The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1914-04-23


promised a walk to the marshes.
Then they began to play, during
which he knocked the child uncon-
scious and mutilated the body, so
that he died from the mutilation
rather than from the original blow.
1t was contended by his lawyers
that the fiendishness shown in his
murders proved the boys insanity.
Their alienists we're manfully in sup
port of the theory, but other alien
lists swore equally we'll for the pros
ecution. The jury brought in ver-
dict of first degree murder.
Up to this time all Massachusetts
had shrieked against the villain.
Now the pendulum swung the other
way. Could the noble State of cul-
ture and college put 15-year-old
boy to DEATH Must it demand an
eye for an eye.
JuuSS ddSlOu, ldlOi SO'Sih hoi ,
thought hanging none too severe,
and sentenced him to the gallows.
That opened the floodgates. Thous-
ands of petitions and letters flooded
the office of Governor Rice Part
urged clemency, others sought ven
geance. A dozen little victims of the
fend were paraded before the gov
ernor when the latter was present
ed. Governor Rice commuted the
sentence to solitary confinement for
life.
For a long time he was model
prisoner One day he reverted to his
natural self and declared: Il will
not be here always. When I get out
l will kill Judge CASTOR and every
one who helped put me here" He
tried to escape dozen or more
times. No one doubts if he is ever
beyond the prison walls some one or
several will pay dearly for the long
years of confinement.
In the long time since 1867 Jesse
Pomeroy has kept the news chan
nels more than fulls for the cunning
that made him successful criminal
has kept him busy in attempts to es-
cape 1t has been an hourly match
ing of wits between the prisoner and
his keepers, with the score to date
largely in favor of the prisoner. 1t
is true he is still a prisoner, but his
near-escapes have made monkeys of
the Massachusetts prison officials.
One day Jesse complained to his
mother that the bench in his cell
was too hard, and asked for a chair.
The officials consented to her bring
ing one. 1t was subjected to many
examinations, and was being carried
to the cell, when the heat of the
keepers hand melted some varnish
on the back. Out fell bit of wood.
1t was the cover to hollow place
in which were a bunch of saws.
They were taken out, the holes fill
ed and then the chair was placed in
the cell. To this day Pomeroy has
not spoken of the absence of those
saws.
A year or two later Pomeroy told
the warden that he had invented a
lead pencil that could be sharpened
without the use of a knife. The
warden loaned him some tools to
make a model. Although carefully
watched, as was supposed, he used
the tool to remove the mortar from
behind the rock of his cell, and
was engaged on the outside wall
when caught.
Once he dug the mortar from be-
tween the huge stones of his cell
until he reached a gas pipe. This
he pierced with a drill and filled in
the hole with wet bread. Then he
filed the bars of his door. Next he
loosened the leg of his cot. His
plans were to fill the prison with gas,
explode it with match, push
through the cell door and, with the
leg of his cot as a weapon, take the
chances in the corridor. Everything
went we'll up to the vital point, and
the explosion ripped open the cell,
hurting a huge stone through the
ceiling into the hospital above. 1t
knocked down the guards and opened
the way to freedom-but Pomeroy
was not able to take advantage Of it.
A large stone had hit him fairly on
the head and he was found uncon-
scious in the floor. When he reached
the hospital he only grinned over
his failure.
Something went wrong and | will
succeed the next time
Finding escape by the ordinary
methods somewhat of a delusion, he
next tried starvation, and was al