Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1912-12-24

4 ESSEX SLAYERS
GIVEN FREEDOM
Five from This County Charged
With Lesser Grimes Are
Given Clemency.
WILLIAM LEST, DRUG
CLERK, is NOW FREE
Two Youths from Camden Are
Saved from Electric Chair
at Last Minute.
IFrom a STAFF correspondent.I


convicts from Essex county were
given their freedom today as Christi
mas presents from Governor Wilson
and the Court of Pardons. Four of
these men were convicted of murder
or manslaughter. The others were
found guilty of minor o%ffenses.
The Court of Pardons, with Gov
ernor Wilson, were in session from 10
o'clock yesterday until nearly b
o'clock. AS the result of their DELHI
erations, fifty convicted murderers,
forgers, embezzlers and others whose
cases were found to be extenuating
were paroled. 1t vas a long, tedious
day.. and after it was all over the
Governor remarked that he felt like
"a squeezed SPONGE"
He did not enter into the matter
with a great show of enthusiasm.
Before leaving for the scene of the
court the Governor remarked:
This will be an unhappy days
work, because 1t pulls at the heart
strings. It's a part of my duties l
have always dreaded"
Besides the Governor, the pardons
board comprises Chancellor Walker
and the six judges of the Court of
Errors and Appeals. The committee
of the prisons goes down to the
prisons about a week before the time
set for trial and investigates all the
cases. A memoranda is kept and the
board acts on this information. In
many cases the prisoners are repre-
scented by counsel.
Essex Men Freed.
Among the Essex men whose petit
4. lions received favorable considera-
ton were these: Paul Bernack.
manslaughter, sentenced March IS,
1907, term ten years, expiration Janu-
airy II, 1915; Philemon B. Crelin, muir
der second degree, sentenced May IL,
1902, term twenty years, expiration
August %. 1916; Domenica Scala.
manslaughter, sentenced March n,
1911, three years. expiration Septem-
Der 2S, 1913; William Schneider, man
slaughter, sentenced August %, 1911,
five years, expiration August 20, 1915.
The other Essex County prisoners
paroled are: Frank Cascella, receiv-
ing money from a woman, sentenced
October 81, 1910, term five years. ex-
piration November g., 1914; John
Mokan, assault and battery and
abuse, sentenced June l, 1909. term
five years, expiration June 10, 1914;
Thomas Petrotta, false pretense, lar
ceny and receiving, sentenced June
26, 1911, term two years, expiration
March 10, 1918; Minnie Roberts, lar
ceny from the person, sentenced No
vember 20, 1907, term three years.
expiration June 20, 1913; Alfred H.
Smith, embezzlement, sentenced No
vember G, 1911, term two to six years,
expiration, May /, 1914.
An unusual case was that of Will
lam Leist, of Newark, a young drug
clerk, whose mistake in filling a pre-.
scription resulted in the death of a
\ woman The prescription called for
nine grains of morphine divided into
six pills of a grain and a half each.
Feist put nine grains in each of the
pills and the first resulted in the
death of the patient. He vas sent to
the Railway Reformatory and was to-
day %paroled.
Saved from Chair.
Among those to receive clemency
were two young murderers, Harry
>Dufield, 20 years old, and Fred Cour-
sey. q, of Camden, who were under
sentence of death for the holdup and
shooting of Carl Kellman, on the pub
lie street. 1t was represented to the
Court of Pardons that the boys hao
inst witnessed a make believe holdup
in a moving picture show n that
tbfs Influenced them to commit the
crime. Duf1eld's sentence was COM
nnuted to fifteen years and Coursey's
TO thirty years.
Another interesting case was that
M John Waldron, an Express driver,
of Jersey City, who had served nine
months of a two-year sentence for
The theft of 81. Secretary Tumulty
. had learned of this case and had
hronaht it 10 the attention of the
Court of Pardons. John A. Blair,
Judge of the Hudson County Court of
Common Pleas, who sentenced the
man, was communicated with. He
repiied that there must have been
some mistake and that it was never
intended to impose such a penalty.
The man was promptly pardoned.
The application bore only two names,
those of Mr.. Tumulty and his stenog-
rapher, Warren Johnson.
Leander ]. Smith, of Atlantic City,
murderer, who had his death sem
tence committed to life Imprisonment
In March, 1903, was paroled.
Hudson County Men ParoIed.
Hudson County men paroled are:
Antonio Cachulio, assault and
battery, sentenced June 10, 1911, term
three years and $1,000 fine, expiration
January 1. 1914. the fine was RENTED;
George Young, robbery, sentenced