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Show r accused of mukdekT HAB PASSED NEARLY FOUR r. YEARS IN JAIL. fn l Slaraen'a Connnemanl I'tjnat la (Ii I Msny C'ontlel's Stntrnr Two l, GMlrasU.1 Numerous Looff llrUfs a ' Celebrated Vast. ' . CjS7 1' n second Jury 1 y m ,,10ul11 nn(l nnl fp 3 f'c Marten, now Wift" 9 connnfl l Jail In I jSfiW0 Chicago, la guilty f jusxft WCSa "' having taken (ho 8 (i$ly f llf9 of rrltx 1Mt' i 'MiVlU) huotcr, tho convict- mXvNwIlil eJ man wlu '"" rlPW p"d " maujr U ' daya lu Jail as most ' men ! In tho I pcnltonllary under sentence (or fol- onr. ltolihuctcr wan killed on Jan. 10, 1895. Mancn was arretted a few week afterward and ho nover been oulalda of tho Cook county Jail tlnce. I Ho has long ago exceeded all previous records (or continuous confinement In the county prison, as nearly (our years hsvo passed away alnco ho entered It as a prisoner charged with a capital crime, Mancn's caio has few parallels In criminal annals. Tho length of tho term during which he has hcen a ten ant ot the county Jail Is In ItseK a feature fea-ture of unusual Interest. Hut this Is but one of the features, Tho msn has been In tho shadow ot tho galtowa for orcr threo years, and still Is not to bo I banged unless another Jury assesses ' tho death penalty. Ills day ot exocu- lion has been fixed twice, but an at- I torney has Interposed as often to pre- I vent tho strangling ropo from cutting ( short his existence. Unco but a few minutes of life wero legally remaining fj L i- i '" him when a mandate commanded ths sheriff to suspend proceedings and tho prisoner was remanded to bis cell. , Marten' fight for Ufa hat been a legal imsrrcl. Arrested within a month ot the death of his supposed victim, con-Tided con-Tided on tho only trial he has faced, ho Is still, four years later, about to bo J called upon to faco a new Jury which S shall havo full power to pass upon his guilt or Innocence. Over 1,309 times hu tho sun risen sine ho was locked In tho Jail. As many times tho sun has set and ho has still been a prisoner. Twlco tho noose has dangled from ths cross beam, but as often executive or Judicial Interference has pro cnted tho ropo from putting out his life. Koi four years tho county has kept this star prisoner. Nearly 11.000 has been spent to furnish htm food, to say ! nothing of the good things pasted In by bis faithful wife, who has run ths saloon nil the time to earn money with which to battle (or her husband' life. I Murder cases cost money, no matter L how fsw witnesses aro used. Tako f all the funds needed and used In tho i prosecution and detents ot this man f and Cook county la at leatt 120,000 l poorer become ot Ills long confinement. I llslt a dozen thousand will bo expended ! In the new trial. llolthucter was killed by somebody I on Jan, 30, 1805. Tho body was found I nearly a month later under a treo at Ninety-tint street and Western avenue. ave-nue. Blab wounds told the story ot i how tho man camo to his death, al though an effort had been mad to craniate cra-niate tho body. This was not successful, success-ful, and ths slayer or slayers (or whether It was the act ot ono man or mors I not an absolutely settled fact decided to abandon tho remains and tako chances. The dead man and tho prisoner had been friends, and tho lat- ler admitted that ho was with Frits when the German was last seen altro. Hobbcry Is the alleged motive against Mtrien. Holtbuctcr was a drover-' drover-' butcher and was supposed to have some money. Ho occasionally carried , considerable sums with Mm. Marten k. Is charged with having slaughtered f tho man In a woodshed, robbed him, and then attempted to destroy tho 7 k INIO MAIIZCN. body. At any rate, Mai.. was arrested, ar-rested, Indicted, placed on trial and . convicted of the crlmo. Tho death ponalty wae assessed, and evory step taken to carry It out when Governor Altgeld granted tho man a reprieve that case might bo mads out for an appeal to the supremo court. Marten could almost feel tho strands ot ths ropo when the reprieve reached tho Jail officers. The time limit of tbo reprieve expired ex-pired about the time Chris Merry was i'' to bo hanged for the murder ot bis 1 wife. Merry expiated hla crlmo on t April 23 latt. Merry was caught, tried and condemned within sixty days ot , the commission of tho arlme. This was all accomplished In splto of the fact that tho murderer made hla escape es-cape and was run down hundreds ot mites from ths scene. Ills case was I ouo of the few whero a murderer gets U speedy Justice. Marten bad been n 1 lenant of the Jail nvr three years when Merry was sent to murderers' ' row. The reprlve having expired, a new date was net for the execution of Marten, snd the Jail ofilclals expected to legally strangle him at ths tame time that Merry was executed. Marten all along has maintained his Innocence, and has seemingly never lost faith In an ultimate acquittal. Yet twice ho has seen the ugly noose be-foro be-foro his eye and hss dodged by the shortest of noses. When tho gallows was erected which took tho life of Merry a second plnco was fixed for Marten. Hut the mandate of the supreme su-preme court giving tho condemned man new reprieve was received the day before, and once moro NIc Marten wa sent back to his cell to watt on tho courts. Ills faith has received Justification, Justifi-cation, for the court of latt resort hat tald bo did not recelvo substantial Justice In tho former trial and has sent his case back for retrial, lly this action all but the Indictment l wiped out, and NIc Marten Is today tho same man before, tho law that he wo when the grand Jury returned the true bill. His prior conviction goes for naught. Ho mutt bo tried at It that trial had never taken place. Borne unaccountable delays have taken tak-en placo In this cane. Hien It the defendant de-fendant should bo guilty legal qucs-tlons qucs-tlons have arisen which might negatlvo all the proof that might be offered ot hla guilt. The law saya that a man shall bo speedily brought to trial, or, having been tried, that no unnecessary delay shall prevent tho execution ot tentence. Yet four years almoit have elapted since tho arrest and still tho msn I a prisoner In the Jail. The man. date of tho supreme court for a new trial was made In June, yet two months elapsed beforo It was received In Chicago. Chi-cago. Hut whatever the result Nlo Marten holds the record tor length of confinement confine-ment In Jail. Ho has not faced death as often as other men condemned on THi: FAITHFUL WIFU. tho chsrgo ot murder who got reprtovts and finally died on tbo gallows. Ha has been near hanging twlco only, but tho passing ot years between thess times has mado this an exceptional .rase. lie has not been with his family fam-ily for threo Christmas festivals, has been under tho shadow of death all this time, yet Is now to bo tried as If he bad nover faced a Jury. |