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THE JUDGE WEEPSWhen He Sentenced Hinshaw to Prison for Murder.The Speech in Court of the Convicted Wife Jlurtlerer—Many Believe Him fnuocent of ttie Crime.Danville, Ind., Nov. 6.—Judge Hadley called Rev. William E. Hinshaw, the convicted wife murderer, into court yesterday, and asked if he had anything to Bay before sentence was passed upon him. Hinshaw unrolled a paper and placed it-on a table near him and made the following speech:I cm very sorry that it is the pleasure of the court to unexpectedly call me to pass through this ordeal in the absence of many friends whom I wished to be here, or of relatives who are upon the way here now. I do not arise to discuss the evidence, or to add to what has been said. During the trial I earnestly desired to go upon the stand in my own behalf. This statement my attorneys will bear me out in. I now raise my voice, aB is my right, my last sacred right, to speak for myself. And I want it understood that there is not any smouldering fire in my breast against any man. There is no spark of revenge, no unkind word for any friend. I wish to employ these few precious moments with other things.“History is a record of errors. ‘Man's inhumanity to man makes countless millions mourn.’ To love truth and not have it, to aspire to heaven and be doomed to purgatory, to have one's actions misrepresented, to be wholly misunderstood, is to suffer the pangs of inward mortification. The jury says I am guilty. They say I killed the playmate of my youth, the wife of my bosom. The jury may be mistaken. If a happy home counts for anything, if prosperity counts for anything, it is not improbable that the jury is mistaken. In the excitement that prevailed no man could come to a conclusion. According to the laws of our being it is impossible. That jury was hermetically sealed by the masB of humanity that packed around it. It absorbed the language of their souls. I felt it. You heard it. I desire it to go upon the records of this court, with my Lands upon its sacred shrine, my face uplifted to heaven that their verdict is false. I am not guilty. Before I go to my living burial, I wish to thank the court for his kindness at all times. I wish to thank my counsel. They have been attentive at all times.I wish to thank the sherifl. He has been more than good to me. He is as dear to me as my beloved brother. I commend you all to God, and will meet you at the judgment bar, where I will have another trial and pasB into happiness. I go to my living burial, and as1 go I salute you. I am now ready for what may come.’’Then Judge Hadley pronounced the sentence of the court. When Hinshaw concluded almost every one in the crowded room was in tears. Judge Hadley wept bitterly, and in passing sentence cJuld not be heard outside the bar. After court adjourned Hinshaw shook hands with the judge and said: “I have nothing against you.You did what you believed to be your duty.'.’Hinshaw has published a letter in which he complained of the actions of a certain trance medium at Greencastlei who claimed to have had an interview with the spirit of Thurza Hinshaw; that she said her husband was the guilty man. The jail yard was crowded with his friends, who had come to bid him a last farewell.He was taken to the prison south at2 o’clock today, where the position of prison librarian has been secured for him.The belief in his innocence is gaining ground, and many of his strongest enemies say they will sign a petition for his pardon. The case will come up in the supreme court in January.
Newspaper Details
Weekly Fort Wayne Sentinel
Fort Wayne, Indiana, US
Wed, Nov 06, 1895
Page 9
Full Page
Clipped by
Mark B.
IN, USA 15 Jun 2024
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