The Judge Who Tried to Save a Thief
A local magistrate spent an hour trying to talk a defendant out of a penitentiary sentence, only to be rebuffed by the prisoner.
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 McDonald tried very hard Tuesday morning to prevent a man from being sent to the penitentiary. A few days ago, Charlie Maynard of Pullman had a $44 saddle stolen from him. Deputy Sheriff Steward Boon captured the thief, Ira Frazier, age 30, riding the stolen saddle. When Frazier was brought before the superior court on a grand larceny charge, he pleaded guilty. The judge, having learned the details—that Frazier claimed the owner owed him $15 and that he left an old saddle in its place—attempted to convince Frazier to reduce his plea to petty larceny to save his citizenship and right to vote. Frazier, however, refused, stating he would rather serve a year in the penitentiary than wait in jail until June for a trial. Despite the judge appointing R. L. McCroskey as counsel and pressing the issue, Frazier stood firm on his plea and was sentenced to one year.
“The judge made one of his characteristic spiels of half an hour's length in an attempt to induce the prisoner to withdraw his plea.”
This account highlights the historic, often informal power dynamics of the courtroom, where a judge felt empowered to direct the legal strategy of a defendant to protect their civil rights. Today, such an intervention by a judge would likely be seen as a massive breach of judicial impartiality.
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