Perth Amboy evening news., 1920-10-02
Brandon Sentenced to-@e
Week of Nov. IS for Muir
der of Local Couple.
ASKS TO SEE MRS. fanny
Not in Court, So Dramatic In
Cident to Case Is Lost, It Is
Thought at Elizabeth.
PERCHAND CHANGES PLEA
Confesses Guilty When In.
dictment is Charged to
MansIaughter. !

by Special Correspondent.
ELIZABETH. Oct. 22-George
Brandon, alias Harold V. Lamble, OF
Brooklyn. found guilty of first de.
gree murder by a jury here on Tues.
day of this week. was this morning
sentenced to die in the electric chair
during the week of November Is.
Charles Perchand, of New York, the
other defendant in the case. which
was that of the murder of Miss Edith
fanny and Arthur l.. Kupfer. both
of Perth Amboy. in Railway On
August 22, 1918. was sentenced to
from four to six years in states
prison at hard labor. Sentence was
pronounced oy Supreme Court jug
tice James J. Bergen.
knowing that Judge Bergen was
scheduled to pass sentence upon
Brandon at $3.50 o'clock this morn
ing several hundred persons, inciud.
ing many from New York's under.
world. besieged the court mouse only
to be turned away by Elizabeth po-
lice. The would-be spectators were
forced to keep moving and only
those were admitted to the court az
could prove the! had business there.
CEusual precautions were takens
net only OUTSIDE Ct the Court house.
hu: il side as well to prevent any
possItle attempts at gun-play. 1t
was realized by the authorities that
both Brandon and Perchand had
friends in the underworld who might
resort to guns If the verdict was too
severe. Deputy sheriffs were sta.
toned at all of the stairways lead.
| ing to the second floor of the court
house upon which the court room 10
located and every person had to be
identified before he or she was al.
lowed to proceed to the room in
which Judge Bergen was to impose
the sentence.
When Judge Bergen entered the
court room there was g. large crowd
present despite the precautions taken
to bar many from hearing the
sentence. Brandon maintained his
selfcomposure. His wife who had
made several scenes both In court
and in the corridors of the court
house, during the two days trial.
was not present. Neither was his
attorney, Frank NJ. McDermitt. Miss
Janny's mother was not in court.
but a sister -in-law of the murdered
girl was present
Judge Bergen commenced to im-
pose the sentence in his usual low
tone of voice. Brandon leaned for
ward In order to catch every word
asked the court to speak louder as
he could not hear what the judge
was saying. Brandon then stepped
up to within few feet of the bench
and heard the remainder of the
| sentence.
The accused man kept his nerve
while Judge Bergen was sentencing
him. He appeared to straighten up,
throw his shoulders back and start
slightly when he heard the judge tell
him that he would die in the electric
chair during the week of November
10.
Brandon told Judge Bergen he
had expected to be given an oppor-
tunity to say something before sem
tence had been imposed. Judge
Bergen said the sentence had been
fixed by law, it had only been for
him to set the date on which the
sentence would be carried out.
Turning to the back of the court
room Brandon then asked II Miss
Janny's mother was in the room.
Judge Bergen asked Brandon why
he wanted to see Mrs. fanny. The
prisoner said he had something very
important he wished to say to her.
Judge Bergen warned Brandon that
he did not anticipate having any
|
structed the deputy sheriffs to re-
move Brandon to the county Jail.
Just what Brandon wanted to say
to Mrs. fanny is mystery as he
would say no more. Whether he
wished to again personally plead in
nocent or make a confession was
the talk of those in the court after
the case had been dismissed.
Charles Perchand. who was indict-
ed on a charge of 'willful murder"
together with Brandon, but who
turned states witness against Bran
don, was then brought into court.
He retracted his plea of not guilty
to that of murder as charged in the
Indictment, and introduced a plea
of guilty of manslaughter. Judge
Bergen amended the original indict-
ment, so that it charged manslaugh-
ter and not murder, and then sem
tenced Perchand to serve from four
TO six years in states prison at hard
labor.