Commonwealth v. Walters

• Citation: 206 Ky. 162
• Parties: Commonwealth v. Walters.
• Decision Date: 12 December 1924
• Court: Court of Appeals of Kentucky

206 Ky. 162

Commonwealth v. Walters.

Court of Appeals of Kentucky.

Decided December 12, 1924.

Appeal from Lyon Circuit Court.

FRANK E. DAUGHERTY, Attorney General, C. C. MOLLOY, DENNY P. SMITH, J. H. COLEMAN and WOOTTON, SMITH & WOOTON for appellant.

C. C. GRASSHAM for appellee.

OPINION OF THE COURT BY CHIEF JUSTICE SAMPSON — Certifying the law.

The indictment accused appellee, Lillian Walters, of the crime of "accessory before the fact" to the willful murder of Hodge Cunningham, arising out of the riot which occurred at the Eddyville penitentiary on the 3rd of October, 1923, when several persons lost their lives. A trial resulted in an acquittal of appellee Walters, and this appeal is prosecuted by the Commonwealth for a certification of the law, appellee being defendant in two other similar indictments.

Appellee, Lillian Walters, was the wife of Monte Walters, a life prisoner in the Eddyville penitentiary at the time and before the riot and, who, to make his escape, precipitated it by killing one or more guards and otherwise terrorizing the officers at the prison as well as the inmates of that institution. Walters was a desperate man, having been convicted of the crime of willful murder committed for the purposes of robbery. About a year before the riot he attempted to escape from the prison and in his effort was shot down by a guard. From this wound he soon recovered and began to make plans for another attempt to escape. Appellee, Lillian Walters, frequently visited her husband in prison and he laid his plans before her and enlisted her cooperation. They talked it over on several different occasions when she visited him. She finally agreed, with the aid of a discharged prisoner named Sparks, and other prisoners, to smuggle guns, pistols and ammunition into the prison for her husband. This took some time but she and Sparks worked at it diligently until finally they placed the weapons and ammunition in the hands of the prisoner, Monte Walters, who with his confederates inside immediately made an effort to escape, bringing on the riot as above related. Shortly after the killing of Hodge Cunningham and other guards, appellee Walters made a written confession of her part in the awful tragedy. It is dated at Louisville, Kentucky, October 7, 1923, and reads:

                                    "Louisville, Ky., October 7th, 1923
                

"I, Lillian Walters, of my own free will and accord, without any promise of immunity from anyone, make this as my free and voluntary statement and confession:

"On the date Jim Sparks was released from the Eddyville prison, I met him at Paducah, Ky., at the train which arrived there at 8:30 a. m., I believe the date was September 14th. I had been told by `Tex' Walters, my husband, to meet him, and assist him to get a check cashed for four hundred dollars. Previous to this meeting `Tex' had told me there would be some firearms purchased to effect `Tex's' and a man named Harry's escape.

"Sparks and I went to the Citizens Bank and cashed the check for $400.00. We then had lunch, and took a train in the afternoon for Metropolis, Illinois. We remained in Metropolis several days, passing as brother and sister — he, as Cellond Knudson, and I as Lillian Walters, were registered at the Julian Hotel.

"We then went to Cairo, Ill., registered at the Commercial Hotel under the name of Mrs. M. C. Walters. We were there a few days, during which time Sparks purchased two revolvers, one a 38 calibre, and the other, I think, was a 32-20 calibre, from a store either under the hotel, or a few doors from it, and I think it was four boxes, or a hundred rounds for each pistol.

"I wrapped the two pistols and ammunition in separate packages in cloth and green crepe paper.

"On Saturday we left Cairo, Ill., and went to Paducah, leaving Cairo at 5:55 p. m., arriving at Paducah at 8:10 p. m. I left Paducah the following morning at 1:20 a. m., on Sunday, September 23rd, on the train for Eddyville, arrived at 2:01 a. m., was met by the taxicab driven by Thomas Hanberry, went to the Lester Hotel, and registered. I left Sparks at Paducah, and he had the revolvers with him.

"Sunday morning, the 23rd, I visited `Tex' Walters at the prison. I told him the guns had been purchased, and would be put over the wall that night by Sparks, and `Tex' told me they had planned to climb a pipe, which runs up along the death house wall, go over the death house roof, and escape over the wall, and that no shooting was to be done. After his escape he was to communicate with me, and after awhile I was to meet him somewhere by arrangements. On the same date at 3:00 p. m., I left Eddyville for Paducah. I met Sparks at the depot, left again on the 1.20 a. m., train with Sparks. I changed at Nortonville for Evansville, Ind. He got off at Kuttawa, a place the first stop the other side of Eddyville. He was to proceed to Eddyville, put the guns over the wall, but instead of that he came on to Eddyville, and met me at the Acme Hotel. I was under the name of Phyllis Benton. I think he registered under the name of Carl King. He told me he had been trailed from Kuttawa, and that it was impossible to put the pistols over the wall, and he asked me what he should do. I told him I didn't know until I had seen `Tex.' I went to Eddyville on the following Wednesday, and told `Tex' we couldn't get them over the wall, and asked him what we should do. He told me to go to Nortonville, call Sparks from Nortonville, to come down on the next train leaving Evansville, and to wrap the guns in oilcloth, and bury them under the bridge. He, Sparks, told me the negro who they called `Hawk' would get them.

"Sparks met me in Nortonville, and we left Nortonville on the 2:15 a. m. train, got off at Eddyville, walked to this bridge, which is near the depot on the main road to the prison. Sparks buried the pistols and ammunition under the bridge by digging a hole with his hand and covering them with dirt, and put a stick up in the ground so the negro could find them. We couldn't get a train out of Eddyville until 7 a. m., so we walked to Eureka, which is eight miles from Eddyville, and caught the train there for Paducah, arrived there at 8:30 a. m., leaving at 8:40 a. m. for Cairo, Ill., registering at the Rickett Hotel under name of Mrs. M. C. Walters and Carl King, still as brother and sister.

"I left Sunday morning at 7:50 a. m., or thereabouts, on the train for Paducah, leaving Sparks at Cairo. I remained at Paducah until 4:00 p. m., same date, and took the train for Eddyville, arrived at Eddyville at 5:19 p. m., went right to the hotel, and stayed until Monday morning, when I went to the prison, where I stayed two hours talking to `Tex,' in the presence of two guards. He told me at this time that he had one of the guns, and that he did not know how soon the other one would be in, but he knew it would get in all right.

"I left the prison, returned to the hotel, left on the 12:14 p. m. train for Louisville the same day, arrived at Louisville about 6 p. m., went to my sister's house on Franklin street.

"All expenses, such as railroad fare, hotel bills, and purchase of revolvers and ammunition during this entire time was paid by Jim Sparks, as I had no funds except $19.00, which I received from sale of clothing, etc., as I had been ill since July, having quit my position at the Volunteers of America at Paducah in July.

"Because I am giving this voluntary statement, I do not want anybody to think I am shifting responsibility to anyone else, and am ready and willing to share my part of the burden, and I feel that I have done no more than any wife should and would do towards their husband."

This confession was witnessed by a Louisville detective and the jailer of Jefferson county. On December 4th appellee Walters reaffirmed her confession in the presence of the foreman of the grand jury, saying that it was true in every particular. When she came to testify as a witness for herself in this case she freely admitted her participation in the conspiracy to smuggle guns to her husband in prison, and her efforts to aid...