Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1911-03-29
LEGALLY
HANGED
By CHARLES LEWIS PlilPPs
Copyright by American Press Asso-
citation. 1871.

(which one Of all your cases. ask
cd Wilcox. the celebrated criminal law
yer. has most excited your interestf
THAT of Mathews. who was accused
! of murder"
WAS he innocent or guiityg
Innocent"
.pid you secure his acquittali'
mo"
"Hangedi"
"Yes: legally hanged"
"What do you mean by that!'
an tell you. Mathews was In the
employ Of Henderson. the man who
was murdered don't care to 60 into
the details OF the case; will only say
that there was 50 much circumstantinl
evidence against him that from the
frst despaired Of saving his neck.
knew be was innocent. though be could
no more explain the circumstances that
pointed to his guilt than could"
How did you know he was IN
nocentT
by both experience and intuition.
! defy any Of my clients to deceive me
| In this regard. l simply look them In
the eye. and that tells me the story.
There was everything about
Mathews case to interest me. He was
q younger son Of British country
gentleman and In love with the daugh-
ter Of another British gentleman. His
mother had no knowledge Of his hav-
ing been accused Of crime. much less
F. having been convicted. for could do
nothing to prove him innocent He
| showed me his mothers letters, and II
was distressing to read them. His
betrothed was also writing him with
out any knowledge that he was under
| sentence Of death. A week before he
| was to be hanged . letter from sciic-
itors In England was handed him, In.
/ forming him that bachelor uncle had
died and left him large fortune"
Upon my word. II was an inter
! ssting case. wasn't itr'
| II should say 10. II ever there was
/ q man who had everything to live for
/ Mathews had. And to be judictaliy
executed without ever having wronged
any one In his life was simply awful.
/ You have no idea how having a life
on your hands wears on q man. and
| this case nearly drove me insane.
But braced myself for gigantic
/ effort. After comforting with Mathews
i l decided to cable the solicitors In
England. giving them the situation
and asking how much funds they
+, could cable me within few days.
They placed 10000 to my credit, and
was no use In trying TO secure delay
/ or a new trial. What must do was
to interest the sheriff | had long
I secret conference with him, but could
/ not move him TO act for money.
( though ! so far secured his Judgment
+ that he must do an official wrong In
I hanging Mathews that he consented to
wink at any game might practice.
| provided 1t could be kept secret
Il got friend of mine who was
| professor In a medical college TO APP
/ ply for the body Of Mathews as soon
1 as he was dead. This enabled me to
gain possession Of the condemned
man the moment the hanging was
| over. Then | fixed" every official
| who was to be present at the hanging.
Mathews put in request that there
should be no spectators present.
| could not even be present myself
But there was not one Of the officials
to whom paid less than $4,000, and
the hangman got $4,000 My friend
the doctor was the only one present
who got nothing. He had cofYin
ready for the corpse as soon as II was
taken from the gallows and hearse
to carry 1t to the hospital
well. that night l went to the hos
pital and found Mathews locked In the
Doctors room"
But how was the hanging man.
aged?"
II don't know: never asked. There
were half a dozen men paid by the
state to see that Mathews was hanged,
and ! paid every one Of them-in all
$100.O00-to 60 through the process
without hanging him. All know II that
l paid the money and found Mathews
alive In the Doctors room. Some burnt
cork, woolly wig and suit Of clothes
procured from Jew tailor fixed him
30 that no one would know him. I
had a steerage ticket for him In an
outgoing steamer. and early the next
morning he was on bis way to Eng.
land"
He must have been very grateful
to you"
Grateful! ! should say 80. Before
parting with me he made me promise
that l would come over as soon as
possible and see him. I couldn't 70
for a year. and then l found him In
possession of 10000 year income
and married to the woman be loved.
he met me on the steamer. and the
drst thing he did was to impress Il
upon me that neither his mother nor
his wife nor any one living except his
~