The Washington times., 1925-07-24
CONTINUED from First Pae,e.l


Within five minutes and before
the attorneys and Thomas Scott
: father Of the condemned man
: could reach the jail, Scott had
been told of the ruling by news
paper men assigned to the death
watch. He hung his head and
seemed unable to speak.
''It means" he was told, that
YOU have been saved from the rope
for the time being, on the ground
that you are insane. Are you in
Z sane?"
,, "T Am Not insane" He Says
Scott put his hands in front Of
him, grasped bar Of his cell door
in either hand and looked his ques-
TONER straight in the eye. When
he spoke it was in a firm quiet
tone.
II am pot insane" he said. 81
am not insane now, nor have been
insane. before or after my sentence.
7 am an innocent man, facing ex-
ecution for a crime did not COM
nit, but I am not and never have
been insane.s
3 II am not begging for my life.
had given up hope and prepared
myself to die. / had asked to be
alone and sought a chance to have
this last few hours by myself, Tor
i appreciated that was 10 die
Death would be better, anyway,
: than life In an institution with men
and women bereft OF reason:
s.I do not know what the ultimate
result OF this case of mine will
. be now. Three times I have been
in the death cell, with but a few
hours allotted to me for life And
each time something has happened
In time to save me. Through it all
/ have protested my innocence. I
etiu do and would have had ! been
forced to face my ordeal in few
mare hours. But 1t may mean per-
hans that there is some Divine
powsr intervening to give me the
time TO prove the claim Of inno-
cence that I have always made.
Later Scott said his long stay in
prison might have affected his
sanity.
Denies Being Atheist
Asked IL he was an atheist Scott
made an emphatic denial" have
refused q spiritual adviser, hut I
believe and always have believed
ia the supreme being" he said.
Scott walked Into the further
recesses Of the death cell, and
threw himself, face down, on cot.
When Governor Small refused a
further reprieve In Springfield late
yesterday, Thomas Scott. aged
father OF the condemned man, be-
gan his last desperate effort to save
his son. He sought Stewart and
O'Brfen and made his plea.
Russell Is not sane" he said.
Tns attorneys started to work.
Ter hours they sought to find
JUDGE to hear their petition, finally
locating Judge David, who agreed
50 ecne to court.
AEter. reading the affidavit ri the
fs4Eey,i Judge David signed the
pet on ordering the appointment
Of he sanity commission and set
the date for further hearing Au-
gust s.
The elder Scott then went to the
Jail. He bounded up the stairs to
the death cell and stood before the
door there.
Saved YOU" He Shouts
Russell, we've saved you," he
shouted. eft won't be your last
sunrise, boy, it won't be the last. +"
the steel bars, smiled back at his
father. But even then he defied
the move that saved him.
'I don't care" he said. 81 am
not insane"
Then he asked for news Of his
wife. She was on her way by auto
mobile from Springfield. Thirty
miles from Chicago her automobile
f<aAA k4A4s
husband had been saved, temporari-
ly at least. She was overcome with
emotion when she reached Chicago.
cit is an act OF God" she cried.
They will never hang Russell
now, OF that I feel certain.
: Regardless Of the outcome OF the
sanity hearing. this stay will give
US time in which to collect the
band did not kill Joseph Maurer.
1.-THE fight will go on. We will
win. We will prove him innocent"
Mrs. Scott later went to a hotel
and asked that Russell be told
that she would sleep a while be-
fore coming to see him at the jail.
! BY the time the message was taken
to the death cell, Scott himself had
gone to sleep.
One of the death watch guards
was taken off. Scott, it was said,
, would remain in the death cell for
I another day, and then would be
taken back to his old tier.
Before the court stay was issued
: Scott wrote a last statement" II
read:
Text Of Statement
"I cannot bring myself to getting
down on my knees and begging for
my life.
There is nothing I can say that
have not already said. I am
innocent of the crime for which
am sentenced to die. The great
crime will be the one committed in
the name of the law by the State OF
Illinois tomorrow morning.
II need these last few hours tc
try to remove the bitterness and
anger from my heart against those
who are deliberately responsible fol
this awful injustice. This is gone
to be very, very hard.
God have mercy on them, moi
only for that which they do to me
but for the unspeakable and indie
scribable suffering and agony they
bring on those who love me"