The Detroit times., 1910-10-13
PICTURES HORROR
IN PRISON CELL
Chicago Jurist Tells Prisoner Of Tor
tured Years He Must Spend for
Wife Murder.

CHICAGO, OCT. lZ.-Llfe impTibon'
ment in the penitentiary was declar-
ed by Judge Marcus Kavanagh yes
terday to be q more terrible punish
ment than hanging. The Jurist In
remarkable opinion handed down In
sentencing Joseph Welcome to life
imprisonment for murder. contrasted
death with the tortured soul OF life
convict In his solitary cell and told
the prisoner that II IL not correct TO
regard the death penalty as the most
severe punishment that can be in
fiicted.
Welcome pleaded guilty to having
murdered Mrs. Mary Mclean, March
20, 1910, In a boarding house she con-
Quoted at 1144 West Monroe-st. The
prisoner changed his plea from mot
guilty" after eight jurors were chosen.
II was shown that he forced his
wife to become white slave" and
shot her for refusing to give him
money. Mrs. Mclean was shot and
killed while attempting to save Mrs.
Welcome.
In sentencing Welcome. Judge
Kavanagh said
Welcome, you committed ter
rible crime. Your punishment 10 to
be more terrible still.
You compelled your own wife 10
make public commerce OF her soul Tor
your gain. When she sought to es-
cape you shot her. II wasn't your
fault she lived. and you. In fact, then
killed another woman who was max
ing her Clearly. useful way In the
world. You could hardly get twelve
men In the Jury box who would not
infiict the death penalty upon you. yet
II 10 the policy of the law to regard a
plea of guilty as in some measure OF
itself q mitigation.
The instructive unreasoning hor-
ror of mankind regards death as
severe punishment. This idea Is not
correct You are now to receive
sterner punishment. Your victim died
but once. You will die a hundred
times; you will suffer more the day
you put on your prison clothes than
she did In her death. After that
there will be only the hopeless. pain
full years from day to day, from
month to month, stretching out for
ever and In agony.
"You will be wiped out OF human
knowledge: even your name will be
taken from you; henceforth you VIII
be known by a number. You will not
be permitted to lift hand or whisper
a word; you will have no right ex-
cept the right to mere existence.
I'm four or FIVE years the eternal
solitude and silence will begin to
crush In upon you like an iron weight.
You hear that street car bell ring.
ing in the street as 1t passes now.
You will remember II in after years
az the most exquisite music. 1t will
mean hurrying crowds that go where
they like and do as they please; 1T
will mean the greatest of all pleas
ures--freedom.
You can only dream OF II by day
and by night. and your DREAMY will
be torture unspeakable. In the sum-
mer you will guess that there are cool
rivers running somewhere under
green trees, and you will long for the
sight of even green leaf with an
aching you never thought you could
experience.
I'm a few weeks the holidays with
their lights and festivities and happi-
ness will be here, and many Christ
mas will roll over you in your iron
cage and high stone wall, but you will
never hear q child laugh again.
'You are SO elated now at the
thought of saving your life that you
don't realize all this. l want you and
the others here in the courtroom to
understand II. You aren't sorry yet
for your crime; you have only great
self-pity. There will be few worse
men than you in that great prison,
but may say, the law has taken its
full and ample revenge upon YOU"
Before allowing Welcome to enter
his plea of mot guilty." Judge Kav'
anagh informed the prisoner that the
death sentence still could be inflicted,
IL the court decided to do so. Wei
come answered that he was willing
to submit his case to the mercy Of the
court