The weekly tribune and the Cape County herald. (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) 1914-1918, 1917-08-24
NAMES FORGED
TO GET PAROLE
FOR z UONVIlCTS
-
Signature Of Prosecuting At
torney and Cashier
Forged.
INVESTIGATION is
BEGUN BY OFFICIALS
L. K. Flanagan and w. Field,
Serving Z Years, to be Freed
from Pen by Ruse.

An effort to Tree Lafkln j. IAN
nigan and Waddell Field from the
State Penitentiary on parole by forg-
ing the signature of Prosecuting At
torney Caruthers on a recommended
ton for the parole was discovered
yesterday, when the Prosecuting At
torney received a letter from the
Board of Parole and Pardons in JEFF
ferson City. The document also bore
what was purported to be the sigma
ture of w. Palmer Oliver. An investi-
cation has been started to ascertain
who forged the name of the county
official.
Flanagan and Field were sentenced
to seven years in the State Peniten-
tiary by jury in the Circuit Court
at Jackson in January, 1916. Both
were convicted of having obtained
$50 from W. Palmer Oliver, cashier
of local bank, on forged draft
The money save $50 was returned to
the bank after the men had been cap
tured after a long chase through
Southeast Missouri and Illinois.
In view of the past record Of Elan
nigan who was said to have served
several terms in other penal institu-
tons, the Prosecuting Attorney and
the prosecuting witnesses opposed his
parole, when application was made
last winter.
Prosecuting Attorney CarutherS
sent a letter to the State Board of
Parole and Pardons last December
vigorously opposing the granting of
the parole. Several weeks ago the
prosecuting attorney received a letter
from the same board asking why ne
had recently recommended the parole
| Of both convicts.
The county official was startled by
the query from the board emphasize
| ing the fact that he had at no time
made any recommendation in favor Of
The two convicts, and asked if there
| we're such letter of recommendation
received by the board to forward the
| mlsslve as soon as possible.
| When Mr. CarutherS received the re-
i ply from the board yesterday, accom-
panied by the letter of recommends
ton for the parole of the two men, he
| pronounced the signature a forgery
and Immediately began an investiga-
| ion to determine the author of The
forged recommendation.
Mr.. Oliver, when questioned by a
Exporter for The Tribune last night
declined 10 say whether his signature
had been forged, and referred the re
porter to the Prosecuting Attorney for
any information. When asked whether
| he could not say that his signature
had been forged he declined to an
swer
The letter bearing the forged sigma
ture of the prosecuting attorney was
written July II, 1917. 1t was written
on cheap stationery bearing the words
"Office of Prosecuting Attorney J. Fl.
Caluthers, Jackson. The letter out
lined the facts in the prosecution If
the two men concluding thus: at is
my conscientious belief that Mr.. Elan
nlgan should be paroled and that he
has suffered long enough punishment
for the crime committed" The names
of the prosecuting attorney and W.
Palmer Oliver were underneath.
The fact that the signature of the
prosecuting attorney was written as
J. H. Caruthers convinced the official
that it was a forgery as soon as he
saw the writing. He always signs his
name J. Henry Caruthers.