Omaha daily bee., 1909-02-20
SUBWAY GETS NEW LEAVE
Doomed Man is Granted Stay Of Exc.
cution Until March s.
ORDER BY THE SUPREME COURT
Prisoner f. Dressed and Ready 90
start for GaIIows the De-
cree Giving Few More
Days Comes.
Ion a SAD Corresnondent.l

ABh oAdAA 1VITe1l OuutnA-N
LINCOLN, Feb. -~9.-(special Ills Eood-
byes said. his final prayer spoken. his
preparations to die all made. standing In
the very shadow OF the g~allovrs. r. Mead
~shumwsy. convicted murderer Of Mrs.
Sarah Martin. was saved by a stay OF exc
cution issued BY the supreme court. Notice
of the action Of the court was received
At the state penitentiary just two minutes
before the death march was to have
started. from the prisoners cell to the
scaffold. Subway thought the appearance
OF the deputy warden and others At his
cell door was notice TO him that the mo-
ment OF his execution had arrived. When
he was informed that by the courts de-
cree his execution had been postponed until
March ;. except by a change Of expression
he showed no signs Of interest. e said moth
ing. A few moments later he remarked:
Il just as well have been hanged today
as March s.
In the warehouse Of the broom factory.
where the gailows is located. 100 or more
persons had been permitted to enter to
witness the hanging. and mong these were
Jacob Martin. tho husband OF the muir
dered woman; Harvey Groves. her brother;
two nephews. c. E.. Graves and l. e.
Groves: DIT. a. r.. Touvelle. the family
A ~ HiiihNH lNt AMt MdFITft \ QtitE1ilon
Afrom Beatrice. and Firth and Adams. near
where the crime was committed. and sew
eral members of the legislature.
These persons had reached the prison
early in the forenoon. and for more than
an hour they huddled together in the
damp. cold gallows room waiting the com
ing Of the condemned man. II had been
told that the death march would start
at ESQ o'clock and IL was Just that hour
that Warden Beemer stepped to the door
and announced the decision OF tho court.
Insists He 10 I~nnoeent.
shumway had written his last letter to
his sweetheart. Stella Bogerly. and had this
morning received one from her I'm reply. In
her letter she expressed sympathy for him
and the hope that I'VE shall soon meet"
The stay of execution was signed by
Judges Root, Reese. Dean and Fawcett,
Judges Barnes and Letton not concurring.
The action was taken after affidavits had
been presented TO the court 10 show Shum-
way was not mentally competent Fulton
Jack, a Beatrice attorney. swore Shumway
was not competent to transact ordinary
business. r, W. SabIn. another lawyer,
signed an affidavit TO the same effect.
Mrs. Anna Peters of Beatrice testified in an
affidavit that her husband John r. Peters,
one OF the jurors VINO convicted SHumWay,
had committed suicide because he felt he
had done a great wrong in voting for con-
viction. Three physicians. A. b.. Robinson,
c. +. Fall and p. Y. Goss. testified he was
not mentally responsible. and his half
brothers. A. F. and William shumway,
swore he had been injured while a boy by
being dragged by a horse. They asserted
his head was injured then and he has never
recovered.
The hearing before Governor ShaIlenberEer
The hearing before Governor ShalIenberger
in the shumway case lasted from 10 o'clock
until l2:a0 D. m. and. at the conclusion. the
governor without hesitation declared he
would not interfere in the case. He said
he believed shumway had had a chance
BIO avail himself Of his constitutional rights
and that IL was for the supreme court and
not for him to pass upon these questions.
SUBWAY was represented before the
governor by r. NJ. Lands of Seward and
Judge Francis g. Hamer of KeArney.
Deputy Attorney General Grant Martin
reITesented the state.
The defense urged that a reprieve OF 100
days be granted in which Shumway might
protect his rights. II was claimed he had
been deprived in the first trial Of seven
~peremptory challenges and that in the
supreme court he had been denied a rehear-
ing by three judges only, whereas four
was a majority. Judge Hamer urged thai
the brutality OF the crime caused the prose-
cutfon TO overlook the rights Of his client