The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1914-07-08
EDUCATING A MURDEREss
It is Coating the State of New York
$1,000 a Year

$1,000 Year
New York, July S.-They sit up
with Mrs. Madeline Ferola-the two
matrons, and the only two matrons
attached to Sing Sing-and they
struggle to teach her English while
she faces brayely future which
holds possible death in the electric
chair.
Maybe there are some who will
say that it isn't worth while for two
able-bodied women to walk into a
prison house every day and turn and
return the pages of Italian-English
grammars for the benefit of a convict
ed murderess. Maybe it isn't worth
while, but certain it is that the mat
rons like it and Mrs. Ferola likes it;
so after all, there is perhaps no harm
done even to the squeamish ones, I'M
less it be that Mrs. Ferola's mainten-
ance and education are costing this
state just $500 month.
She resides, does Mrs. Ferola, who
was convicted of killing her faithless
sweetheart by plunging carving
knife into his heart, in that hand
some colonial stone mansion-a thing
of granite blocks built in the 30's-
which stands on the hill just back of
Sing Sing prison, and she is attended
by retinue of two matrons, one
cook, three guards and gardener
That is the reason why her ex-
pense to the state is $500 a month.
The old mansion is a 14-room house
with lofty ceilings and an imposing
exterior, which has been silently gaz-
ing at the Hudson river for three
quarters of century. II might be
devoted to other purposes, but it
isn't. Once Principal Keeper told +.
KD Connaughton made the place
useful by living in it, but he has been
dead these several months.
SO the new warden of Sing Sing.
Thomas J. Mccormick, a man who
halls from Yonkers and wants to
make his maintenance fund 20 as far
as possible, writhes in his chair and
says with as much vehemence as his
good nature will permit "Ridicul.
ous!".
But that is the view of business
man, one who has a million dollars
worth of things to do and only half
million to do them with. He wants
Mrs. Ferola to be sent to the wo-
IN a a m ND ltn
doesn't hesitate to say so, but he
adds that as long as she has to oc-
cupy hes 14-room mansion she will
be well cared for, even if she stays
for year.
Mrs. Ferola was sentenced by Su
preme Court Justic Davis to die at
Sing Sing during the week beginning
today. But an appeal was made and
so it will be a year before the case is
finally disposed Of
Probably IL the woman herself
we're consulted she would prefer 20
pass the time in her present abode
To be sure she does not wander at
will through the IA rooms, but she
uoeS nave very spacious room lac
ing the Hudson, with a bath attached.
For the most part she seems happy
even If she is the first woman to be
sentenced to death in this state since
Mrs. Martha Place who murdered her
stepdaughter in 1898. Her days are
taken up with the study OF English,
with needlework and with reading.
The matrons say that she is leaning
the language very quickly. Occas-
ionally she has call from her law
yer or her daughter or her son. The
prison chaplain. FIR. Cashin. drops Ii
every day or so. There is not much
time in which Mrs. Ferola may
brood
Mrs. Ferola is IS years old. She
ran boarding house at 529 Morris
avenue, The Bronx. The man she
killed, Carmelo Canestrale, pedler.
was a boarder who had promised to
marry her, but at the last minute de.
clined to do so unless she paid him
s4O0.