Warren sheaf. [volume] (Warren, Marshall County, Minn.) 1880-current, 1911-03-02
LEGALLY
HANGED
BY CHARLES LEWIS PEIIPPs
Copyright by American Press Assoc
citation. 1911

Which one of all your cases. ask
ed Wilcox. the celebrated criminal law
yer, has most excited your interest?'
THAT of Mathews, who was accused
Of murder
WAS he innocent or guilty?"
Innocent
Ibid YOU secure his acquittal?'
No
"Hanged?"
Yes; legally hanged
What do you mean by that?"
.'I'll tell you. Mathews was in the
employ of Henderson, the man who
was murdered l don't care to go into
the details of the ease; | will only say
that there was so much circumstantial
evidence against him that from the
first l despaired of saving his neck. 1
knew he was innocent, though he could
no more explain the circumstances that
pointed to his guilt than I could
How did you know he was in
nocent?'
by both experience and intuition. l
defy any of my clients to deceive me
in this regard. 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 a British country
gentleman and in love with the daugh-
ter of another British gentleman. His
mother had no knowledge of his hay-
ing been accused of crime, much less
having been convicted, for I could do
nothing to prove him innocent. He
showed me his mothers letters, and it
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 solic-
itors in England was handed him, in
forming him that a bachelor uncle had
died and left him large fortune
upon my word! It was an inter-
esting case, wasn't it,"
81 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 a life
on your hands wears on a man, and
this case nearly drove me insane.
"But braced myself for a 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 me within few days.
They placed 100000 to my credit, and
with this sum I went to work There
was no use in trying to secure delay
or new trial. What I must do was
to interest the sheriff I had a long
secret conference with him, but could
not move him to act for money,
though I so far secured his judgment
that he must do an official wrong in
hanging Mathews that he consented to
wink at any game l might practice,
provided 1t could be kept secret.
Il got friend Of mine who was
professor in a medical college to ap-
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 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 a coffin
ready for the corpse as soon as it was
taken from the gallows and hearse
to carry it to the hospital
ttWell, that night went to the hos
pital and found Mathews locked in the
doctors ROOM
'sBut how was the hanging man
aged?"
81 don't know; never asked. There
were half dozen men paid by the
state to see that Mathews was hanged,
and I paid every one Of them-in all
$1OO,OOO- 81 tulOu6u luS plOCSSS
without hanging him. All know is that
I 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
so that no one would know him. I
had steerage ticket for him in an
outgoing steamer, and early the next
morning he was on his way to Eng
land
'sHe must have been very grateful
to you
Grateful! should say so. Before
parting with me he made me promise
that I would come over as soon as
possible and see him. l couldn't go
for a year, and then I found him in
possession Of $4,000 a year income
and married to the woman he loved
He met me on the steamer, and the
first thing he did was to impress 1t
upon me that neither his mother nor
his wife nor any one living except his
solicitors knew that he was judicial1y
dead in America. He had often tried
to bring himself to unburden his se-