Bisbee daily review., 1910-06-12
GRANTED
NOT SUPPORTED
BY THE RECORD
Story of the Murder of James
Lindsey By WaddiI IL
Graham County -Waddill
viii Only Serve Ten Years,

d
The record IN the Waddill murder
case affords little ground for the Act
ing Governor Of Arizona in support OF
his pardon. which he granted this
week. and changed the death penal
ty. inflicted by the jury to one Of
imprisonment for fifteen years.
Waddnl did not Kill Lindsey in a
fight He shot the old mai while he
was asleep at an early hour In the
morning. They had had no conVersa-
ion in the night. nor had they quar-
relied within week OF the murder.
This is Waddnrs own confession.
After telling various conflicting sto-
ries from time 10 time. he finally
fixed on 4 quarrel of a week before
the murder as his motive. He eN-
planned that he had, while riding
Lindseys horse, fired at rabbit
This scared the horse. which plunge
down hillside and skinned its
knees. On rhe return OF Waddin his
foster father reprimanded him fo-
mistreating the horse. This. Wac
ain said, tempted him to invite the
old man to shoot il out then" bat
he (WaddI1 did not have the RESP
lutIon to carry the impulse inac ac-
ton.
His final story to the officers OF
Graham county was that when he
awoke on the fatal morning he found
himself overcome by AN irresisf-
ible impulse 70 kin his sleeping vic
tim. and so murdered him as he
slept. Even If this story BE- true and
il we nus accept a theory OF emotion
al insanity. il is not *e~y inviting
prospect for society 10 contemplate
the certainty that ten years hence
(making allowance for good time
earned this man viii beturned loose.
at 'ihe age OF thirty. TO kiH others in
their sleep in obedince 70 his "irre-
sisiibie impulses
Graham county is ua- 'oil; :n
reality killed the old IAN because re {
was in a hurry 10 irh srit the cid
mans property. WaddiH told so many
lies about the killing that am story
he has told recently for the purpose
Of creating sympathy in his behalf. /
IS worth little notice
After the murder he went to the |
county seat aud gave himself up. He
told the story that he and Lindsey
had engaged in a fight and that he
had been compelled to kill he old
man TO save his own life. This story /
was accepted. as he in his ignorance
doubtless expected il to be, until ex-
animation of the body by the coro-
ners jury quickly disclosed the OBJ
vious fact that the old man had been
murdered while sleeping peacefully.
Then WaddiIl told a new story. He
admitted that he had committed he
murder without prOvocation. but as
serted that he had been induced TO
do the deed by two nher men. who
expected thereby to get the old mans
mining claims He swore 20 this
story before the grand jury and upon
his testimony these rwO citizens were
indicted for murder along with Wad-
dill. Meanwhile, after the return OF
he indictments. Waddill purported to
act Ike an insane man. Afterward
and before trial GAY came on, he con
fcssed to the sheriff and dis rict at
torney of Graham county that his
story TO the grand jury was a lie:
that the two men he had implicated
were not guilty at all: thar he had
pretended Insanity in the hope OF saw
ing his own neck. but he had at last
concluded he could not permit these
innocent men 10 be hanged for the pur-
pose OF saving his own neck.
Although f. was clear from Wad-
dil's confession OF perjury and from
other circumstances that the two men
he had attempted to implicate were
innocent, he district attorney deter
mined to try them, nevertheless. in
order that they might have formal
acquttal and thus save trouble in
the future through further lies which
might be sold by Waddin They
we're promptly acquitted.
When WaddiH's own trial came on
he entered plea OF guilty OF murder
Judge Lewis was determined to get
at all the facts, and he took all the
evidence obtainabIe. He reached the
I conclusion that there was absolute
{ ly no extenuating circumst tance, and
he therefore imposed the extreme
penalty-death on the scaffold.
I Judge Lewis's well known conscien-
tiousness in the discharge Of his duty
I precluded any suggestion that he
would ont have been glad TO avail
himself OF any reasonable ground for
imposing the lighter penalty Of life
Z Imprisonment