The copper era and Morenci leader., 1915-05-21
F|vE.MEN TO DIE At
ARIZONA PRISON
Board of Pardons Declines to Inter-
fere on Behalf or the Murderers Con
demned Pay the Death Penalty.

PHOENIX, Ariz., May 14.-For
the first time since Arizona became
a state, three years ago last Febru-
ary, hangings will occur at the state
prison at Florence, May 2S.
The state board of pardons and
parole, in session at Florence this
afternoon, decided not to make any
recommendations for executive elem
rez, Miguel Peralta, Francisco Ro-
ridguez and Ramon Villalobos, un-
der sentence to die on the above
date.
The board is composed of Attor.
ney General Wiley Jones, Superin-
tendent of Public Instruction C. o.
Case and Frank Trott.
The decision rendered in part
reads:
I'm arriving at a determination
in these cases we feel that it is not
circumstances attending each case
should be set forth in the record of
this board, as they are all of rec
ord in the courts. The law of the
state under which these sentences
have ben imposed is the same law
which imposes upon each Of us the
oath that we will support the con-
stitution of the United States and
laws of the state of Arizona.
Under this oath we have under
taken to perform our solemn duty
as members of the board of par
dons and paroles. In all our re-
search nothing has come to us to
cause us to believe that the sentence
imposed in each of these cases is
not justified by the evidence prov
ing beyond all reasonable doubt that
each crime was committed with that
deliberate premeditation which calls
for the extreme penalty under the
law. The members of this board
are unanimous in this conclusion"
Governors Statement:
Governor G. w. P. Hunt last night
made public the following statement
concerning the action of the board
of pardons and parole in refusing to
interfere with the sentences of five
murdeyers to hang at Florence, May
%:
In alluding to yesterdays action
of the board of pardons and paroles,
through which Arizona confronts the
prospect of having an orgy of death
written into her record as a young
state, no descending of my deep
sorrow is necessary or possible.
Most of all am I grieved to learn
that the adverse influence of the
boards act upon public morals and
especially upon the growing genera
tions has been rendered the more
disastrous by the concurrence, de-
plorably, of the state superintendent
of public instruction, who, as head
of Arizona's school system, is theo-
reticalIy supposed to uphold the
states educational ideal.
There is, possibly, more excuse
fnr. al
lawyer and prosecutor, might more
plausibly have become Injured to
human agony and blood shed as to
be forgetful of the fact that aside
from the impending sualghter of five
men, the young state of Arizona is
about to set an example of legalized
murder by which every human be-
ing within it's confines will be
subjected to brutalizing influence
barking back to savagery.
Despite the electoral protest
against, capital punishment by almost
half of Arizona's citizens, the board
has deliberately written legalized
murder as its decree. The deepest
grief and chagrin which I experience
in behalf of Arizona at this time,
exceeds all other emotions and rem
ders me doubly sure that not for any
political preferment or hope OF tenn
| pOrdl reward WOulQ concur III Iu0
action of the board of pardons and
paroles by standing red handed and
unabashed before the people of my
state. ....- =
"(Signed)
GEO. W. P. HUNT,
Governor of Arizona. !"
"Obeyed the LaW"-Jones
When shown the statement of Gov
ernor Hunt, Jones, Acknowledgement,
said: There was no other course for
the pardon board to pursue. We had
taken an oath to obey the law of the
state. It did not matter to us if Gov
ernor Hunt had seen fit to ignore this
law in the past"
Case and Trott did not care to dis
cuss the statement.
FLORENCE, Ariz., May 1S.-In
spite of predictions that he will re-
sign rather than carry out the SEN
tence of death a week from next
Thursday, Robert B. Sims, superin-
tendent of the state prison here, is
already making preparations for the
executions. A new rope for the trap
has been ordered by telegr Sph to re-
place the old one which has not been
used for several years.
A force of men was assigned yes
terday to the gruesome task of dig
girg the graves of the five Mexicans
who are to be executed May %.