New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1914-12-04
Osborne Says Life Termer
Would Risk Death to
Help Humanity.
BLACK CRIME RECORD
IN PRISONERS PAST
Convicted of Killing Jo-
sephs Lad-Aid Offer
Once Spurned.

-,omss Mott Osborne, warden OF
s,, Sing. said last night that John
- Hickey, who on December IL
go was convicted of the murder oi
..v,D.vesr-old Joseph Josephs' OF
,,,..wsnns, near Buffalo, was the Au-
-, life convict who had offered to
ne the subject of experiments with
ssrser.
vor the murder Of Josephs, the de-
AL. Of which were too revolving to
81. public Hickey, who pleaded in
.,,pv As defence. was sentenced to
,,su twenty years to life Imprisonment
:, ouviction of second degree mur-
a., Five alienists testified at his trial
-. was abnormal, two of them as
..r,irr he was irresponsible.
u;.tsvs first offer to subject himself
>, instrumentation was made several
uor,b, ago 10 the late DR.. Roswell
p,,t Of Buffalo. The letter was turned
,v., 10 the director of the Gratwick
Cancer laboratory, a state institution
v,o referred it TO Thomas Carmody,
asn Attorney General. Mr.. Carmody
ruled that the state could not accept
the offer.
In this letter Hickey stated that he
made the offer will no idea of possible
mrdon or c0mmutation of sentence,
only desiring to show that, as in the
past years of my life done much evil
50 now would 90 good"
After his conviction he confessed
mat more than twenty years ago he
murdered one Edward Morey, in Lowell,
Mass, and Michael Kruck, a New York
rsxsboy, in Central Park in 1902. He
further confessed that he attempted to
hIl probably twenty boys" in his
irsvels about the country.
Hickey then said he was forty-seven
rsr old lie had been married and
Avorced, he asserted, his son, whose
address he concealed, being twenty
me and married. He had been hard
drinker, though apparently a man OF
more than average education, and usu-
ally found employment in semi-skilled
work, such as mechanical drafting,
bookkeeping or foreman on sewer or
bridge construction work. He never
worked long in any one place, and
vas frequently an inmate of institu-
tons for inebriety.
lest Started Career of Crime.
His one known term in prison pre-
vious to conviction on the Josephs
ease was in the Essex County, Mass,
jail where he was committed for an
s'taek upon boy. He was found by
some railroad men beating the lad. He
asserted the boy had tried to rob 'lim.
ne was fined s. for the assault, Going
70 Jail in default Of funds. A drunken
ness eaarge against him was filed.
According TO the story told by
nSfey after his arrest in the Josephs
use his criminal career began as the
'e'ut OF a perverted idea OF joke
''en ne was a druggists apprentice
u Lowell, Mass. In those days many
LoNeh drugstores were, as q rule,
H''ie more than blinds" for the sale
u Snlskey. The one in which Hickey
"oFkeo Edward Morey, a vagrant,
sssd 70 frequent when recovering
IVA q debauch 70 beg for "a life
ssIL Hickey, according TO his story,
.ssAy got tired Of feeding the bum,
oeeided 70 have little fun with
"a and get rid OF i'm"
ms idea OF a little fun was 10 dose
e "hiskey he gave Morey with
..o1num. he missed the "fun," and,
..osgn aorey died. Hickey insisted he
yer got nd Of him. The slayer as
*o II was thoughts of the crime
"a. drove him 70 drink. And drink
blamed for his other crimes. OH
SsAy or otherwise he was never called
.h 70 account for the death Of
~efey The authorities decided the
-n hso died Of apoplezy, and as an
'pspisctle he was buried
never could forget Morey," Hickey
o, and the thoughts Of him drove
orink, until finally / became as
Ss ne ever vas. Only / was less
Innate than Aorey When ! was of
,. sloh always behaved myself and
-, u got into any trouble. When
- iaii Of whiskey / was another
ssny Then became obsessed with
oe'ire 70 kin small boys"
Lured Lad 10 Death.
x,,y n.ekey was employed in an iron
.ss N Buffalo. In Lackawanna, a
isS'', i, ne met the Josephs boy and
Ss,austed himself in the lads conf
s,.aa .ss ~ buying him candy. Then he
,sso the child 70 lonely spot,
L"1o him and threw the mutilated
~ INTO sewer.
s Dcy was reported miSsing. but
t,yaa me fact that he had been seen
,.a Win = stranger there was not
., ,inshtfst eleW % his whereabouts
.hs IDENTITY Of the man with whom
y hsq been talking.
esAta'hestion Of another Of Hickey's
~. sS.''''gs led 70 The finding Of the
r, mickey was an lnveterate
49, oi post cards, and in a few
~. Ms iao's father and the uoIics
'sn q series Of cards telling sOhere