Bisbee daily review. [volume] (Bisbee, Ariz.) 1901-1971, 1908-03-20
CONDEMNED
ATTEMPTS SELF
DESTRUCTION
Negro Under Death Sentence
Tries To Hang Himstlf In
Cell of ella County Iail-ls
Unsuccessful.

GLOBE, March l9.-Henry b. Davis,
the negro who was sentenced to hang
for the murder OF State Jones, com
mitten about seventeen months ago,
made another unsuccessful attempt to
escape jail Sunday evening and upon
failure of his plan TO escape the gal
lows, he Immediately made another at
tempt 20 evade the hangman's moose
by committing suicide by hanging
himself in his cell. but his attempt TO
do away with himself was also foiled.
although when the rope was cut Davis
was unconscious.
Following along the lines adopted
by Ed Hodges, the dope fiend, who
escaped after being sentenced to serve
twenty years in the pen for bugglaries,
and who was subsequently captured at
Florence, Davis tried to hide himself
in the bath room of the jail while the
evening meal was being served For
tunately, however, but unfortunately
for Davis, Deputy Sheriff Sturgis
made search Of the room before
locking up the prisoners for the night
and discovered the colored man jam
med beneath the bath tub, where he
had hoped to escape observation.
Davis was placed back I'm his cell in
the big steel cage without any diff
Guilty.
A short time afterward a prison
er notified Jailor Henderson that
DAYS was hanging himself in his cell
Deputy Sheriff McMuTay went inside
of the Jail and unlocking Davis cell,
he found tae colored man hanging by
the neck from a rope which he had
tied to the top of his bunk, a double
deck affair. He Immediately slashed
the rope and Davis dropped uncon-
scious to the floor. DIR. Wales was
summoned and after an examination
declared that the would-be suicide
would not suffer any serious conse-
quences. The rope by which Davis
tried to hang himself would not clear
him from the floor and he doubled his
legs under his body in order to eff
feet his purpose.
II is not known how Davis managed
to obtain the rope, but it is supposed
by the officers that he was given it
by one of the prisoners outside of the
cage. The colored man has given the
officers all kinds of trouble since ais
MANIFESTATION anu mas Uldue himself q
nuisance to the other prisoners, some
of whom undoubtedly regret that he
wasn't successful in beating the sher-
if to the hanging game.
Davis tried to escape several times
since he has been in jail and each
time he has been caught before get
ting outside of the building. His first
attempt at jail breaking occurred
shortly after he was first imprisoned
and during the time Will Stanley was
sheriff. The upper floor of the
court house had not been completed
and Davis managed to make his way
through the ceiling to the upper floor.
Before leaving he wrote a note to the
sheriff expressing sorrow that he had
to leave, but that he had to go back
to Texas and support his mother. His
absence was discovered almost imme-
diately. and he was caught on tae sec
.ond floor of the court house.
Davis case is now before the SUI
preme court of the territory on an ap-
peal and a decision is expected me
last of this month. It is very doubt
full that the decision of the district
court, or rather of the jury vii! be
affirmed and If it is, it is very likely
that Governor Kibbey viii commute
his sentence to life Imprisonment.