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milKUE.An Innocent Afro-Amcrican Sentto the Penitentiary ona ChargePreferreda Minister's Wife(White) Who AfterwardConfesses.“I Alono am Guilty,” Said She—He Visited Me at My Solicitation-”Columbus, O.—The case of WilliamOffet, who wan released on parole last week, is a peculiar oue. The woman in the case was as false as she was fair, and is a self-convicted perjurer. On her testimony alone was Offet convicted, lie was a poor colored man of Elyria, and the charge was such a serious one no attorney cared to defend him. Hut one was appointed by the court who pretended to conduct the defense, while in fact there was no defense made. Public opinion was almost unanimous against the prisoner and threats of. lynching were freely made. It looked for a time that the threats would be executed, but the feeling finally quieted down and the case was allowed to take its regular course in the court. Developments since the conviction tend to show very“the prisoner tvas not guilty.he history of the case foLlows:J. S. Underwood was a minister who lived with his wife and children at Elyria. The good doctor believed he had the best wife in the world and had any oue intimated she was unchaste he would have promptly called him to account for it He had* all confidence inher and when he was away from home for weeks at a time in the interest ofvv 1 ''Vile IT II N it iU rlv/ 1but that I did is true. Hevisitedseveral times after that and each time I was indiscreet. I did no^carc after the first time. In fact I could not haveresisted and had no desire to resist.”None but Mr. Underwood knows his feelings when he had hearrfthia. The wife of his bosom, whom he had honored and loved, making such a confession almost broke his heart and ho could hardly believe it, even coming from her own lips.“Why did you tell me you had been outraged—why did you tell me anything about it? Ignorance would havebeen bliss,” he saki, between sobs.“I had several reasons for telling you,” she replied. One was the neighbors saw the fellow here, another was I was afraid 1 had contracted a loathsome disease and still another I feared 1 might give birth Iso a Negro baby. Ihoped to save my refutation by telling you a deliberate lie.”Rev. Underwood called on a well-known attorney of the city to sue for divorce, but. the attorney realizing what an enormous church scandal it would create, advised him to quietly resignhis pastorate there and leave beforemaking the matter public. In the meantime he was to allow his wife to live in one room of the house, but hehis wife.was not to recognize her as This he did. • * 'In the meantime be thought of theinnocent man servmcr in the peto do all\u.i £ Vw 2 * so. ft* * «ft4 dl w* A-ftlai Ah ft* •# ft*tiary, and determined to do an in ms power to secure his release. Hut hecon id do nothing then or the world would know all.lie moved to Pennsylvania aa soon as possible, secured a divoroft from his wife, made affidavit to the confession she made to him and forwarded it to the penitentiary managers with a strong appeal in a true Christian spirit for OfTet's release. This was supplemented by an affidavit from a woman to whom Mrs. Underwood also confessed. .. VThese affidavits were received some months ago but strange as it may seem no action was taken until yesterdayparoled.... M - 1__-1 -J
Newspaper Details
Cleveland Gazette
Cleveland, Ohio, US
Sat, Jan 16, 1892
Page 1
Full Page
Clipped by
Elyria P.
OH, USA 11 May 2020
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