The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-04-05
Writes Manly Letter Thank
ing Executive for Inter-
est in Case
BEARS NO MALICE
TOWARD ANYONE
Governor in Reply Assured the Con-
demned Man of Sympathy in Hour
of Trial-'Not too Late His
Final Message to Jones


late"-C Walter Jones.
"You but utter the despairng cry of
humanity through the ages Too late.
| Too late! Yet there comes ringing down
| the centuries from that awful scene on
| Calvary the blessed promise of the Son
of God to the dying thief on the cross to
all humanity, even though their sins be
as scarlet that it is never too late, If we
approach the throne of God with an hum
| BILE, contrite and penitent heart Gov
ernor O'Neal.
| The first extract is taken from a letter
from C. Walter Jones to Governor o'Neal.
written on Wednesday of this week, and
the second extract is taken from the
chief executives reply to the condemned
man, written on Thursday.
Jones letter to the governor was
| straightforward and manly. The spirit
of it was good. Not a word or sentence
breathed any malice, hatred or unchari-
Ia ableness. The condemned man acknowl-
edged his guilt, and declared that he had
done all in his power to secure Gods
| forgiveness.
| In referring to the painful duty of Gov
ernor ONeal to pass upon his case at the
| final moment, Jones declares that he
knew the governor had done his duty, at
the same time affirming his loyalty to the
man who occupied the position of chief
executive of the state.
MAY God bless you and your family,
is my prayer he wrote, and may your
| future life be successful
''Goodby. my governor he said in con-
I IL ..t.t
any prejudice or malice
The Governors Reply
Not too late, was the governors mes
sage to the condemned murderer who had
but few hours longer to live
There is no spirit of revenge in our
laws. You show true appreciation of
its purpose when YOU say that in obeying
its mandates you know it will be the
cause Of saving many souls Not to
inflict pain or suffering needlessly, but
by exacting the severest penalty for few
crimes to warn all others of the terrible
consequences of crime is the just, and
humane purposes of the law
The governor told Jones that his letter
was brave and manly, and assured him
that he felt the sincerests sympathy for
his wife and children, adding that lie
would do all in his power TO aid and as
sist them.
Jones Letter
The following is the farewell letter of
Walter Jones written to Governor ONeal
on Wednesday of this week:
my Dear Governor: | am now writing
you few lines from my heart. Governor
don't feel no ways hard towards you.
feel towards you as | have always be
fore. | know you are a good man and
deserve the position you hold. and
know you have done what you thought
was right, and I don't believe you have
or would let any one bias your ideas.
Nav God bless you and your family is
my prayer and may your future life be
successful.
LAS have said this is from my heart,
and | am sincere in all l have said.
| l bear no malice against any one. VIII
| you be kind, kind enough to express
these wishes to the pardon board for
me; also to the supreme court, for
know they are also good and honorable
men. | have expressed my same atti-
tude to the lower court.
May God forgive me for my wrongs.
II have done all in my power as far
as l was capable to get Him to forgive
me and l believe He has, and / am
now ready to carry out the wishes of
the laws of this state, and l do hope
that it will be for the cause of many
souls to be saved. for | feel that If it
will I will be rewarded for 1t.
| Il am sorry for my wrong to man
as well as the wrong l have done to
myself sand my God. If we only could
see our faults before it is too late we
would have a good country and need no
laws. / am by you as L have always
Your will is mine on earth but the
strongest of all is Gods will is mine.
Good bye my governor.
Il am still your friend without any
lprejudice or malice.
&C. WALTER JONES"
The Governors Letter
Governor ONears letter was adj
dressed to Mr. C. Walter Jones, county
jail, Montgomery, Ala.,' and is as fol-
lows:
my Dear Sir-I deeply appreciate
| the letter handed me yesterday. 1t was
manly; it was brave-breathing with
Christian charity and shows that you
realize the awful crime you have COM
mitted. | know your letter was from
your heart and that, you are deeply
penitent-that in this dark hour you
lunreservedly seek that consolation
which only just and merciful God can
bestow.
You had fair and impartial trial. You
We're defended by able counsel. and you
were protected by the laws of a state
as tender and mercifu as those of any
country in the civilized world The Judge
who presided upon your trial was recog-
nized as a just and humane man. who
always tempers Justice with mercy.
| jury of your countrymen, after hearing all
| the evidence, solemnly sentenced YOU to
death. The supreme court of the state af-
| iirmed that sentence When asked to re-
consider, they again affirmed the judg-
ment of the lower court. When arpeal
was made to me for clemency | fully real
lized the solemn and awful responsibility
which the laws of the state impose upon
me as governor My kind and friendly
! feeling for you personally, MY deep SYM
pathy for your wife and children, my fear
| that some injustice might have uninten-
| tionally been done you on the trial. and
my natural inclination To lean TO mercy,
all conspxed TO force me to give your
case the Wlost patient, palnstaking and
| rigid investigations prayed to God that
| could consistently with my sense of
duty and the obligation imposed by my
oath of office commute your sentence TO
| life Imprisonment. Yet, after days of
| patient Investigation, after hearing every
plea which could be made by your friends
| and counsel after Weighing all the testi-
| mony, ] could find no evidence which
| could convince me that your sentence was
! not lust. AS | declared in the statement
| | gave the press, the granting of execu-
! tive clemency is an act of grace by the
| pardoning power and IS properly exercised
| only when the public Welfare will he a 3
well and as effectively served by a sus-
| pension of the sentence as bv its execu-
| ton
4 II deeply regret that / could not. un-
| der the solemn sense of my responsible
lity as one charged with the duty Of