A Plea to Spare the Hangman's Noose
Citizens and legal officials petition the Governor to commute a death sentence, highlighting the tragic complexities of a lethal clash in King County.
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.
On Monday morning last, a petition was presented to Governor McBride, numerously signed by people living in Seattle, including Judge Bell and Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Craven—who both assisted in the original conviction—requesting that the Governor commute the sentence of hanging against John Reynolds to life imprisonment. The case is a rather peculiar one. Some time since, Reynolds was convicted in the Supreme Court of King County for killing a man. The evidence, however, showed that Reynolds intended to kill another man who had threatened his life and had stated he would kill Reynolds on sight. Reynolds had previously borne a good character. If the governor does not interfere, Reynolds will be hung today inside the walls of the penitentiary, which will be the first execution to take place under the new law.
“The evidence, however, showed that Reynolds intended to kill another man who had threatened his life, and had said he would kill Reynolds on sight.”
This piece highlights the early 20th-century friction between strict state-mandated capital punishment and the community's desire for mercy, a debate that remains unresolved in Washington State over a century later. The 'new law' mentioned likely refers to the centralizing of executions at the state penitentiary, marking the end of county-level hangings.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.