Webster City freeman. [volume] (Webster City, Hamilton County, Iowa) 1884-1946, 1912-02-20
MURDERERS
PAY PENALTY
Desperate Eleventh Hour Efforts OF
Their Attorneys Fail to
8 Save.
Two DIE; EXECUTION HALTs
Murder Committed by Four Young
Men Was Particularly
Atrocious.
TWO DIE; EXECUTION HALTs

chicago, liz, ftU. IT, iNo i1oi
derers were hanged in the Cook
county Jail yesterday. The four
slayers Of Fred Guezlow met their
fate first. They were Ewald and
Frank Shiblawski, who died togeth-
er, and Phillip sommerling and
Thomas Schultz, who met death a
few minutes later. Thomas Jen-
nings. the negro slayer of Clarence
Hitler was hanged shortly after
wards. His execution was stayed
for time by the plea of his lawyers
before a federal court that in being
forced to make thumb prints his
constitutional immunity from hav-
ing to testify against himself had
been violated. The plea was denied
by Judge Lands.
Desperate eleventh hour efforts
were made by sympathizers to save
the lives of the Guezlow slayers. A
Polish Catholic priest yesterday
morning declared before Judge Nc
Kinley in the superior court that
he believed the youths were insane.
While the death march of the Shib-
lawski brothers was in progress in
the Jail, a bailiff from Judge Nc
Kinley's court sped to the Jail Of
fee and summoned Jailer Davies to
court. But three minutes before the
bailiff's arrival the Shiblawski
brothers had been swung into eter-
nifty.
Davies refused to obey the sum-
mons of the superior court. Instead,
Chief Deputy Peters telephoned to
the judge that two of the men had
been hanged and that the execution
of the other two would proceed un-
less a formal writ prevented.
No writ was issued and Sommer-
ling and Schultz followed their COM
panions in crime on the gallows.
Representatives of the state at
torney's Office resisted the attempt
to stop the executions and told
Judge Mckinley that the petition
alleging insanity, which under the
law Is bar to execution, was pre-
scented only for the purpose Of de-
lay.
This was holly denied by counsel
for the condemned men and wordy
alteration occupied the minutes in
which the four were being prepared
for the gallows.
Judge Mckinley declined to per-
NIT the petition to be filed until it
had been read. The prosecutors in
sisted that the petition which was
signed by the Rev. Mr.. Repinski.
was not in accord with the facts.
Jennings was the only one of the
five who required physical assistance
to mount the scaffold.
The FIVE hanged men and their
ages are:
Ewald Shfblawski, "a years old.
Frank Shiblawski, 81 years old.
Phillip Sommerling, 81 years old.
Thomas Schultz, 10 years old.
Thomas Jennings (colored), 80
years old
Two others were engaged in the
murder of Fred Guelzow with the
four men condemned to be hanged.
They escaped the sentence Of their
fellows on account of their youth.
Both were sent to the penftentiary
for life. They were Frank Kita and
Leo Suchomski, each 16 years old.
The men murdered Gue1zow on
the northwest side while he was on
his way to market with load of
garden truck.
GuelEow. who had been married
a little more than year, pleaded
with his assailants to take his
money, but spare his life for the
sake Of his wife and month-old
baby. Instead. his slayers attacked
him with clubs, knives and revolv-
ers. After they had killed him they
mutilated his body. They were ar
rested while trying to sell Guelzow's
horses.
The crime was committed Oct. 20,
1911. The six were found guilty
Dec. IL. The punishment of the two
youngest was fixed at life imprison-
ment and the other four at death.
They were to have been hanged Dec.
%. but Governor Deneen granted al
stay until yesterday.
Jennings was convicted of having
murdered Hitler in the latter's
home. Sept 10, 1910. on being dis
covered In the act of committing |
Mrs. Shiblawski, mother Of Ewald
and Frank, and Julia Kline the 49,