Democratic Sentinel, Volume 7, Number 15, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 11 May 1883 — PLEADED GUILTY. [ARTICLE]

PLEADED GUILTY.

Delaney tai CaffieySent®n«ed to Death - —— After Pleading Guflty Another In-sm-rn-CF. Patrick Delaney and Thomas Caffrey, two more of the men charged with participation in the murder of Cavendish and Burke, were arraigned for trial at Dublin on the 2d inst They created a sensation tn the court-room of June. Before Caffrey had pleaded guW he was informed bjr his solicitors that the crowh gave no hopes of mitigation of the sentence of death which would be naased upon him. When Delaney was called upon to plead he said: “I am guilty ot being ill the park at the time Lord Frederick Cavendish and Mr; Burke Were killed, but 1 did not Commit the murder. I plead guilty; The Judge explained to him that thti really amounted to the plea of innocence. Delaney then formally pleaded guilty. He said, “I was brought into this at first foolishly,' not knowing what it waa I wss forced from my work to go the park. We had to obey the orders of the society or take the consequences. When I got In the park I could not get away. I saw toe murders committed, but I took no part in them. I went to the park on Kavanagh’s car. He speaks the truth; so does Carey. The murders were committed by Joe Brady ana Timothy Kelly, and by nobody else. I saved Judge Lamson’s life at the risk of my own. I was put on to shoot him by Mullett ana Brady. The only way to escape the task was by calling the guards attention." Judge O’Brien, in passing sentence on Delar ney. said he had a duty to perform. He had at the previous trial of a prisoner for attempting to shoot Judge Lamson pitied Mm because he showed some feeling for his wife and family. The prisoner would see towhat misery they had been brought by the wicked system of conspiracy. When Caffrey was placed in toe dock his face wore a smile. The consequence of pleading guilty was again f ully explained to him in open court, but he persisted in his plea. On being asked whether he had anything to say why sentence should not now be passed upon him, Caffrey replied, in a loud, clear voice: . • kwJ “AU I have got to say, standing on the brink of the grave. Is that I did not know what was going to happen until twenty minutes before the murders were committed. 1 wan bound to go to the park under pain of death.” The Judge, in passing sentence, said that there were no means of judging the truth of the prisoner’s statement Ha did not decide that it was necessarily wholly untrue. . . , Thirteen of the prisoners who have been confined in Kilmainbam jaU charged with having been connected with the CavendishBurke tragedy in Phoenix Park, who have never been brought to trial on that charge, says a Dublin dispatch, have been indicted and will be tried for another crime. One of their number Joseph Hanlon, has turned informer, and produces evidence to connect them with the conspiracies set on foot to murder Earl Cowper, Mr. Forster, Chief Secretary for Ireland, and other prominent officials, whose lives they jeopardized, but did not succeed in taking. The Government regards the evidence sufficient to convict on the charge of conspiracy, while the men cannot be closely connected with the Phoenix Park association.