The First Death Sentence in Stevens County
After a murder conviction for the killing of his housekeeper, William Frederick Jahns faces the gallows in a landmark legal case for the region.
Facing Judge Carey with no sign of emotion and a ghastly grin on his wrinkled face, William Frederick Jahns, alias Frank Komandorrf, alias James F. Logan, was Monday morning sentenced to be hanged for the murder of Mrs. Agnes J. Janson, his German housekeeper, near Bissell postoffice, October 28, 1909. Judge Carey overruled the motion for arrest of judgment and for a new trial. This is the first death sentence passed in the Stevens county superior court since statehood, and the second execution ordered in its history. While the groundwork for appeal has been laid, it is not known yet what further proceedings will be had. 'Logan' declares he will never hang.
“Logan declares he will never hang.”
This case marked a grim milestone in Stevens County's judicial history. While the death penalty remains a subject of intense debate in Washington today, the 1910 execution of Jahns serves as a stark reminder of the era's rigid and often final approach to criminal justice.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.