Two Murderers Plead Guilty; To Be Hanged
Two men who pleaded guilty to the killing of three persons were sentenced to death on the gallows, in what the report calls the second time such a sentence had been imposed there on a guilty plea. According to the report, James Gricicus and Thomas McWane shot a Sunday school superintendent, his companion and a taxi driver during a series of robberies in Cicero, a suburb, last July, and pleaded guilty without offering testimony in mitigation of punishment before Judge Harry Miller.
CHICAGO, Oct. 30. (AP) - Two murderers who pleaded guilty to the slaying of three persons today were sentenced to death on the gallows, the second time that such a sentence had been meted out here on a guilty plea.
The men, James Gricicus and Thomas McWane, who shot two men and a woman during an orgy of robberies in Cicero, a suburb last July, were sentenced to hang on December 31, by Judge Harry Miller after attorneys had entered the guilty pleas in hope of saving their client's necks.
Gricieus is 21 and McWane only 19.
They kidnaped Ludwig Rose, a taxi driver, bound him and took him and the car on a tour of the west side during which they came upon Frederick Hein, a Sunday school superintendent and his fiancee, Mrs Mary Blank, 23, sitting in a parked automobile in front of her home. They tried to hold up Hein and his companion and when Hein made a move of resistance and Miss Blank screamed they shot and killed both, and killed the taxi driver as he tried to escape from the taxicab.
When Gricieus was arrested he was planning a fourth slaying, that of a former employer, because he had suffered the loss of a finger while employed by him, and he explained the series of holdups and resultant slayings were to obtain funds to finance his defense when he killed his employer. The two pleaded guilty last week but refused to offer any testimony in mitigation of punishment, stating that they "pleaded guilty, and that's all there is to it."
Reproduced unchanged from Douglas Daily Dispatch, October 31, 1926, page 1.
This text reflects the language, attitudes and errors of its time. A Century Late publishes it as a historical document.
Text: read from the Library of Congress scan by A Century Late, within the article boundaries of American Stories (Dell et al., 2023), DOI 10.57967/hf/0757.
Yesterday's paper
October 30, 1926. The original articles, with the text exactly as it appeared and scans of the original newspaper pages, from that day’s editions of the following publications:Imperial Valley Press, Evening Star, The Daily Worker, Douglas Daily Dispatch, Brownsville Herald, and The Bismarck Tribune.
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Today's paper
October 31, 1926. The original articles, with the text exactly as it appeared and scans of the original newspaper pages, from that day’s editions of the following publications:Evening Star, Douglas Daily Dispatch, The Daily Worker, Chicago Daily Tribune, and St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
You do.
Two Murderers Plead Guilty; To Be Hanged
Two men who pleaded guilty to the killing of three persons were sentenced to death on the gallows, in what the report calls the second time such a sentence had been imposed there on a guilty plea. According to the report, James Gricicus and Thomas McWane shot a Sunday school superintendent, his companion and a taxi driver during a series of robberies in Cicero, a suburb, last July, and pleaded guilty without offering testimony in mitigation of punishment before Judge Harry Miller.
CHICAGO, Oct. 30. (AP) - Two murderers who pleaded guilty to the slaying of three persons today were sentenced to death on the gallows, the second time that such a sentence had been meted out here on a guilty plea.
The men, James Gricicus and Thomas McWane, who shot two men and a woman during an orgy of robberies in Cicero, a suburb last July, were sentenced to hang on December 31, by Judge Harry Miller after attorneys had entered the guilty pleas in hope of saving their client's necks.
Gricieus is 21 and McWane only 19.
They kidnaped Ludwig Rose, a taxi driver, bound him and took him and the car on a tour of the west side during which they came upon Frederick Hein, a Sunday school superintendent and his fiancee, Mrs Mary Blank, 23, sitting in a parked automobile in front of her home. They tried to hold up Hein and his companion and when Hein made a move of resistance and Miss Blank screamed they shot and killed both, and killed the taxi driver as he tried to escape from the taxicab.
When Gricieus was arrested he was planning a fourth slaying, that of a former employer, because he had suffered the loss of a finger while employed by him, and he explained the series of holdups and resultant slayings were to obtain funds to finance his defense when he killed his employer. The two pleaded guilty last week but refused to offer any testimony in mitigation of punishment, stating that they "pleaded guilty, and that's all there is to it."
Reproduced unchanged from Douglas Daily Dispatch, October 31, 1926, page 1.
This text reflects the language, attitudes and errors of its time. A Century Late publishes it as a historical document.
Text: read from the Library of Congress scan by A Century Late, within the article boundaries of American Stories (Dell et al., 2023), DOI 10.57967/hf/0757.
Reproduced unchanged from Douglas Daily Dispatch, October 31, 1926, page 1.
This text reflects the language, attitudes and errors of its time. A Century Late publishes it as a historical document.
Text: read from the Library of Congress scan by A Century Late, within the article boundaries of American Stories (Dell et al., 2023), DOI 10.57967/hf/0757.
Yesterday's paper
October 30, 1926. The original articles, with the text exactly as it appeared and scans of the original newspaper pages, from that day’s editions of the following publications:Imperial Valley Press, Evening Star, The Daily Worker, Douglas Daily Dispatch, Brownsville Herald, and The Bismarck Tribune.
Receive the original news from the press of 100 years ago, daily, weekly or monthly. Subscribe by December 1, 2026 and get
20% off for life!
Today's paper
October 31, 1926. The original articles, with the text exactly as it appeared and scans of the original newspaper pages, from that day’s editions of the following publications:Evening Star, Douglas Daily Dispatch, The Daily Worker, Chicago Daily Tribune, and St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
You do.
Two Murderers Plead Guilty; To Be Hanged
Two men who pleaded guilty to the killing of three persons were sentenced to death on the gallows, in what the report calls the second time such a sentence had been imposed there on a guilty plea. According to the report, James Gricicus and Thomas McWane shot a Sunday school superintendent, his companion and a taxi driver during a series of robberies in Cicero, a suburb, last July, and pleaded guilty without offering testimony in mitigation of punishment before Judge Harry Miller.
CHICAGO, Oct. 30. (AP) - Two murderers who pleaded guilty to the slaying of three persons today were sentenced to death on the gallows, the second time that such a sentence had been meted out here on a guilty plea.
The men, James Gricicus and Thomas McWane, who shot two men and a woman during an orgy of robberies in Cicero, a suburb last July, were sentenced to hang on December 31, by Judge Harry Miller after attorneys had entered the guilty pleas in hope of saving their client's necks.
Gricieus is 21 and McWane only 19.
They kidnaped Ludwig Rose, a taxi driver, bound him and took him and the car on a tour of the west side during which they came upon Frederick Hein, a Sunday school superintendent and his fiancee, Mrs Mary Blank, 23, sitting in a parked automobile in front of her home. They tried to hold up Hein and his companion and when Hein made a move of resistance and Miss Blank screamed they shot and killed both, and killed the taxi driver as he tried to escape from the taxicab.
When Gricieus was arrested he was planning a fourth slaying, that of a former employer, because he had suffered the loss of a finger while employed by him, and he explained the series of holdups and resultant slayings were to obtain funds to finance his defense when he killed his employer. The two pleaded guilty last week but refused to offer any testimony in mitigation of punishment, stating that they "pleaded guilty, and that's all there is to it."
Reproduced unchanged from Douglas Daily Dispatch, October 31, 1926, page 1.
This text reflects the language, attitudes and errors of its time. A Century Late publishes it as a historical document.
Text: read from the Library of Congress scan by A Century Late, within the article boundaries of American Stories (Dell et al., 2023), DOI 10.57967/hf/0757.
Reproduced unchanged from Douglas Daily Dispatch, October 31, 1926, page 1.
This text reflects the language, attitudes and errors of its time. A Century Late publishes it as a historical document.
Text: read from the Library of Congress scan by A Century Late, within the article boundaries of American Stories (Dell et al., 2023), DOI 10.57967/hf/0757.
Yesterday's paper
October 30, 1926. The original articles, with the text exactly as it appeared and scans of the original newspaper pages, from that day’s editions of the following publications:Imperial Valley Press, Evening Star, The Daily Worker, Douglas Daily Dispatch, Brownsville Herald, and The Bismarck Tribune.
Receive the original news from the press of 100 years ago, daily, weekly or monthly. Subscribe by December 1, 2026 and get
20% off for life!
Today's paper
October 31, 1926. The original articles, with the text exactly as it appeared and scans of the original newspaper pages, from that day’s editions of the following publications:Evening Star, Douglas Daily Dispatch, The Daily Worker, Chicago Daily Tribune, and St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
You do.
Two Murderers Plead Guilty; To Be Hanged
Two men who pleaded guilty to the killing of three persons were sentenced to death on the gallows, in what the report calls the second time such a sentence had been imposed there on a guilty plea. According to the report, James Gricicus and Thomas McWane shot a Sunday school superintendent, his companion and a taxi driver during a series of robberies in Cicero, a suburb, last July, and pleaded guilty without offering testimony in mitigation of punishment before Judge Harry Miller.
CHICAGO, Oct. 30. (AP) - Two murderers who pleaded guilty to the slaying of three persons today were sentenced to death on the gallows, the second time that such a sentence had been meted out here on a guilty plea.
The men, James Gricicus and Thomas McWane, who shot two men and a woman during an orgy of robberies in Cicero, a suburb last July, were sentenced to hang on December 31, by Judge Harry Miller after attorneys had entered the guilty pleas in hope of saving their client's necks.
Gricieus is 21 and McWane only 19.
They kidnaped Ludwig Rose, a taxi driver, bound him and took him and the car on a tour of the west side during which they came upon Frederick Hein, a Sunday school superintendent and his fiancee, Mrs Mary Blank, 23, sitting in a parked automobile in front of her home. They tried to hold up Hein and his companion and when Hein made a move of resistance and Miss Blank screamed they shot and killed both, and killed the taxi driver as he tried to escape from the taxicab.
When Gricieus was arrested he was planning a fourth slaying, that of a former employer, because he had suffered the loss of a finger while employed by him, and he explained the series of holdups and resultant slayings were to obtain funds to finance his defense when he killed his employer. The two pleaded guilty last week but refused to offer any testimony in mitigation of punishment, stating that they "pleaded guilty, and that's all there is to it."
Reproduced unchanged from Douglas Daily Dispatch, October 31, 1926, page 1.
This text reflects the language, attitudes and errors of its time. A Century Late publishes it as a historical document.
Text: read from the Library of Congress scan by A Century Late, within the article boundaries of American Stories (Dell et al., 2023), DOI 10.57967/hf/0757.
Reproduced unchanged from Douglas Daily Dispatch, October 31, 1926, page 1.
This text reflects the language, attitudes and errors of its time. A Century Late publishes it as a historical document.
Text: read from the Library of Congress scan by A Century Late, within the article boundaries of American Stories (Dell et al., 2023), DOI 10.57967/hf/0757.
Yesterday's paper
October 30, 1926. The original articles, with the text exactly as it appeared and scans of the original newspaper pages, from that day’s editions of the following publications:Imperial Valley Press, Evening Star, The Daily Worker, Douglas Daily Dispatch, Brownsville Herald, and The Bismarck Tribune.
Receive the original news from the press of 100 years ago, daily, weekly or monthly. Subscribe by December 1, 2026 and get
20% off for life!
Today's paper
October 31, 1926. The original articles, with the text exactly as it appeared and scans of the original newspaper pages, from that day’s editions of the following publications:Evening Star, Douglas Daily Dispatch, The Daily Worker, Chicago Daily Tribune, and St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
You do.
Two Murderers Plead Guilty; To Be Hanged
Two men who pleaded guilty to the killing of three persons were sentenced to death on the gallows, in what the report calls the second time such a sentence had been imposed there on a guilty plea. According to the report, James Gricicus and Thomas McWane shot a Sunday school superintendent, his companion and a taxi driver during a series of robberies in Cicero, a suburb, last July, and pleaded guilty without offering testimony in mitigation of punishment before Judge Harry Miller.
CHICAGO, Oct. 30. (AP) - Two murderers who pleaded guilty to the slaying of three persons today were sentenced to death on the gallows, the second time that such a sentence had been meted out here on a guilty plea.
The men, James Gricicus and Thomas McWane, who shot two men and a woman during an orgy of robberies in Cicero, a suburb last July, were sentenced to hang on December 31, by Judge Harry Miller after attorneys had entered the guilty pleas in hope of saving their client's necks.
Gricieus is 21 and McWane only 19.
They kidnaped Ludwig Rose, a taxi driver, bound him and took him and the car on a tour of the west side during which they came upon Frederick Hein, a Sunday school superintendent and his fiancee, Mrs Mary Blank, 23, sitting in a parked automobile in front of her home. They tried to hold up Hein and his companion and when Hein made a move of resistance and Miss Blank screamed they shot and killed both, and killed the taxi driver as he tried to escape from the taxicab.
When Gricieus was arrested he was planning a fourth slaying, that of a former employer, because he had suffered the loss of a finger while employed by him, and he explained the series of holdups and resultant slayings were to obtain funds to finance his defense when he killed his employer. The two pleaded guilty last week but refused to offer any testimony in mitigation of punishment, stating that they "pleaded guilty, and that's all there is to it."
Reproduced unchanged from Douglas Daily Dispatch, October 31, 1926, page 1.
This text reflects the language, attitudes and errors of its time. A Century Late publishes it as a historical document.
Text: read from the Library of Congress scan by A Century Late, within the article boundaries of American Stories (Dell et al., 2023), DOI 10.57967/hf/0757.
Reproduced unchanged from Douglas Daily Dispatch, October 31, 1926, page 1.
This text reflects the language, attitudes and errors of its time. A Century Late publishes it as a historical document.
Text: read from the Library of Congress scan by A Century Late, within the article boundaries of American Stories (Dell et al., 2023), DOI 10.57967/hf/0757.
Yesterday's paper
October 30, 1926. The original articles, with the text exactly as it appeared and scans of the original newspaper pages, from that day’s editions of the following publications:Imperial Valley Press, Evening Star, The Daily Worker, Douglas Daily Dispatch, Brownsville Herald, and The Bismarck Tribune.
Receive the original news from the press of 100 years ago, daily, weekly or monthly. Subscribe by December 1, 2026 and get
20% off for life!
Today's paper
October 31, 1926. The original articles, with the text exactly as it appeared and scans of the original newspaper pages, from that day’s editions of the following publications:Evening Star, Douglas Daily Dispatch, The Daily Worker, Chicago Daily Tribune, and St. Louis Post-Dispatch.