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the applicant, George W. Sutton, may be commuted to that of life imprisonment.

FRANK M. FULLER,

Secretary of the Commonwealth.

HAMPTON L. CARSON,

Attorney General.

ISAAC B. BROWN,

Secretary of Internal Affairs.

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,
Executive Department,

Board of Pardons, Harrisburg, May 20, 1903.

His Excellency, Saml. W. Pennypacker, Governor:

Sir: In the Court of Oyer and Terminer and General Jail Delivery in and for the County of Philadelphia, at March sessions, 1902; Joseph M. Bennett was indicted on the charge of murder. He was tried, and was convicted of the crime of murder of the first degree at November sessions, 1902. On February 20, 1903, he was sentenced to be hanged.

On the 19th day of February, 1902, the prisoner, Joseph M. Bennett, a boy aged seventeen years, was in the poolroom at 1708 South street, playing pool with several other boys. The party had been playing pool for some hours, when one Briddell entered the room and insisted on joining in the game. He was a large man, tall and heavy, and had the reputation of being surly and hot-tempered. The game in progress when Briddell entered was a tie-game. Finally Briddell picked up a cue, and shot a ball to break the pyramid of balls. It was not his turn to play, and Bennett put his cue over the table and stopped the cue-ball from going down the table. It appears that Briddell then struck Bennett and knocked him against the wall. Bennett thereupon picked up his hat and coat and left the poolroom. He went to a poolroom at 1704 South street, where he procured a revolver from a man named Black. Freeman and Chase, who had been in the game with Bennett, also left the poolroom and stood upon the sidewalk. Briddell came out to them, saw that Bennett was not there, and returned to the room. Soon after Briddell again came out, with threats that he was going to do Bennett. He rushed down to the corner of Seventeenth and South streets, where Bennett was standing, and as he approached Bennett shot him.

The testimony adduced at the trial showed that Briddell had been drinking, and that he was in a bad mood. He asked if Bennett had a gun, and said if he had he would kill him. The defense in the case was self-defense. It was admitted that Briddell was the

aggressor, but the question was whether or not Bennett had armed himself with a view of doing violence to Briddell.

The reasons presented in support of the application for a commutation of the sentence of death to that of life imprisonment are as follows:

1. Prior to the arrest and conviction of the said Joseph M. Bennett he bore an excellent reputation.

2. The boy's physical condition; he is a consumptive.

3. The circumstances of the case, and the age of the prisoner. The Hon. Wm. W. Wiltbank, the trial Judge, writes the Board as follows:

"I have been notified by communication dated May 7th, 1903, of the attorney for the petitioner in the case of Commonwealth vs. Joseph M. Bennett, convicted of murder in the first degree on the 29th day of November, 1902, and thereafter by me sentenced to death, that an application will be made to you on the part of the convict on the 20th instant for commutation of the death sentence to that of life imprisonment.I am of the opinion that under the circumstances justice will be vindicated by such commutation, and that whilst the verdict was not influenced by any error in law or otherwise in the conduct of the trial, and was in accordance with the weight of the evidence, yet there was produced such proof of provocation to the act of the defendant in the assault upon him of a man his superior on age, weight, size and health, and of consequent fright on the part of the defendant, as to justify a review of the record by the Board of Pardons."

Mayor Weaver, who as District Attorney represented the Commonwealth at the Bennett trial, writes the Board as follows:

664 * * Taking into consideration the circumstances of the crime, and the youth of the prisoner, I am of the opinion that justice will be vindicated by commutation of the death sentence to life imprisonment."

The Honorable Mayer Sulzberger writes the Board as follows:

"At the request of the Honorable William W. Wiltbank I sat with him to hear the motion for a new trial in the case of the Commonwealth vs. Joseph M. Bennett, convicted of murder of the first degree. Although we concurred in the opinion that there was no error of fact or law to warrant the granting of a new trial, I was strongly impressed with the idea that it was a case for the indulgent consideration of your honorable body. The extreme youth of the defendant, his physical weakness as compared with the great strength of the person killed, the strong provocation by the latter, and the consequent agitation and unsettlement of the prisoner's mind, all combine to create in my mind the conviction that a commutation of the death sentence to one of imprisonment for life would not injure the cause of public justice, but would, on the other hand, be a judicious exercise of clemency."

In view the fact above presented, and giving especial consideration to the opinions of Judges Wiltbank and Sulzberger and Mayor Weaver, the Board respectfully recommends that the sentence of

death pronounced in the case of Joseph M. Bennett be commuted to that of life imprisonment.

WM. M. BROWN,

Lieutenant Governor.

FRANK M. FULLER,

Secretary of the Commonwealth.

HAMPTON L. CARSON,

Attorney General.

ISAAC B. BROWN,

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,

Executive Department,
Board of Pardons,

Harrisburg, December 21, 1904.

His Excellency, Saml. W. Pennypacker, Governor:

Sir: In the Court of Oyer and Terminer and General Jail Delivery for the County of Allegheny, of September sessions, 1903, Dusan Melic was indicted for murder. He was tried, convicted of murder of the first degree, and on February 23, 1904, was sentenced to be hanged.

An examination of the testimony raises a serious doubt as to the sufficiency of the evidence to support a verdict of murder in the first degree. The prisoner-a Servian of nineteen years of age, and but two years in this country, and a laborer in a railway-cut-had been to a wedding party where there was feasting and drinking. While somewhat under the influence of liquor he walked with his sweetheart, a girl of eighteen, out the Boulevard in Pittsburg, and entered a district on the borders of the park where the bushes were thick and the road somewhat lonely. It was twilight and it was raining. In a spirit of fun or bravado he fired his pistol three times in the air. His victim, a special police officer, who was not in helmet or uniform, and whose badge was beneath his coat, came suddenly upon them on a run, having been attracted by the shots. He laid hold of the girl (whose hat and pin were taken) and also upon the man, throwing open his coat as he ran and displaying his badge. It is not certain that the prisoner saw the badge. It is uncertain who first drew a pistol, but shots were exchanged, each firing at the other. The prisoner was wounded in the hand, and the officer received a wound which proved fatal. The prisoner ran in one direction, the girl in another, and both were arrested, with many others, in the house where the prisoner lodged. He made resistance to arrest, and was fired at by another officer, who claims to have wounded him in the hand. This is doubtful under the other evidence in the case. It is also doubtful whether the pistol found on the floor of the patrol wagon belonged to the prisoner, as during the evening many other men had been carried in the wagon, one of whom, at least, had a pistol.

On the whole, the evidence of murder in the first degree is far from clear. The circumstances do not warrant it. The men were total strangers to each other; there was no grudge; the place was lonely and dark; aud the facts indicate that the act was done either in defense of himself and companion upon a sudden fray, or under the impulse of fear upon the sudden appearance of a man who was not known to be an officer, and who, according to the testimony, had laid aside his officer's coat and assumed a great sack-coat, the better to enable him to watch the foreign laborers upon the railroad. Under all the facts, the doubt as to the existence of a deliberate, specific intent to take life is strong-so strong that the Board unites in the recommendation of commutation of the death penalty to imprisonment for life.

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To the Honorable the Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania:

Gentlemen: In conformity with law, I have the honor to trans mit herewith the proceedings of the Commission to open, compute and publish the returns of the votes cast for the offices of State Treasurer and Auditor General, at the general election held November 3, A. D. 1903.

SAM'L W. PENNYPACKER.

REPORT OF THE COMMISSION TO OPEN, COMPUTE AND PUBLISH THE RETURNS OF THE LAST GENERAL ELECTION FOR STATE TREASURER AND AUDITOR GENERAL, NOVEMBER 3, A. D. 1903.

Harrisburg, Pa., January 19, 1904. Honorable Samuel W. Pennypacker, Governor of Pennsylvania: Sir: By direction of the Commission to open, compute and publish the returns of the last general election for State Treasurer and

Auditor General, I have the honor to herewith transmit a copy of the proceedings of said Commission at their meeting held to-day in compliance with the provisions of the act of the General Assembly of this Commonwealth, approved the 9th day of May, A. D. 1879, and request that you transmit the same to the General Assembly at their next meeting.

Very respectfully,

Your obedient servant,

GEORGE D. THORN,

Secretary of the Commission to open, compute and publish the returns of the election for State Treasurer and Auditor General.

JOURNAL OF THE COMMISSION TO OPEN, COMPUTE AND PUBLISH THE RETURNS OF THE ELECTION FOR STATE TREASURER AND AUDITOR GENERAL.

U. S. Court Room,

Harrisburg, Pa., January 19, 1904.

The Commission to open, compute and publish the returns of the election for State Treasurer and Auditor General, held on Tuesday, the 3rd day of November, A. D. 1903, constituted under the provisions of the act of General Assembly of this Commonwealth, entitled "An act to provide for the receiving, opening and publishing of the returns of the election for State Treasurer and Auditor General when elected at the same election," approved the 9th day of May, A. D. 1879, met this day at twelve o'clock M., in the U. S. Court Room, agreeably to the provisions of the said act of the General Assembly.

The Commission was called to order by the Honorable Henry F. Walton, who directed the reading of the act of the General Assembly creating the Commission, and also the reading from the Journals of the Senate and House of Representatives, showing that the following members of the Senate and House of Representatives had been chosen as the members of the Commission, to wit:

Myron Matson, on the part of the Senate.
Daniel J. Thomas, on the part of the Senate.
A. F. Sisson, on the part of the Senate.

Edwin M. Herbst, on the part of the Senate.

John H. Riebel, on the part of the House of Representatives. Joseph M. McElroy, on the part of the House of Representatives. Wilbert U. Willett, on the part of the House of Representatives. S. Wesley Kirk, on the part of the House of Representatives. Jonas F. Moyer, on the part of the House of Representatives. James K. McNeely, on the part of the House of Representatives. By direction of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Honorable Henry F. Walton, the roll of the persons comprising the Commission was then called by the acting secretary. Those answering to their names are marked by an X, thus:

Samuel W. Pennypacker, X, Governor.

John H. Weiss, X, President Judge, 12th Judicial District.
William C. Sproul, X, President protempore of the Senate.

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