Evening journal., 1910-06-15
RUSSO CASE
YET In BALANCE
Governor Takes Time Con-
Sidering Pardon Boards
Recommendation
EXECUTIVE NOT BOUND TO
CONSIDER RECOMMENDATION

Special to THE EVENINGeJOURNAL
DOVER, Del. June 1.-THE deliber-
alton with which Governor Pennewin
is considering the Russo case-that of
the Italian who murdered William J.
Kidd, an American. and who is sent
enced TO he put TO death at Greenbank
next Friday-has caused numerous dis
cussions as to the status Of Delaware's
organic law relative to reprives and
pardons.
1t is now certain, however that the
governor is well within his authority
in either delaying his action for ma
ture elaboration or even declining 10
act upon the recommendation of the
state Board of Pardons, to commute
Russo's sentence to life imprisonment.
Hitherto it has been held among
many here that the governor would he
bound To act I'm accordance with the
boards recommendations. since the
board had entered fully into the hear
ing of both sides. and being composed
of cool and considerate men, were in
possession of facts To know how to
act. whereas the governor, who had
heard no pleas or evidence. was not.
This. however, appears to he entirely
erroneous. II probably grew out Of "a
rumor circulated during the admin
istration of Governor Hum. when the
Board of Pardons met here and sud
denly recommended the pardon of
Montaloo a. Cole. in prison al New
Castle for numbering William Mon
taguc with a baseball bat. Montague
had come from the same town i'm which
Governor HUM resided and he asked
his counsel if he. the governor. was
obliged to act i'm conformity with the
recommendations of the Board of
Pardons. Feeling was high in Kent
county and central Delaware against
Cole
Whether the governor then sought or
got the information i'm question has
never been explained. hut. within a
/ few weeks after the board sent up it's
recommendation and its reasons. Gov
ernor HUM pardoned Cole
There are two conflicting points i'm
the Russo case. and also a strange CO.
incident The co-incident is that the
| judge who presided at his trial and de-
ivered what the defense itself admit
/ ted To be one OF the best charges on
/ record I'm this State. is the governors
/ brother. When Chancellor Curtis ask
| ed AIR. Wales why he had not appealed
/ Russo's case to the Supreme Court on
a writ of error, the defendant counsel
! reT-cd that there had been no error
i'm the trial particularly on the part
/ of the court.
The conflicting facts are these;
Against Russo-That he pursued the
/ boys that had snowballed him for sew
| eral squares. even climbing a hill: that
when he shot William Kidd, who join
ed the crowd, Kidd was unarmed and
Russo pulled the younger man to him
while he shot him to death.
In favor of Communication to life i'm
prisonment-That Russo had never be-
fore saw William J. Kidd and. there
fore had no generalization; that Kidd
and the boys were talking in strange
language to Russo and reached back
TO hip pockets as though about TO
draw revolvers; that he was armed for
another purpose. being a strike breaker
at BlumenthaTs: that he was extreme
~ excited and I'm hot blood; that he
was tried at a special called term of
court when the feeling of the people,
and, consequently, jurymen drawn
[ from the people. was high against
| him.