The Fargo forum and daily republican., 1913-05-29
IMAM TIGER" TO
DIE On GALLONS
AFTER STAYING EXECUTION FOR
FIVE YEARS OPPENHElMER
MUST HANG.

San Francisco, Cal, May 29,-After
staying his execution for more than
FIVE years, by availing himself OF every
legal teChniCality and every court,
Jake Oppenhemer, the criminal Of
the century," will be executed at Fol
som prison within the next two weeks
unless the governor intervenes and
commuteS the sentence. Oppenheimer
whose ferOCity and murderouS tenden-
cies have gained for him the name Of
Man Tiger" and have made him the
terror of guards and prisoners alike,
is considered one of the most remark
able criminals ever known in this part
of the country. He has u long record
of crime and is known to have COM
mitted al least four murders.
Oppenheimer began his career Of
crime in this city many years ago,
when he was employed as messenger
boy for a telegraph company. One day
he was discharged by the superntend-
ent and promptly reVenged himself by
shooting the superintendent Three
years later he was sentenced to fifty
years Imprisonment for rObbing a
drug store. A man named Ross testi
fed against him. Oppenheimer was
sent to Folsom and later, when Ross
was also sent to that institution for
some other crime, Oppenheimer await
ed him at the prison gate and stabbed
him to death
Some time after that Oppenheimer
murdered guard named Mcdonald
at the prison. AS a punishment he
was placed in solitary confinement,
but obtained a file and cutting his
way out he made murderous as
sault on a fellow convict named John
Wilson with a butcher knife. In 1901
the state legislature Of California had
passed law imposing death punish
ment upon any prisoner who should
make an assault upon a prison Of
fetal or a fellow prisoner. Under
this law Oppenheimer was tried in
October, 1907, for his attack upon
Wilson. who had died from the eff
fects of the stab wounds. Open
heimer was found guilty and was SEN
fenced to death. The execution was
set for June 6, 1908. but Oppenheimer.
through his counsel appealed and
fought his case through several courts
and finally the supreme court of the
United States Every court decided
against him and the United States
supreme court upheld the validity Of
the California law. Oppenheimer
made another attempt to save his
life by obtaining a writ of habeas
corpus and bringing his case before
the United States district court upon
the plea that the statute under which
Oppenheimer had been sentenced TO
death is retroactive and contraVerts
section 10 Of the constitution Of the
United States, which forbids the pas
sage of eX post facto criminal laws.
The case also was dismissed and with
that all resources of the law were
exhausted.
While awaiting the decision of the
courts in his efforts to save himself
from the gallows, Oppenheimer was
kept in strict confinement at the Fol-
som prison. There he continued his
criminal career with unequaled cum
ming and ferocity. In company with
two other prisoners, J. w. Finley and
Francisco Quijada, Oppenheimer made
an attempt to break out of prison at
midnight on Jan. 6, 1910, by saving
the bars of their cell They would
have succeeded had not Night Captain
Quigmire detected them sneaking
along the corridor. He called several
of the guards and subdued the prison
ers.
Quijada, half breed Yauui Indian,
had attacked some Of the prison
guards several years before and had
also been sentenced to death under
the law of 1901. He also appealed to
the courts and his case was pending
at the time when Oppenheimer began
his fight for life. There was consid-
erable i'll feeling between the two
prisoners from the very beginning
and their mutual hatred increased in
the course Of time. The climax came
in September of 1911, when one
morning Quijada. challenged Open
heimer to a combat for life, while the
prisoners were permitted to exercise
in the corridor of the prison. Cppen-
heimer, who had secretly prepared
himself for such an emergency flung
himself upon the Indian and stabbed
him to death with a sharp piece OF
steel which he had picked up in the
prison yard several months before
and which he had secreted in his mat
tress ever since. t+
Although there was never a lack OF
"bad men" in the prison. Oppenheim-
er was always considered the most
dangerous Of the prisoners He was
greatly feared not only by his fellow
prisoners, but also by the prison
guards and officials and for severa
years 1t was considered necessary tx
have him watched and guarded by tive
Z guards armed with loaded rifles Op-
penheimer was the most sullen anc
refractory prisoner in the penitentiary
and on many occasions it became nee
essary to discipline and severely pun
isI him.
rheumatism Quickly Cured.