Spokane Murder Case Ends in Finality
Governor Ferry denies clemency to a man convicted of killing his wife.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Judge George Turner received notification today from Governor Ferry that he would not commute the sentence of the man Brooks, who was found guilty of the murder of his wife on July 1, last year. Brooks was to have been hanged in May, but his case was carried to the supreme court, which has now refused to grant a new trial, and he will have to be resentenced.
“Judge George Turner received notification today from Governor Ferry that he would not commute the sentence.”
This reporting reflects the harsh, summary style of late 19th-century criminal justice reporting in Washington. Today, we recognize these accounts often lacked the nuance required for legal cases, though the fundamental question of executive clemency and the death penalty remains a potent, unresolved civic debate.
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