Belington progressive. [volume] (Belington, W. Va.) 1912-1927, 1915-06-30
FIVE ARIZONA MURDERERS
In SHADOW OF THE SCAFFOLD

July 70 the nve murderers who were
saved from the Florence penitentiary
gallows July 20 May by an eleventh
hour reprieve will again stand in the
shadow of the scafford. The reprieves
were for nine weeks duration, BY the
law the men must hang before July %.
But Governor Hunt of Arizona.
whose fight against capital punish
ment has saved the five from death SO
far, refuses to sign the necessary pa
pers or fix the execution dates. He
refuses to be party to the executions.
And the five are confident that the
big governor will never let them
hang.
On May % the Arizona prison at
Florence was the scene of one of the
most dramatic events in criminal his
tory. N. B. Chavez, Edurado Perez,
Miguel Peralta, Francisco Rodriguez
and Ramon Villaloboz donned their
clothes that day. 1t seemed that their
long fight against the extreme penalty
had ended in defeat. The gallows was
ready, the witnesses assembled in the
tower where the five were to be hang
ed. A desperate last minute battle to
save them was being waged all over
the state. The pardon board, which
had power of life and death over them.
was appealed to at first in vain. Sec
rotary Bryan and General Francisco
Villa asked mercy for them-the lat
ter on the ground that they had not
received fair trails. Federal Judge
Sawtells refused a writ of habeas cor
pus for the five, and denied their law
yers the right of appeal from his de-
cision. When it seemed that every
device had failed the pardon board
weakened and granted the nine weeks
reprieve.
/ The fact that the pardon and re-
prIeve power was vested exclusively
IN this board was due to the fact that
Governor Hunt made strenuous cam
paign in favor of constitutional A.
mendment abolishing the gallows form
Arizona. The voters turned against
him on that issue. Although they
elected him, they rejected his pet
amendment, and instead adopted one
stripping him of his pardon and re-
prieve power and giving it to the board
of three.
Shortly after his first Inauguration,
February Id, 1912, Hunt announced
his opposition to capital punishment
and proposed to eliminate it from his
state. He emphasized this stand by
resplting from time to time, the muir
derers then under sentence of death.
This created dissatisfaction through
out Arizona. Pending the next election
when the anti-capital punishment
amendment was to be voted on, Hunt
continued his policy of reprieving each
slayer when his execution date came
near. He stumped the state declaring
ne cared more for the abolition of
hanging than for his own reelection.
When the voters went against it.
Hunt fought the new amendment in
the lower courts, was defeated, went to
the supreme court, and was again de-
feated. So he was deprived of his
pardon power and the condemned men
were apparently helpless.
Tn pardon board met and fixed the
death date. With two weeks in which
to work, Hunt and his friends started
new fight against the execution.
Ministers discussed the case in the
pulpit, all kinds of organization passed
resolutions either favoring or condemn-
ing what some termed "legalized muir
der" Leagues were formed, petitions
circulated. Hunt appealed to the New
York newspapers, and the publicity
they gave his cause brought such a
huge volume of protests to the pardons
board that staff of clerks was en-
ployed to handle the mail. Great pres
sure was brought to hear on C. o.
Case, superintendent of public instruc-
ton, and Frank Trott, both members
of the board. They wavered, but fin
ally stood firm. Wiley E. Jones, at
torney general and third member of
the board, always stood pat.
The Legislature was applealed to-
the House adopted memorial against
the executions. Then, the day before
the hangings, came the Intervention
of Bryan and the rapid fire series of
events leading up to the last minute
reprieves.