The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1912-05-02
FATHER MEETS SON
At INDIANA PRISON
Both Murderers and the Son
Will Be Executed Some
Time Next Month.
palladium Specially

MICHIGAN CITY, Ind, May 2.-E.
j. Fogarty, warden of the state prison
at Michigan City, presided few days
ago over what was probably the stran-
gest meeting that ever took place in
his office. It was between Nelson Fritts
and his son John, both murderers, the
father sentenced for life and the son
sentenced to be hanged in June.
The father has been in the prison
nearly IL years. He was sentenced
from Lawrence county after he had
shot and killed an unarmed neighbor,
John Feister. in family feud. The
son was nine years old at the time,
and when II he committed a theft for
which he was sentenced to the state
reformatory. He killed guard at the
reformatory few months ago, was
found guilty by jury and sentenced
to hang. Pending his execution he
was taken to the state prison, and
had been there a month before the
eon was near him. He had not seen
him since the separation nearly IL
years before.
An older son, George, who was IL
years old at the time of the murder
of Feister, stoned Feister as his father
shot him, and he was sentenced for
life with the father for being an ac-
cessory. He was pardoned by Governor
Durbin three years later
Boy Defends His Mother.
For time the father did not be-
lieve the man who stood before him
was the little boy he left when he was
taken to prison. He bitterly condemn
ed himself for the act that left his
family under such conditions. Once
he blamed the mother for not having
taken better care of the boy. Instantly
the boys expression changed.
Don't blame her." he said "She
had an awful hard time, you know,
with you and George both here for
murder. and we suffered a lot Of
things you don't know anything about
We were made fun of, and the other
families picked on VS. and somebody
put in the paper that we were fami-
ly Of criminals by instinct 1t was
mighty hard, | tell you. and mother
did about the best she could"
To his father the boy said he didn't
know who had killed the reformatory
guard
~ guess didn't think much" he de-
clared, II was discouraged and sore
and desperate, guess. You know they
kept me four years when my sentence
said only one to IA, and I don't know
how much longer they intended to
keep me. Then some of the officers,
not all of them, talk awful rough to
the boys, and it put bitter things into
me. / wanted tobacco, too.
Noticed Lack Of Tobacco.
One of the rules at the state reform
atory is that the inmates are not per-
mitted to have tobacco and many dis
turbances have been reported, due to
efforts to obtain it. Tobacco is distrib-
uted at the state prison and the war
den has said the money spent for that
purpose Is probably the best spent
from the maintenance fund as far as
discipline is concerned.
Young Fritts is to be hanged in
June. The father has implored the
warden to intercede to have the sem
tence committed, and if 1t can not be
commuted, to have the execution con-
Quoted SO the father will know nothing
of it, The records of the state prison
do not contain any account of case
similar to that of the Fritts family.