The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-03-19
ASKS MERCY
FOR ORCHARD
He Is Sentenced to Be
Hanged.
JUDGE DEFENDS MURDERER
Pardon Board Requested to Set
Order Aside.
says Testimony Of Famous Criminal
Turned Light on Atrocities Conn
mitsed BY Miners In
the West.

n
Caldwell, Idaho. March is--stating
that he believed that Harry Orchard In
his testimony In the trials OF William
D. Haywood and George A. Pettibone.
for the murder OF Ex-Governor Frank
steunenburg. told che exact truth. at
tempting to conceal nothing. Judge Free
mont Wood in tbs District Court TO-
day, recommended that the State Board
OF Pardons commute Orchards sentence
Of death to Imprisonment In the state
penitentiary.
The sentence of death was pronounc-
ed IN accordance with the plea Of guilty
entered by Orchard Tuesday OF last
week when arraigned.
Judge Wood presided at both the
Haywood and Pettibore trials. In sem
fencing orchard and recommending the
communication OF his sentence. Judge
Wood reviewed the case from the time
OF the killing OF Frank Stuenenberg to
the present, including the arrest OF
Orchard. HIS confession, the arrest Of
Charles 4. Meyer. President OF the
western Federation Of Miners; William
d. Haywood. Secretary Treasurer, ana
George A. Pettibone: the trials or Hay
wood and Pettibone and the plea OF
guilty entered by Orchard to the charge
| OF murder in the first degree, the pun
| ishrnent for which under the Idaho
statutes Is death.
m regard to the part of orchard In
| tho trials. Judge Wood said;
II am more than satisfied that tne
| defendant has not only acted IN good
| faith in making the disclosures that
| he did, but that he also testined fuiiy
| and fairly to the whole truth. with
| holding nothing that was material, and
declaring nothing which had not ac-
tually taken place.
SAYS Orchard Told Truth.
SIT was the particular province OF
the court to observe and follow this
| witness upon the former trials. and
am Of the opinion that no man living
i ~cs,,d eonsarye the stories OF crime teid
4 ~ the witness and maintain hiuaseif
Under piAtn ercilesg IRE OF the leAd. =
\ cross examination attorney OF me
country. unless upon the theory that he
ryss testifyinr to facts and circunl-
| stances which had an actual existence
| within his own expertence
| GA child can testify truly and main
| tain itself on cross-examinaticn. A
| man may be able to frame his story
| and testify to brief statement or xacts
Involving short single transaction.
But I cannot conceive OF case where
even the greatest intelligence can con-
| serve a story of crime covering years
Of duration with constantly shifting
| scenes and changing characters and
maintain that story with c.rcumstan-
tial detail as to times. places persons
| and particular circumstances, ana IN
as merciless cross-examinstion as was
ever given a witness in an American
court unless the witness thus testifylng
was speaking truthfully
s.BeiieyinR. as l do. that the defend
ant acted In good faith and that when
| called as . witness for the state, ne
| told ali and withheld nothing, can
the more readily fulfill the duty that
consider the law imposes upon me.
aIn passing upon this question, 1t Is
| immaterlal that juries in the two cases
| tried have declared that they were not
| satisfied of the guilt of the defendant
on trial The statute on the state I'M
| poses a bar to conviction on the tes-
| timony OF an accomplish alone. no mat
| ter though he may be believed by the
| fury. unless there Is other independent
| evidence tending to connect the de-
PENDANT with the commission Of crime.
And. again, in each OF the cases
| tried. the court, at the written request
OF each of the defendants. instructed
the jury that verdict Of not guilty
| trial was innocent but rather that HE
guilt had not been proven beyond q
reasonable doubt.
ef Recommended TO Mercy.
"For these reasons. IL Is at once ap-
narent that the verdict of the Juries re-
| ferred 10 are not necessarily at vari-
anoe with the views here expressed.
II am thoroughly satisfied that under
facts IN this case. the court has a plain
duty TO perform. and that the authori-
ties quoted leave no alternative in the
matter. and under tn eSe authorities the
defendant must be recommended TO the
clemenncy OF the pardoning board with
the full assurance that II IL not 70 be
presumed that the equitable title to
mercy which the defendant has acquired
by testifying to the truth, VIII not De
sacredly accorded to him by the bofrd.
The recommendation OF the court 70
the pardon board is that the sentence
Of the court about to be imposed upon
| this defendant be committed and that
| the death penalty be RENTED.
Aside from the reasons already
given for this recommendation, there
| is another reason. in myNopinion. which
| should appeal strongly to the court.
| and to the pardon board. for RENTING
| Zee death penalty against the defend
| ant For several years a series of arto-
cious crimes have been committed I'm
| ms and other states. and the confess
sion and testimony of this witness is
| the first direct evidence which has been
| secured fixing responsibility for a con-
adorable number OF said crimes
"Orchard and Dewey are the only
men who have the courage or dispo-
| sItion 10 disclose the truth with refer
| ence to the crimes committed.
| .aThis defendant" continues Judge
Wood, also testified to long series