The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1911-12-05
CONFESSION OF
 JAMES B. M'NAMARA.

CONFESSION OF
 JAMES B. M'NAMARA
 Especial from United Press.) Los Angeles, Dec. 5.-The comes. sion of James B. McNamara. penned in his own hand, late yesterday, was given out, today. It follows:
 sT. James B. McNamara, defendant in the case of the people, having heretofore pleaded guilty to the crime of murder, desire to make his statement and this is the truth.
 s4On the night of September 30 1910. at $40 P. M., I placed in Ink Alley, a portion of the Times Build ing. . suitcase containing sixteen sticks of 80 per cent. dynamite, sci to explode at 1 o'clock in the morn ing. It was my intention to injure tf,e building and scare the owners. ] did not intend to take the life oi anyone.
 AI sincerely regret that these un- fortunate men lost their lives. II the giving of my life would bring them back. | would gladly give it. In fact, in pleading guilty to murder in the first degree, I have placed my life m the hands of the state. James B. McNamara-"
 One of the attorneys supplied a fountain pen and the confession was written with this, covering one side of an ordinary sheet of paper. e. fsuecial from United Press.)
 Los Angeles, Dec. 6Denouncing James B. McNamara as a murderer at heart and declaring that there were no extenuating circumstances at all in his case, Judge WaiSer Bordwell today sentenced the man who confessed that he blew up the Los Angeles Times ana sent 21 souls to eternity. to life i'm prisonment in San Quentin prison.~ S,- Immediately thereafter, the court called John !. McNamara, secretary of the Iron Workers Union. before the bar and sentenced him to serve 16 year term in the same prison.
 Tn district attorney kept his prom ise to the two prisoners. given at the time they made their confessions, last else clemency.
 Tn order to escape the tremendous crowds gathered in the Hall of Rec -ords and in Judge Bordwell's court room, Judge Bordwell, at the last min ute suddenly changed his plans ana announced that he would sentence the McNamara brothers in Judge McCor- mick's courtroom in the Hall of Jus tice, instead of his own court.
 An hour before this announcement was made, a tremendous crowd was gathered in the Hall of Records, clam courtroom, Detective Browne and a picked force stood at the doorway or .Bordwelrs courtroom and every man was personally searched for concealed weapons before he was permitted to enter. Browne declared he had re- ceived information that an attempt might be made to shoot the McNa- maras while they were being sentenc- ed and hence he took these precau- tions-the most remarkable in Los An- geles criminal history.
 A dozen changes were made inN the plans for sentencing the brothers, ana up to the last minute nothing definite was known to anyone outside of Judge Bordwell. The judge was evidently angered because the "inside history" of the confession had been published, and quietly sent out word that he would sentence the prisoners in Judge McCormick's courtroom. It is an- nounced by persons close to District Attorney Fredericks that Judge Bord- we'll has agreed that James B. McNa- mara shall get a life sentence and shall not hang. Bordwell refuses to confirm this.
 Bv making this change. in plans, Judge Bordwell made 1t possible to take the prisoners across the Bridge of Sighs'' and into the court of the Hall of Justice without attracting the attention of the crowds waiting to witness the sentencing.
 Meanwhile, the biggest crowd since the McNamaras' trial began was gath cred in and about the corridors in the Hall of Justice. The crowd was so huge that the sheriff was compelled to send hurry call for more depu- ties and police. The crowd was with difficulty held in check.
 The scene in court, when the sen- tences were pronounced, was dramatic. Because Judge Bordwell feared that something would happen to mar the peace of the community, he took ex- traordinary precautions and suddenly decided on a change of scene to pro- nounce sentence from his own court in the Hall of Records, to Judge Mo Cormick's courtroom in the Hall of Justice.
 When the two prisoners were final Iy smuggled into the very small room. they were badly broken men. All
 
 were gone from their manner, and James, especially, appeared on the verge of nervous collapse. He shook and trembled as he arose to hear his fate, but later regained his composure and was quite calm when Judge Bord- well excoriated him.
 Judge Bordwe1l first asked him if he had not at first tried to get dynamite of a higher explosive power than 80 per cent, and then said:
 There is no comfort in the asser- ton that you did not intend to take life. The widows and orphans and the parents of the victims of your crime would look upon that statement at this time as a mockery The cir cumstances are against you in making any such claim. "A man who would put Is sticks of 90 per cent. dynamite in a building which was filled with combustib,es and which was known to you, as a printer, to be such, meant only mur- der and nothing else It is no exten- uatfng circumstance to this court to hear you say that you did not intend l to kill anyone. There is no question |