Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-07-12
MATTE LOMAX,
SLAYER, IS DEAD
Woman Who Shot Husband
SuccumbS in Jail
Hospital.
ONCE WAS SENTENCED
TO DIE ON GALLONS
Taft Extended Mercy-Care of
Prisoner Problem to the
Government.

| Matte Lomax. colored condemned for
the murder of her husband. Cecil Lo-
max, whom she shot in the back of
the head the morning of December 16,
1910. at his home. 1895 18th street
northwest and whose death on the
scaffold was prevented by President
Taft when he committed her sentence
to life imprisonment, died in the hos
pital ward at the District Jail yes
terday afternoon about o'clock. Her
death solves a difficult problem for
the Department of Justice and jail Of
fcials. the Lomax woman having been
afflicted with tuberculosis and peni-
Tertiary officials having refused to &C
cent her to serve a life term.
| Because of the trouble experienced IN
getting a prison home, she had often been
referred to as the woman without !; a
/ home" AT the time of her conviction II
| VAS known she had the white plague ana
/ that her death was a question OF months
4 and il is stated, her mental condiuon
\ was such as 10 cause her friends ana
| spiritual advisers to believe she was III
! sane.
Story of the Crime.
| Farly the morning of the murder. the
/ ,omax woman, who resided at 1904 4tn
street northwest, and who had been sep
| arated from her husband about six
| months. went to her husbands room, she
claimed, by his invitation, supposedly for
the purpose of effecting a reconciliation
Ii was about $40 o'clock when the cou-
pie engaged in the encounter that caused
/ the husbands death Later in the morn
! ing the LomaX woman went TO romeo
Court surrendered to Policeman Joseph
| Acton and claimed her husband had shot
himself while engaged in an attack upon
her She was tried for murder In the
| first degree, convicted and sentenced 10
| be executed August ID, 12l2
Among the persons who became inter-
ested in her cause and insisted that a
woman should not be executed was Rep
resentative Caleb Powers of Kentucky.
Rev John Roberts of the Fountain Mis-,
SION one of her spiritual advisers. ana
other colored ministers also took an
active part in an effort to save her life
President Taft finally commuted her
sentence to imprisonment for lie, ana
then the federal government troupie
commenced. Under ordinary conditions
the woman would have been sent to a
federal prison in the west, probably the
one at Lansing. Kan, but prison ofnciais
there said they would not accept her
| If she had tuberculosis or if there was
any question about her sanity.
tuberculosis Victim.
An examination made by hospital physi-
clans developed that she was afflicted with
Tuberculosis and it became necessary to
detain her in the local jail until the COM
pletion of the new female ward of the
federal prison at Leavenworth.
/ The Lomax woman's mother has
visited her in the prison many times
during the two land a half years
| she has been there. She visited hei
only a few days ago. The body was
taken from the fail to a local undertaking
establishment yesterday afternoon and
prepared for burial. Mattie's mother was
summoned from her home in the country
| She reached here today and made ar
rahgements for the interment to take
place at her home.