Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 37, Number 4, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 13 January 1905 — Gov. Durbin Frees W. E. Hinshaw. [ARTICLE]

Gov. Durbin Frees W. E. Hinshaw.

The last official aot of Gov. W. S. Durbin before his term of offioe ended last Monday was to grants unconditional parole to Rev. W. E Binshaw, the most oelebrated oonviot in the state. The parole was issued just ten years to a day fr. m the time Hinshaw’s wife wbemurdered at Belleville, Hendricks county, and at whioh same timr Hinsbaw was shot in two plaoes and out in a dr sen.

His story was that robbers had entered the honse and killed his wife and wounded him, after a desperate fight, He was aooueed of killing her himself, for another woman be was alleged to be infatuated w tb and having inflicted bis own wonnds to diveit snspioian. H» was convicted, on purely oiroumstautial evidenoe, after pne of the greatest murder trials ever held iu the state. Many of those most familiar with the ciroumstanoes have always believed Hinshaw innocent and many others have strongly doubted his guilt, And the number of those who believed him innocent was greatly increased a few years ego when Noah Bauey, a professional thief and robber, then himself a convict, told iu oironm* stantial manner how he and two other oonviots, Whitney and Van Tassell, committed the orime. Later a brother-in-law of Baney’a swore B»ney had fixed up the s’ory for Hinshaw and was to get |2,000 if Hinshaw was freed, Bauey himself afterwards said bis story was a lie. Whitney two years later told the same story as Bauey but also afterwards repudiated it. Thus their conflicting sttries left the matter as myster-j ioub as ever. I