The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1910-01-27
STILL ASSERTS INNOCENSE
Declares When Offered His Liberty
That He Was Convicted of Crime
Which He Never Communicated
tives to Care for Him.


at Waupun, Richard F. Kunke, a form
er Kehosha man, will be given his liber-
ty either this evening or tomorrow. The
state board of pardons in session at
Madison on Wednesday decided to re-
lease Kunke and he has been informed
that the state is satisfied that he has
paid the full penalty of the killing
of Elijah P. Mumford in the town of
Pleasant Prairie on the night of May
10, 1872.
For the thirty-eight years that Kun
Ike has been in the state prison he has
been a model prisoner and the prison
officials declared on Wednesday that
they will miss him greatly. Kunke
was told of his coming release on We'd
nesday and he was completely over
come by the news. 81 don It know
as it made such lot of difference to
me- he said, "but l have lot of
friends who were anxious to have me
get out of prison before l died. I
have tried to do the best [ could here
in prison and don't believe that there
was any one here who was opposed to
my being released.'' A little while
ago members of the state board went
to Madison and examined Kunke. His
case was an unusual one for notwith-
standing the fact that the prison doors
closed behind him on the 18th of De
cember 1872 this is the first time that
he has ever sought for any clemency
on the part Of the board.
Kunke is past seventy eight years of
age and Notwithstanding the fact that
more than a third Of a century has
passed and that he was practically as
sured that he would be released from
prison he still declared to the state
board of pardons that he was innocent
of the charges made against him at the
time of the murder of Mumford, He
declared that he knew absolutely moth
ing in regard to the murder Rela-
tives of Kunke living in another part
of the state have notified the prison
officials that they will provide good
home for the old man and see that he
is properly cared for until he dies.
The old man will not only be paroled
but in short time he will be grant
ed full pardon.
The crime for which Kunke was sent
to prison for life was recalled some
time ago when he made an application
for pardon. On the morning of May
IA, 1872, Elijah P. Mumford, farmer
well known to many of the pioneers
of Kenosha county, was found dead in
his door yard in the town Of Pleasant
Prairie. He had been struck over the
head with some blunt instrument and
his kull fractured. A few days later
Kunke who had been in the neighbor-
hood of the Mumford farm at the time
UhO O1O man w do 1OuuCl uCdQ was d.
rested. The trial was one of the
notable trials in Kenosha county and
it continued for many days. Kunke
was defended by the late I. W. Web
ster and from the first to the last he
maintained that he was innocent Of the
murder. Myron A. Baker was district
attorney at the time and the evidence
against Kunke was largely circum
stantial. Kunke through his attorney
made hard fight to secure a new trial
but after he had been sentenced he
patiently bore the prison life without
making any further efforts to get a
new trial or have the case taken up
by the state board Of pardons.
Kunke was not widely known in Ke-
nosha county at the time of the muir
der and in fact he had been here only
short time and most of this time
he had worked as farm hand a por-
ton of his time having been spent on
the Mumford farm.