A Convict Killed a Fellow Prisoner. Could He Be Tried While Already Serving Twenty Years?
The killing of Reif by convict Hoyt at Walla Walla set off a legal puzzle: whether a prisoner already serving a murder term could face another trial — and whether the governor could suspend his sentence to allow it.
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.
WALLA WALLA, Jan. 22.—Special.—The killing of Reif by convict Hoyt at the penitentiary yesterday has caused great comment here as to what steps can be taken toward trying Hoyt for his crime, since he is at present serving a twenty-year term for murder. Prosecuting Attorney Ormsbee is besieged with questions as to what he will or could do. In reply to questions, Mr. Ormsbee declined to give any information as to his course. Some claim that Hoyt cannot be tried until the expiration of his present term; others think the governor could suspend his sentence pending trial.
Word was received from Reif's sister requesting that the body be buried here. It will be interred in the penitentiary cemetery.
Hoyt, who killed a fellow prisoner named Reif at the Walla Walla penitentiary yesterday, wrote the court officials who had charge of his case a few days ago and asked them to consider a petition for his pardon. When he was convicted and sent here for complicity in the murder, his ugly manners and appearance turned many people against him. He was convicted on circumstantial evidence, and always held that Reif and his pals, who testified against him, did so in the hope of saving themselves or securing light sentences.
“Some claim that Hoyt cannot be tried until the expiration of his present term; others think the governor could suspend his sentence pending trial.”
Prison violence and the limits of dual prosecution were live questions in 1895; today, whether a person already incarcerated can be charged for a crime committed behind bars remains a legal and humanitarian flashpoint. The story also shows how quickly a prison killing became a debate over procedure, not just a death.
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