The Washington times., 1936-05-09

Eighteenth Street and the Avenue.
the landlady and the guard told
what had transpired and the police
car was off toward the station.
Overtaken at Tenth Street and
Pennsylvania Avenue, the trolley
was stopped at Ninth Street. Lieut..
w. E. Holmes, of precinct three,
and j. A. Boss, Of the Traffic Blu
reau, revolvers drawn, covered
Aldridge from the center Of the
crowded trolley. Women screamed
and other passengers rose from
their seats as Private ]. L. Billman,
of precinct three. placed the man
under arrest. He submitted with
out a struggle.
At the Third precinct station,
Alfred admitted his identity and
confessed that he had participated
in the Seventeenth and @ Streets
drug store robbery as we'll as a
half -dozen other breaks in the city.
He asserted, however, that al.
though he held the gun which
sent the bullet crashing into Pri.
vate McDonald's back, it was his
brother Albert who had pulled the
trigger. His mission at the Union
Station, he said. was to leave
Washington.
From Alfred, police learned the
address Of his dead brother, Al
bert. At Albert'S Washington
home, in the 200 block of L st. N.
w., four guns were discovered.
The case against Alfred was
founded on the police findings
that the revolver found under AL
bert's body as he lay bleeding at
Seventeenth and @ Streets North
west had not been fired. One of
Alfred's guns, on the other hand,
showed evidence of having recent
ly discharged four bullets, police
examination showed.
Alfred also disclosed that he
and Albert two months previous
had fled Massachusetts, where
they both had lengthy criminal
records.
They had stayed in Harlem,
New York. for a few weeks and
thence had made their way to Bal.
timore. From Baltimore they
came to Washington and had lived
in vacant houses and rooming es-
Establishments for about a month
Expensive clothes, found at TWEEN
ty-Second Street and L Street, in.
Dictated that the brothers were by
no means wanting for funds.
Arrangement of Alfred was de.
layed pending an inquest into the
death Of Albert and pending the
outcome Of Officer McDonald's in
juries. A Scant two weeks later
the thunderbolt which sealed AL
fred'S fate forever fell.
Seemingly well on the road to
recovery, Officer Mcdonald left
his hospital bed and was able to
make his way about his room. On
July 81 came a relapse. On July
%, the brave policeman passed on.
Indictment of Alfred Aldridge
for first-degree murder on Octo-
Der / by the District of Columbia
Grand Jury ushered in q long
legal battle which reached the
United States Supreme Court.
Sentenced to death in the cleo
trio chair on January %, 1881, the
slayer was granted a stay until
February 20 to allow his counsel
to file an appeal with the United
States Supreme Court.
While the appeal was pending,
the execution day was set at March
20, then delayed until May 8. On
April 20, the Supreme Court, re-
verSing the District Supreme Court,
ordered a new trial for Aldridge,
ruling in effect that jurors in
trials of colored persons must be
questioned regarding racial preju-
diceS.
On June "a, Aldridge was
brought before the District Su-
preme Court again in his third
trial for life. The prisoner was
found guilty of murder in the first
degree. A motion for another new
trial was made by defense counsel
July 10, 1881, but was overruled
and the court ordered the cleo.
trocution be set for october 80.
Following an appeal by the de-
tense, the date of electrocution
was again delayed and set for May
6, 1882. AS a last resort, President
Hoover was asked to commute the
sentence. The White House. an
nounced April ~ that it would not
intervene.
At 10 a. M, May 8, 1892, Alfred
Aldridge was strapped into the
stout, oaken chair in the District
Jail. Electrodes were strapped to
Alfred's legs, barred by Sits in his
trousers legs. Hundreds Of volts
leaped through his body, once
twice. thrice as the switch was
pulled. Alfred had gone to join
Albert in eternity