Tonopah daily bonanza. [volume] (Tonopah, Nev.) 1906-1929, 1910-03-08

the voice of the court itself, Fred
Skinner, the twice convicted mur-
derer of Mona Bell, or, Sadie Isabel
Heskett, was yesterday morning
sentenced by Judge M. R. Averill
in the local district court, to serve
fifty years in the state prison at
Carson as punishment for his
crime. When the court opened and
stated that the time set for passing
sentence had arrived, Skinner was
conducted into the room, attended
by Sheriff Owens. When ordered
to stand up and make any state
ment why sentence should not be
pronounced, the defendant arose and
addressed the court as follows:
"If your honor please, haven't
any leagal cause that I know of but
would like to make statement
to your honor before you pass SEN
tence. I do not believe your honor
understands the witnesses in this
case. | believe that your honor
understands that there was plenty
of perjury used in the prosecution s.
side, and there will be no appeal
for new trial providing I can get
a recommendation from your honor
for a parole. The last legislature
passed a law for parole in this state
and either l would prefer the min
imum sentence Or the maximum SEN
tence, and / would like for your
honor to give me SO years if you
recommend me to a parole, and
will show every person in Nevada
TO do right. In passing your SEN
tence | would like for your honor
to take into consideration that there
are many circumstances that your
honor nor no one else understand.
would like, if it were possible to
have private interview but if it
is not there is no necessity
of making statements out in the
public. The newspapers, you know,
have been prejudiced all along,
and when I made motion for a
change of venue I know that your
honor would give me a fair and
square trial. which you did, but
the press was so vindictive and pre-
JUDGED that could not get a fair
trial-the people would not give
it to me, but l thank your honor
FOR giving me the consideration that
you have in this trial"
During the time of speaking the
prisoner was extremely nervous and
spoke with effort. At his con-
clusion Attorney George B. Thatch-
er took occasion to ask for leni-
ency on behalf of his client. He
paid his respects to the newspapers,
claiming that the press had no
right to try the case out, of court
His plea was as follows:
May it please your honor, l
want to say to your honor that
considering the fact that the de-
fendant was tried by a jury who
brought in verdict of murder in
the second degree, after coming in
and asking your honor for recon-
mendation and the instructions with
reference to the verdict and the
instructions with reference to the
verdict and the penalty of murder
In the second degree, that some
thing must have been in the minds
Of the jury when they asked for
those instructions and they must
have figured that your honor would
attend to the matter properly. but,
at the same time they could not
have had in their minds a verdict
OF life. because 1t was in their dis
cretion at the time to fix the
penalty at murder In the first de-
gree with n life sentence. and that
must have been In their minds when
they came In and asked your hon
or as TO the penalty-they evident
ly were considering something be-
tween the penalty of ten years and
further additional penalty. And
! want TO say this. may It please
your honor. on behalf OF myself
and on behalf OF some Of the men,
bers who sat ON the jury. un-
dcrstand that some OF the news
papers and some OF the citizens of
the town OF Tonopah have been