Watertown leader. [volume] (Watertown, Jefferson County, Wis.) 1909-1911, 1910-08-12

The Other Side Of the SChiSS.
g Ter Case.

Every person convicted, sentenced and
serving time in the States prison has
the right under the law to make an aD-
pllcatlon to be pardoned. Not every man
who kills another is guilty of murder,
the killing may be eXcuSable. Nor Is
every man guilty Of murder though the
killing be not eXcIsable. There may be
such mitigating circumstances as to
make 1t .nanSlaughter. And again, there
are several degrees of manslaughter. 1t
is claimed by the friends and advocates
of Schisslesthat he should have been
found guilty of manSlaughter in the
third degree instead Of murder in the
second deg ee. Manslaughter in the
third degree is defined by the Wisconsin
Statutes aS THE killing OF another in
the heat of passion without design to
effect death, by a dangerous weapon
The penalty for this uffense is imprlSon-
ment in the states prison not more than
four years nor |. SIS than two years. Old :
rich l.. SchiSs er has already served seven
years in States prison for killing Fred
rick Reul Whl!e accompanying Schiss-
ier's Wifa home from an after theatre
party at the palm garden.
The opinion Of the citizens Of Water
town regarding the SchiSSler case and
regarding the merits OF the petition for
pardon for Otdrich l.. Schlssler, being
circulated at this time, must of necessity
be founded almost entirely on what they
have read and heard about the facts in
the case. For that reason it should be
the duty OF every citizen iii determining
the merit of the petition, to ascertain
the facts from sources that are at the
same time reliable and impartial. 1t
would seem that the most reliable and
impartial sources from which to ascer-
| tain the merits Of the matter would be
the Judge before whom Schissler was
tried and the attorneys who prosecuted.
| They heard all the testimony, saw his de-
meanOr on The witness stand and under
cross exam nation and were thoroughly
cOgniZant of all the facts III the case for
and against the defendant. The fact
that Judge BraZee and the three attOr-
neys who prosecuted SchiSsler are now
unanimously recommending pardon
I and have written personal letters to the
governor giving their reasons why they
are in favor Of such pardon, should con
vince any fair minded person OF the fact
that there is merit in his application for
a pardon.
Mr.. Bennett, the district attorney who
connection he had in the prosecuting of
the case says: Il feel that [ can at this
time cOnscientiOusly recommend that
Schissler be pardoEed and given his
liberty"
Mr.. McGovern, one of the assistant
prosecuting attorneys, in lengthy COM
munication to the Governor concludes as
follows: There is no doubt but that on
of
tions of his wife. the petitioner acted an
der great prOyOcatiOn when he commit
ted the act for which he is now suffering
imprisonment Nor is there question
but that for years prior to the commits
sion of this homicide he was in an un-
stable, nervous condition which tended
to make him irritable and impulsive to
a degree quite Out of the normal. Be-
cause of these mitigating circumstances,
[ feel that pardon may now be properly
granted in this case"
Judge A. C. Brazee, who was the pre-
siding judge at the trial of the case con-
ours in the recommendation of Mr..
McGOvern. In his LEI ter to the Governor
Judge BraZee further refers to the testi-
mOny Of Helmuth Mucks, police officer,
which tended to establish the defendant
as a man of bad character in the follow
ing terms: Il am of the opinion at this
time from the investigation made and
the facts submitted to me that Mucks
was in error in regard to that statement.
Had this been made to appear upon the
trial [ am of course unable to say that
the verdict of the jury would have been
different from what it actually was in
the case, but it does seem that the testi
mony as given may have had an effect
upon them in arriving at the verdict
which was rendered in Court
Surely the opinion of these worthy
gentlemen, ,unprejudiced by any personal
feeling or motive. is entitled to great
weight. as is also the fact that up to the
present time thousands Of MilWaukee's
best citizens have signed petition to
the Governor and hundreds of individual
letters on part of professional men, edu
Gators and others have been written to
the Governor asking that Schissler be
pardOned. ATTORNEY.