The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1919-01-06
FOSTER IS FREED
AFTER FIVE YEARS
Sentenced to Serve IS to
Is Years in State
Prison
WAS EXEMPLARY
DECLARES WARDEN

oSsie Prouty of West Halifax-Much
Activity in His Behalf Has Gone to
Iowa.
After serving five years of sentence
.of Is years for mansaughter Lon a
Foster of West Halifax has been released
from the state prison in Windsor. having
been pardoned by Gov Horace f. era
ham, and is now in Iowa Foster was
pardoned Nov. %, but no publicity was
made of the fact and the news did not
reach here until today, when inquiry al
the state prison was made by The Re
former on receipt of a tip that Foster
might have been released.
1t will be remembered that on the
evening Of Oct. Is. 1913, Foster and Ossie
Prouty, West Halifax farmer. got into
squabble near Fosters home. as "A result
| of which Foster shot Prouty. infiicting
fatal injuries
The case was tried in Wintlham county
court at Newfane before Judge Willard
| W. Miles and jury, Attorney General
| r. A. Brown of Burlington aud state
Attorney A. Y. ID. Piper of Braftleboro
| representing the state, while Foster was
represented BY Attorneys f AK Gihsoa,
and W. r. Daley of Brattleboro and J. e.
Jones of Rutland.
! On Monday, Nov. 10. 1919. the Jury
found Foster guilty Of mansaughter and
on Nov. IA Judge Miles sentenced Foster
to serve not less than l3 years nor more
than ID years at hard labor in the state
prison.
| After about the first year Foster he
came bookkeeper for the Reliance Shirt
Co, concern employing prison labor at
the prison. According to Warden James
McDermott, Foster was an exemplary
prisoner throughout his period 'of con
finement
Sentiment was divided during the trial
of the case, and after time letters and
petitions recommending a pardon began
to pour in upon the governor. The GOV
ernor's secretary, Harvey W Gooden.
states that there have been more CORE
lspondenee and petitions in this case than
in all the rest of the cases of this kind
combined in the past two years.
Judge Frank Worden Of West Halifax.
who knew both Foster and Prouty anJ
who was for many years one OF the as
sistant judges of the county court
strongly recommended Fosters pardon.
land ex-Lieut Gov Frank f. Howe of
Bennington. who also knew the parties.
did likewise Senator C. H. Dunton OF
Poultney also was active in securing a
pardon for Foster
The circumstances leading up to the
shooting, as nearly as they could be de
termined from those connected with the
, tragedy and as they appeared at The
trial, were as follows: Foster and
, Prouty. who lived about 20 rods from
each other ON Thomas hill in Halifax.
about three miles beyond West Guilford
village, had been at loggerheads several
years and had frequently qnarreled YER
bally and threatened each other On the
morning Of Oct. l6 as Proutv drove by
the Foster farm on his way TO " 3.
IWarren's mill with a load of apples the
two men had some sort Of an alteration
over Prouty's dog. which Foster claimed
was vicious and ought To be killed On
Prouty's return the argument WAS con
tnued. and again in The afternoon
when Prouty was on his way 10 Warren's
mill, there was more trouble, it being
claimed that the dog at that time bit
one of the children of Fosters housekpep-
: er. Mrs Mabel Cumming
When Prouty appeared on his wagon
in front of the Foster house short time
after O'Clock the quarrel had it's fatal
culmination. On that night Mrs. Cura-
ming, who was the only eyewitness ef
the shooting, said the trouble began when
Foster began to call Prouty names and
the latter replied that if Foster didn't
shut up he would kill him. Pronty then
stepped out of the wagon and struck Fos-
ter twice in the face with his fist The
! men clinched and in the brief scuffle that
ensued Foster fired his revolver three
.. times, at least one of the bullets entering
the victims forehead Just over the right
eye. Prouty fell to the ground without
;. a sound, and the man who killed him.
after rushing into his house. jumped
upon his horse and rode five miles To the
home of Constable Green Werden in
Marlboro. to whom he gave himself up
and by whom he was taken to Brattle-
6 boro and later to Newfane Jail
In statement prepared by Foster
after his conviction and before his SEN
f tence he said:
r Il was born of good parentage and be
a gan contributing for their support early
n in life, working my way through tho