The Bourbon news. [volume] (Paris, Ky.) 1895-19??, 1911-02-21
LEGALLY
HANGED
BY CHARLES LEWIS PHIPPS
Copyright by American Press Asso-
citation. 1911.


"Was lie Innocent or guilty."
Innocent" /,
Ibid you secure his acquittal"
NO"
"nanged% i
Yes; legally hanged"
what do you mean by that"
"Ill tell you. Mathews was in the
employ of Henderson, the man who
was murdered. l don't care to so into
the details of the case; l will only say
that there was so much circumstantial
evidence against him that from the
first / despaired of saving his neck. /
knew he was innocent, though lie could
no more explain the circumstances that
pointed to his guilt than / could"
How did you know lie was in
nOcent:'
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
a Younger son Of 4 British country
gentleman and in love with the dauSh-
ter of another British gentleman. His
mother had no knowledge of his hav-
ing been accused OF crime. much less
having been convicted, for l could do
nothing 10 prove him innocent. He
showed me his mothers letters, and it
was distressing 10 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 sOlic-
itors in England was handed him, in
forming him that a bachelor uncle had
died and left him large fortune"
Upon my word. 1t was an inter
esting case, wasn't it,
Il should say SO. If ever there was
a man who had everything to live for
Mathews had. And TO be judicially
executed without ever having wronged
any one in his life was simply awful.
You have no idea how having life
Oh your hands wears on man, and
this case nearly drove me insane.
Bat | braced myself for gigantic
effort. After comforting with Mathews
| decided to cable the solicitors in
England, giving them the situation
and asking how much funds they
could cable Inc within 4 few days.
They placed 10000 TO my credit. and
with this sum / went TO work. There
was 10 use in trying TO secure delay
or new trial. What l must do was
to interest the sheriff. l had long
secret conference with him, but could
not move him 10 act for money
though / SO far secured his judgment
that lie must do an official wrong in
hanging Mathews that he consented to
wink ut any game l might practice,
provided it could be kept secret.
Il got friend of mine who was 4
professor in Il medical college TO APP
ply for the body of Mathews as soon
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 1T the hanging.
should be no spectators present. l
could not even he present myself.
But there was not one Of the officials
TO whom / paid less than $4,000. and
! the hangman got S2J.G'O. My friend
; the doctor was the only one present
! who got nothing. He had Il coffin
ready for the corpse as soon as it was
taken from the gallows and Il hearse
10 carry it TO the hospital.
well, that night | went TO the hos
! pital and found Mathews locked in the
doctors room"
But how was the hanging man
aged"
II don't know: I never asked. There
were half dozen men paid by the
state to see that Mathews was hanged
and | paid every one of them-in al
S1OO,O00-tO go through the process
without hanging him. All l know is thai
( | paid the money and found Mathews
alive i'm the doctors room. Some burnt
cork, n woOlly wig and 4 suit Of clOthe:
procured from Jew tailor fixed hin
so that no one would know him.
had a steerage ticket for him in Al
outgoing steamer and early the mex
morning he was Oh his way TO Eng
land" ------- $500
HE must have been very grateful
TO YOU"
GRATEFUL. l should say so. Before
parting with me he made me promise
that l would come over as soon u.
possible and see him. | couldn't g.
for a year. and then l found him il
possession OF 10000 year income
and married TO the woman he loved
He met me on the steamer. and tn,
first thing he did was to impress /
upon me that neither his mother no
his wife nor any one living except mi
tolicitors knew that he was judicial.
dead In America. He had often trie,
20 bring himself 10 unburden his sc
cret to his WIFE but had always failed
Matthews entertained ME royal,
and begged me 10 suggest some wa,
for him IN nav flo 1eht he awad ma