Rensselaer Republican, Volume 23, Number 29, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 19 March 1891 — Why Mrs. Pettit Was Sacrificed. [ARTICLE]

Why Mrs. Pettit Was Sacrificed.

George Small: ‘‘Since I served as a juror in the Pettit case I have had to answer innumerable inquiries. A great many asked: ‘lf you found him guilty why didn’t you hang him ?’ The question is not without reason, as the murder was surely long premeditated, cold blooded and unprovoked. But for all that I think the verdict was just right. Hanging a man is not always best. It is a fate reserved only for ignorant and vicious criminals. Pettit is not that kind. He would not kill you or me or any other man as most murderers would do. I do not believe he would rob a man or wrong any per* son. He is highly intelligent and can do his country a great deal of good even where he is. His temperament is a peculiar one. The chief end of his life was to reach the highest place in the church and besides he was greatly infatuated with Mrs. Whitehead. His wife was hindering his promotion in the church, he thought, and was standing between him and the object of his infatuation, Mrs. Whitehead, whose money could so materially advance him. Now it is a law of pyschology that any man will fight against that which prevents his reaching his chief end, or baffles his passion. His wife, unfortunately did both and was sacrificed.”—Craicfo'rdsville Journal.