Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1910-10-07
BRADSHAW PARD0NED
BondviIIe Negro Had Served IL
Years in State Prison
Was Sentenced to % Years for Burglary,
Larceny and Rape-WilI Be In charge
of Probation officer.

Larceny and Rape-WilI Be in charge
Of Probation officer.
Luke Bradshaw of Winhall, negro who
spread terror among the residents OI
Bondville and other villages previous 10
1897 and who was sentenced that year d.
n term of the Bennington county court
at Manchester to maximum term OF 20
wears in the state prison for burglary
grand larceny and rape, has been par
doned. Notice of his pardon was given
by Gov. G. H. Prouty Saturday noon 10
Probation officer John Nash Oh behnl ms
ton. in whose charge Bradshaw was
placed for the remainder of the sentence,
or about u years. In the event thlt
Bradshaw does not conduct himself prop
erly he will be returned to the state pris-
on to complete his sentence in contlne-
ment
More than a year ago a petition was
forwarded to Gov. Prouty asking for
Bradshaw's pardon. Counter petitions
were made, and after making an invesu-
cation Gov. Prouty wrote that while he
should not act hastily he was frank to
say that Bradshaw might not have been
where he was then had he been white
man. From this it was believed that
Bradshaws pardon was only question
of time.
Bradshaw was arrested Jan ?, 1891 and
at that time he was a giant in stature
and was 33 years old. He was an indus
trious farmer and had provided well for
his family He married a white woman,
a Mrs Capen, whose husband died, leaV-
ing her with six children. Two children
were born to them, and to these he was
kind, but the stepchildren often We're in
fear of him. He outraged his old
est stepdaughter, a girl of II, and null
alto child was born to her.
Lest the same fate befall the younger
stepdaughter, 10, Mrs. Bradshaw took
her to the home of DR.. T. A. Flandreau of
Bondvile where she began work as do
nestle Dec. 30, 1896. The girl had been
there less than three hours when Brad
shaw called with a note for her, in
which he declared his love and asked her
to meet him. Another note was sent by
him the following sunday, but no atten-
ton was paid to it. on Monday night
the girl went to bed as usual without n
light so that Bradshaw might not be able
to locate her room. Rev. II. r. Harmed,
a Methodist minister who boarded at DR..
Flandreaus, detected suspicious sounds
soon after midnight. Looking out, he saw
the light of a match, and he told DR..
Flandreau, who seized his revolver and
looked out. DR.. Flandreau saw a man on
a ladder, which leaned against the house,
and he fired. BY the flash of the revol-
yer he saw that the man was Luke Brad
shaw and he fired more shots, but they
did not take effect. Bradshaw fell off the
ladder and escaped. Then followed a
complaint to the grand juror, and Brad
shaw was arrested Thursday
After his arrest the facts in his ca
reer were gathered together, and the
stories told by his stepdaughters and
others cognizant of the circumstances,
and they made a shocking story of crime
and Righteousness.
In December, 1906, The Phoenix re-
ceived a letter from Bradshaw in which
he said that the more he thought of his
sentence the more he became convinced
that it was excessive. Il firmly believe,
he said, that If man commits any
crime bad enough to call for IS years OF
penal servitude it would be better to kill
him at once, for no man can serve it and
be physically or mentally able to earn his
living afterwards. Taking these things
into consideration 1 can look ahead to a
very dreary prospect II l am forced Ia
stay here % solid years, and at the end
of it If am alive what will l be good for?
Why, it will only be a choice of two
things, beggary or crime, and God forbid
the day shall ever come when l will have
to choose either of these two evils"
He also thought that he should have
received a lighter sentence because he
pleaded guilty and saved large expense
and he thought the condition of his
health ought to be considered, as he un-
derstood that he never would regain his
former physical strength. He said that
all he asked FOR was square deal
The following concerning Bradshaw's
pardon is from the editorial columns OF
the Bennington Banner:
THE pardoning of Luke Bradshaw from
the state prison at Windsor by Governor
Prouty is an act that will meet with gem
eral commentator in the section where
the circumstances of the case are known
Bradshaw is a resident of Winhall and
his trial and sentence took place at a ses-
sion Of county court held at Manchester
in close proximity to the scene of the
three crimes for which he was sentenced
1t is conceded that the atmosphere of the
sparsely settled section at the time of the
trial was charged with antagonism against
the negro, whose conduct had undoubtedly
put him in the undesirable citizen" class
but that he deserved to pass a quarter OF
century in prison many of the men
whose expressed opinions at the time
were then tinged with bitterness have
since come to doubt. The jury system OF
court trials, the best method yet devolved
has its defects like all human instltu-
tions and in small communities it must
ever be effected to some extent by pref
udice. In granting a pardon to Bradsha W
the chief executive evidently took into
consideration the facts that existed at
the time of the culprit's trial presented to
him by men who knew of the circum-
stances and in whose judgment, softened
by the reflection of years, the man had
already been sufficiently punished"