and I know it. and has
not the same attitude toward life. There
are some men in the penitentiary now
with white skins who are a greater me
mace to this state and its people thar
is this man Day. I refer TO Abe Ma
iors. who has 10 be watched cOntin'
uaIly. yet charities and societies de
Tended him because his skin is white
This man has a black skin and no one
pays any attention to him. This pool
fellow even has his own people against
him. His own preacher is here to con-
denim him."
Rev. Mr.. Bell of the African NJ. f
church defended the attitude of hi:
people. saying that they desired to SEE
tbe laws enforced and wanted thef
white brethren TO aid them in plucking
from their midst those who are a me
mace TO their homes and society.
After all had their say the board re-