The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1912-05-21

confess that ! am guilty OF the offence Oi
which | stand indicted. | nm moved Ia
this course by no inducement of sell
benefit or leniency
HeinOus as * my crime, God has not
wholly abandoned mo, and my conscience
and manhood. however depravrd and
blighted. will not admit Of my still further
wronging by a public trial her whose pure
young life have destroyed.
ndcr the lashings of remorsc I have
suffered and ain suffering the tortures
of the damned. In this | nnd n measure
of comfort. In my mental anguish
recognize that there is still by the mercy
OF the Master. some remnant of the divine
spark of goodness still lingering with me
! could wish to live only because within
some prisons walls ! might in some small
measure redeem my sinful past help some
other despnring souls and at last find favor
with my God.
Non are instructed to deliver this ia
he District Attorney or to the Judges OF
the court. Sincerely yours.
CLARENCE V. r. RiCHEsoN.
On January q. the day the confession
was made public. Richeson received his
last letter from Miss Edmantls. On the
same day Moses Edmands sadly with
drew his support. Thomas V. Richeson
of Lynchburg stuck by his son. Richie
son was sentenced to death by Judge
George A. Sanderson on January o and
returning TO his cell he collapsed.
A family petition for commui alton of
the sentence TO life Imprisonment; was
denied by Gov. Foss. although the Gov
ernor abhors capita punishment. 4 COM
mission of insanity experts searched the
mans whole history and said he was re-
sponsible for his acts Richeson tried
TO bribe a guard to buy cyanide of po-
tassium. In the few days preceding his
end he was comparatively calm and ex-
pressed a wish that he might die quickly,
Rich-son was born at Rose Hill. Va
thirty years ago. His father has a to-
bacco farm near Lvnchburg From the
high school at Amherst. Va. Richeson
vent To Missouri to IN. farm of an uncle
in Carrol,on In st. l.ouis ne earned
money for college educat ion He
worked in n hardware stora. ran an ele
vaior. was "A clerk and then II street rail-
way conductor. He was II leader in h.
stree, car strike of 1909 and made good
a. AN eNhorter, He taught in ~ sunday
school and preached in "A mission lie
attended lectures 1T Wiliam Jewell Col
! lege at Liberty. Mo, III 1907. and when
ne became regular student az the col
i.Ce he became engaged To marry Miss
Patsy f.lts a daughter of Il member o,
The faculty. Sh. wor" his engagement,
ring for II long tim, She len, him 500
which h- dli not repay Sh" j. now an
Invalid IN salt l.aketity.
In lMIS klCh-so, entered tn" Newton
Theological Seminary for n po-t'grdduat.
co'irs" III the Old. Testament \, stu
dent he preached occasionally a. tn" Bap-
ii-r church in the litiip coast town. Hy;.
ms. There he met Avis I.inn.il then II
Her father wa- Edgar linn.ll Il con
tractor. and, for hyannis, we'll to do,
Avis was perhaps the best liked girl in
III. village. She was comely and had II
good voice. Sns took to the Nall Young
student and when III 1909 h" went q,
ltyanni. a IA pastor she was wearing a
solitaire diamond ring, aud th" common
place young man ot Hyannis VINO had
hecn cOur'ing h"r stepped aside.
Then on" day PATSY Feits relppearrd
in III. life Of EiChcson. Unable to get back
the money he had borrowed she needed
II now bee ,use she had had TO stop teach
ing school and enter Il sanatarinm she
made an affidavit giving the details OF
her long. battling correspondence with
Richeson. Hyanns WAS startled. but
Riche>on !et il be- believed that Miss Fel,s
was an elderly woman who had hered
him with his schooling ana whom ne had
meant To repay from his savings a. "A min
lster. Presently Richeson'- home in
Iyannis wdS robbed" 1t was learned
atterward that lust before the robbery
he had sent money to a woman IN Sa u
Lake City.
For some reason Richeson got ha ok for
a time the engagement ring that he had
gwen Avis Linnel,. Hvannis heard tha,
the engagement had been broken on. but
II could learn nothing from Miss Lnnnll
j. develoDed later that she still eypec'ed
To marry Richc-on and her mother believes
that late in 1909 RiCheson had "A mock
MARI iage performed
Meanwhile Richeson WAS calling on
Miss Edmands. whom he had met while
he was at the Theological schoo. Her
family was bv far better on III a worldly
way that that of AVIS Iinnel
Richeson left HyanniS ia,a in 1910 II
was said that the congregation had heard
so much about him that IL had forced his
resignation. but he had no trouble in i'm
pressing himself upon the big Emmanuel
Church IN Cambridge and becoming its
pastor after delivering one sermon.
So her. was RicheSon in Cambridge. on e
gagged to Avis l.innell and Violet Edmands
and writing affectionate letters To Patsy
Fclts and being bothered bv letters from
other Young women who had believed
him Avis was now in Boston, and IN
trouble. His relations with Miss Fdmand-
could not long he concealed from the
iiynnni- girl. His way ont i, narrated
lbDNp