The Brunswick news. [volume] (Brunswick, Ga.) 1906-2016, 1912-02-17
5 MURDERERS
HANGED DESPITE
COURTS ORDER
JUDGE THREE MINUTES LATE
WITH STAY OF EXECUTION
IN THE CASE.
Court BaiIiff Rushed to Jail With the
Stay Orders az Brothers Swing Into
Eternity for tire Murder Of German
in Chicago.

chicago, Feb. 1S.-Five mar ls:ers
were, executed in the county Jail to-
day while counsel vainly tried to
secure a stay order on the ground
that the condemned men were insane.
The men were Frank Shiklawski, Ed
wald Shiblawski, his brother, Philip
Sommerling and Thomas Schultz, the
slayers Of Fred w. Guilzow, Jr.. a
truck farmer who was held up, robbed
and murdered while he was returning
to mis- nome il the outskirts of the
city last DC tober, Ani Thomas Jen.
ming, negro, convicted on finger
print evidence of the murder of Clar-
ence Hitler, whose house he tried to
rob in September, 1910.
The Shiblawski brothers were the
nrst to mount the scaffold and the
drop had scarcely fallen when a bail
ic from Judge Mckinney of the SUI
perior court, rushed into the Jail Of
flce and summoned Jailer Davies to
court.
The command was not obeyed and
instead Chief Deputy Sheriff Peters
telephoned to the judge that two of
the men had been hanged and that the
executions would proceed unless a
formal stay was presented.
No writ was issued and Sommerling
and Schultz followed their compan-
ions in crime on the gallows.
State Fought Stay.
Representatives Of the states attor.
ney's office resisted the attempt to
delay the executions and told Judge
Mckinney that the petition alleging
insanity, which under the law is a
bar to execution, was presented for
the purpose of delay.
This was hotly denied by counsel
for the condemned men and wordy
alteration occupied the minutes in
which the four were being prepared
for the gallows.
Judge Mckinney declined to permit
the petition to be filed until it had
been read. The prosecutors insisted
that the petition, which was signed
by Rev. Mr. Reponski, was not in ac-
cord with the facts
Counsel for Thomas Jennings, col
ored, the fifth murderer sentenced to
die today, while the executions of the
Guilzow murderers were taking place,
We're arguing before United States
District Judge Lands that the rights
of their client had been invaded by the
introduction of finger-print evidence
in seeking to convict him of the mur-
der of Clarence Hitler, a railroad man,
whose home the negro tried to rob.
A writ of habeas corpus was made
before Judge Lands. Jennings coun-
sci declared that the finger print evil
dence was inadmissable, because Jen-
nings had been compelled to give the
print while he was in Jail.
Brothers Hanged First.
The first of the executions occurred
at 1918 a. m, when Frank Shiblaw-
ski and his brother, Ewald, were
hanged.
Three minutes after the Shiblawski
brothers were hanged a bailiff from
Superior Court Judge Mckinley rush
ed INTO the jailers office, summoning
the jailer to the court.
Counsel for the Guelzow murders
had told the court the men were in
sane. and asked that the execution
be stopped.
Philip Sommerlin and Thomas
Schultz were hanged at 10.49.
Judge Lands denied the petition
filed and the preparations for the
hanging were begun in the Jail.
Thomas Jennings, a negro, the last
Of the five condemned men, was hang
ed at 1885 p. nc.
Hard Fight Made.
Judge Kennesaw M. Lands, in the
pared to hear the final pleas of law
yers in the habeas corpus proceedings
to save the life of Thomas Jennings,
a negro convicted Of 1s~-> murder of
Clarence HITLER, a railway clerk.
In this case the lawyers argued
that the finger print evidence which
was the most DAMAGING, was irrogu-
larly obtained, inasmuch as the man
was compelled to practically give evi-
dence against himself,
Two others were engaged in the
murder Of Fred Guizlow, who prob
ably escaped the sentence OF their
fellows on account of their youth. Both