Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1909-06-25
JUDGE evlNoToN, WHO TRIED
COUNT ERIC Won kuTzLEsEN.
pIsPLEAsEp OVER Release.
DECLARES HIS DiscAReE
AN lNExPREssiBLE OUTRAGE
eyinston Says kutzieben is a Fraud
and a Crook and That Insanity
Dodge Was Worked to Secure I'm
mumity from Punishment for wr.ek-
ing Train.

Iowa City, June 25.-Hon. o. A
Byington, of Iowa City, former district
judge, who presided at the trial of Eric
Won kutzleben, who just been released
from the insane department of the
Anamosa penitentiary by habeas cor
pus proceedings, is bitter in the denun-
citation Of the sympathy shown by the
public press toward the German noble
man, and in support of, his position
and in defense of the penitentiary SEN
tence which he as district judge gave
him, has given out the following state
ment: n
II notice that the recent release OF
Eric Won Kutzelben, from the insane
department of Anamosa penitentiary
has occasioned considerable newspa-
per comment. Aside from a short sem
sible editorial in the Des Moines Even
ing Tribune, the substance of all the
newspaper articles, that I have read
describing his release, consisted of q
glorification of his mother for her eff.
forts to secure his freedom. AS pic.
tured in the newspapers, it was a long
and glorious contest, between the devo.
tion Of a living mother and the minions
of the law, and the most natural i'm.
preston received from reading the &C.
counts Of his discharge, is one of SYM
pathy for person unjustly accused.
However, with due appreciation o.
a mothers love, and with a just sym
pathy for the erring, the plain, blum
facts are that Won Kutzleben commit.
ted one of the most deliberate anf
dastardly crimes recorded in the his.
tory Of the state-a crime which sen
to horrible death brave, innocen
man, and which, but for almost {
miracle of chance, would have sacri.
feed scores of other lives. And it i!
equally true that his release means 6
constant menace to the safety of socie.
ty, and incidentally furnishes another
illustration of the apparent inability O
the state, under our present method!
of criminal procedure, to convict Grim.
mails. 1t is an added example to thu
already long list in which crimina
has escaped his just deserts, and tt
such an extent has this proceeded tina
the nom enforcement of our crimina
laws has become reproach, and dis.
grace to a law abiding people.
THE recovery Of Won Kunzleben'
mental equipoise, so soon after the dis
missal of the indictments against him
is to my mind conclusive evidence tina
the Irresistible Impulse theory, pu
forward as defense was sham ant
pretense. While he is a degenerat,
and with mind from from normal
he undoubtedly understood the nature
Of his act. His cunning maneuvers fol.
lowing his crime show that he under,
stood the turpitude of his act by seek
ing to conceal his connection with it,
Il have always felt that the reversa
of the judgment of life Imprisonment
against him after trial in which tn,
benefit of every doubt was given tt
him, was great mistake.
"a business man of this city recentl.
said to me that the courts of this coun
try seemed possessed of a fear tina
some one might be sent to the peniten
tiary, and it would seem that there i
some basis for such opinion on the par
of the laity.
Notwithstanding the newspape
'balderdash' about the beautiful ant
touching efforts of his mother I'm as
sisting to secure his release, the dis
charge Of the Baron from the peni
Tertiary is. in plain English, an mex
pressible outrage"