Arizona republican., 1908-07-13
|DEAIH PENALTY FOR
 TUCSON MURDFRfRS
One to Be Hanged Friday, the Other Four Weeks Later-GreatIy Con- trastinu Personal Characteristics.


 
 The case of Horace J. Groce, sen fenced to be hanged in Tucson next Friday at i o'clock for the murder of his wife has by the imminence of the fatal date become matter of special interest in that city. The death watch was set last Tuesday and according to the Tucson papers Groce has eaten nothing since and Is declining rapidly The noise of the building of the scaf- fold nearby seems to have fully un- nerved him.
 Groce is not the only killer that Tucson has to deal with. There have been several seemingly cold blooded murders in that city in a comparative ly short time. The next most impor tant case. made so by the nearness of 1 it's final disposition. is that of D. w.. Hawkins who pleaded guilty to the ] murder of Albert c. Leonhardt last winter. On Friday he was sentenced by Judge Campbell to be hanged on August 14th. Unless Governor Kibbey l grants executive clemency in one or | the other or both these cases, it is quite natural to suppose that the scaf- fold now building will be for the joint accommodation of both Groce and Hawkins
 The two murderers seem to possess few characteristics in common. Groce is negro and Hawkins is a white man. GrOce killed his wife, undoubt- edly through the promptings of jeal- osuy. Hawkins killed Leonhardt in the street at an early morning hour, but for what reason nobody seems to know exactly as he has made no de- fense. It has been ascertained how ever that Hawkins was guilty of sev- eral daring burglaries previous to the murder and it is supposed that he killed Leonhardt while attempting to hold him up. Either that or fearing he would be detected in some other crime
 s. Earl Metzler was arrested and tried as an accomplice in the murder but was found not guilty, though Hawkins in commenting on the yer dict said Metzler was with him when he did the shooting. Hawkins seems to be a most peculiar human death having no fears for him nor the rights of others holding any restraining i'm fluence. The law he seems to reeStrd as merely great inconvenience to one following his avocation of burglar and murderer He fears it only as he fears anything else that interrupts his plans. Of the court scene when sen tence was pronounced the Citizen says:
 Hawkins took his sentence very Tr,T,N
 brought into court He smiled when the sentence on him was pronounced and he smiled as he left the court room with the full knowledge that he will be legally executed within a month and four days unless the su- preme court of the territory or the governor should interfere.
 Hawkins was asked by Judge Campbell if he had anything to say before sentence was pronounced. His reply came quickly and he informed the court that he did not wish to talk if the death penalty were given him. His exact words were: Nothing if it is death
 "I sentence you to be hanged by the neck until dead on August 14 be- tween the hours of 10 o'clock in the morning and o'clock in the after nOOn,' said the court, and may God have mercy on your soul he added feelingly. flaw kins was immediately taken out of the court room and as he walked down the stairs to the lower floor he smiled broadly, not seeming to care at all over his sentence"