Murder and Mayhem in Mendon and Honeoye Falls by Diane Ham Lynne Menz

Author:Diane Ham, Lynne Menz
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-05-14T16:00:00+00:00

Benjamin Starr’s gravestone, Honeoye Falls Cemetery. Author’s collection .

Auburn Prison, Auburn, New York. Courtesy of Rochester Public Library .

It took the jury about a day to reach a verdict. When the verdict was read, Locke was convicted, but not on the charge of murder. Instead, the jury found him guilty of manslaughter. Locke was remanded to Monroe County Jail (also known as the Blue Eagle Jail) in Rochester to await his sentencing.

The case then took an unanticipated turn. On December 13, 1858, Locke and fourteen other prisoners escaped from the jail. Using watch springs, they sawed through the iron bars in five places, making an opening ten by sixteen inches through which they could crawl. To lower themselves to the river below the jail, they took the halter with which Ira Stout had been executed some years before. It is supposed that they chose the night of December 13 because Mr. Gatens, one of the night watchmen, had gone to the country to see his family, thereby leaving the night force at the jail reduced. The escape probably took place about midnight after bed check and was not discovered until the next morning, giving the escapees, Manley Locke among them, about an eight-hour head start.

According to the Rochester Union and Advertiser, on December 15 Sheriff Babcock received a telegram from N. Dennison of Mount Morris notifying him of the capture of Manley Locke. Locke was returned to Rochester. On December 26 and again on December 30, Locke tried to escape. Both attempts were unsuccessful.

On January 4, 1859, Manley Locke received his sentence under the conviction of manslaughter in the first degree. He was attended by his sister, one of his uncles and J.H. Martindale, Esq., his counsel. The district attorney admitted that if the case was not murder, it was manslaughter in the third degree. He went on to say that Locke was of weak mind and appealed to the court on behalf of Locke’s relatives, who “were worthy of pity and would suffer most by the infliction of a severe sentence.” After discussion among the members of the court and a consulting of the statutes, the prisoner, Manley Locke, was brought forward. Locke swore that he was an American by birth, twenty-two years of age, could read and write, had no trade and had religious instruction as an Episcopalian. Judge Strong asked Locke if he had anything to say after hearing the charges and the verdict, and Locke made no reply. The court then sentenced Manley Locke to life in Auburn Prison. Following the sentencing, District Attorney Hudson moved that Manley Locke be sent to Auburn Prison “forthwith” because of his three attempts to escape.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.