Devils Lake weekly world. (Devils Lake, N.D.) 1911-1914, 1912-01-12
JOHN OLSON OF uPHAM DE-
0LAREs THAT BOARD rs A
...s MENACE TO HOMES.

MENACE TO HOMES.
Upham, N. D., Jan. ST have motto.
ed some agitation concerning the action
Of the pardon board on other cases.
but there is one in which this commun.
ity is interested that has not been Civ.
en- the publicity which it should have
In April, 1908, young boy WORKING
on the farm of his father was seeding
grain near this town. There came a
fall Of snow one night and The seeding !
was suspended for a couple Of days. /,
The boy camo to this town and met
three other boys and they played pool
and also snowballed for . time. The
boys name was Conrad STEVENSON,
son of K. Steencrson, we'll known
farmer living near here.
While they were in the pool room q |
man by the name of Whitaker came in
and there was some wrangling between
this boy and man. Whitaker went bacl,
to his home and secured a revolver
and as the boy was not in tie pool
room when he returned he sat hy the
stove waiting for him. All four boys
were snowballing in the back yard,
but presently Conrad came in and the
dispute was renewed. It was in regard
to some money borrowed from the boy
by Whitaker's son. The man got de-
cidedly angry and told young Steiner.
son that he would shoot him and the
boy replied, 1T am not afraid of you
shooting me,' whereupon Whitaker
drew the gun and fred. The ball pass
ed through young stenerson g abdomen
and he fell to the floor. Whitaker was
about nine feet away from the boy
when the shot was fired.
The sentiment in this community
was divided. Some took sides with
Whitaker, while others thought that he
ought to go to prison for life. The trial
was long and tedious one and lasted
nearly week. It cost the county of
McHenry over $4,000. The verdict of
the jury was ten years in the peniter-
tiary.
The father of the boy employed
special attorney to assist the county
attorney in the prosecution Of the case
and since then this attorney has sign
ed the request for pardon.
It was thought that Whitaker was
out of the way for ten eyars at least
but he had not been in the penitentiary
over three months when steps were TAX.
en- to get him pardoned. An effort was
made to keep this movement secret.
When the facts became known hun
dreds of the most prominent citizens of
McHenry county signed remonstrance
against his pardon and this was pre-
sented to the pardon board at Bismarck
in December, 1910. The father of the
boy protested aaginst the pardon and
reports that the governor and two of
! his appointees seemed to be inclined to
grant the pardon, but protest was SO
| strong that no action was then taken.
In this connection it is interesting to
note that it is not necessary to have
witnesses sworn before the pardon
board, as our experience here shows
that all statements made are consider
ed as the truth without further investi-
gaion.
Last June the Whitaker case was up
again before the pardon board and it
is claimed that the alleged transcript
of testimony then presented was not a
correct or full account of the court
proceedings at the time of the trial.
The father of the boy protested
against it being presented as it was
not the truth, but the board allowed it
to be done and the attorney for Whit
aker to address the board consider
able length. Mr.. STEVENSON then pro.
duced a certified transcript of the rec
ord, sworn to by the stenographer and
showing the difference in the two docu-
ments.
The board did not have time to listen
to this document, although it was a tes-
timonial of the three eye witnesses to
the shooting and only line was read
here and there from it.
What is the use of having long, ex-
pensive murder trials when the board
of pardons turns convict loose few
minutes after an address is made by a
skilled attorney
believe the people of North Dakota
should take hold in earnest and abolish,
the board of pardons, as it is menace
to our homes today.
In this connection it is interesting
to note that the United States has the
highest percentage of murder in the
world-l27 for every 1000 people,
while in Canada it is only seven in
every 1000.
There is no excuse for mob law, but
it will come unless the board of par.
dons has some respect for human life
| and the laws of the land.
John Olson.
|