People v. Shader

• Decision Date: 22 June 1927
• Docket Number: No. 18209.,18209.
• Citation: 326 Ill. 145,157 N.E. 225
• Parties: PEOPLE v. SHADER et al.
• Court: Illinois Supreme Court

326 Ill. 145

157 N.E. 225

PEOPLE

v.SHADER et al.

No. 18209.

Supreme Court of Illinois.

June 22, 1927.

Error to Circuit Court, Will County; Frederick A. Hill, Judge.

Charles Shader, Walter Stalesky, Charles Duschswski, Bernardo Roa, Robert Torrez, and Gregerio Rizo were convicted of murder, and they bring error.

Affirmed.Joseph Keig, A. A. Offernan, John H. Garnsey, William C. Mooney, and Francis J. Loughran, all of Joliet, for plaintiff's in error.

Oscar E. Carlstrom, Atty. Gen., Hjalmar Rehn, State's Atty., of Joliet, Merrill F. Wehmhoff, of Decatur, and James E. Burke, of Joliet (Robert W. Martin, of Joliet, of counsel), for the People.

DE YOUNG, J.

Charles Shader, Walter Stalesky (alias William Stalkowsky), Charles Duschswski (alias Charles Tamulis, alias Charlie Slim), Bernardo Roa, Robert Torrez (alias Robert T. Tjeda), James V. Price, and Gregerio Rizo (alias John Rizo), inmates of the new penitentiary, were indicted in the circuit court of Will county for the murder, on May 5, 1926, of Peter Klein, the deputy warden of that institution. Price escaped and was not apprehended. A jury trial resulted in verdicts finding the other defendants guilty and fixing the punishment of each at death. Motions for new trial and in arrest of judgment were made and denied, and judgments were rendered and sentences of death pronounced upon the several verdicts. The six defendants so convicted were allowed a writ of error, and jointly prosecute the writ upon a single transcript of the record.

The site of the new penitentiary, known as Stateville, near Joliet, in Will county, comprises 67 acres, measuring approximately 1,500 feet from north to south and 1,800 feet from east to west, and is inclosed by a stone wall 30 feet in height and 1 1/4 miles long. At the center of the east wall the administration building is situated. About 1,000 feet west of the administration building stands the dining hall, which is circular in shape and has a diameter of about 200 feet. Completed cell houses D, E, and F are situated southwest, west, and northwest, respectively, of the dining hall. West of cell house E stands a building which includes the laundry, bathroom, and clothing department. Southwest of cell house D is another building, one-third of which is occupied as a shoe shop.

The solitary building is situated about 400 feet northeast of the dining hall. The east or main entrance to the penitentiary is located at the center of the administration building. A wagon and railroad gate is provided near the center of the south wall. The solitary building faces west. It has only one entrance, and that is located at the center of the front of the building. Upon entering the building a person first passes through double doors, which open out or to the west. Nearly a foot beyond is another set of double doors, built of steel bars. These doors open east into the vestibule, a room about 9 by 10 1/2 feet. There are two benches in the vestibule-one along the north and another along the south wall. Through double doors of steel and glass the vestibule opens into the lobby or reception room, which is approximately 12 by 24 feet, the greater dimension running north and south. Directly opposite the vestibule in the east wall of the lobby is a single steel and glass door. Beyond this door is a passageway about 4 feet long, at the east end of which is a single door of steel bars. This door opens into the portion of the building called the solitary proper. The three sets of double doors between the entrance to the building and the lobby, and the two single doors between the lobby and the solitary proper, are placed on a straight east and west line. Through a door in the south wall of the passageway access to the basement is gained by a stairway. The solitary proper has a center aisle, which is twelve feet wide and runs seventy-two feet east from the single door of steel bars at its west end. This portion of the building has 20 cells. Those north of the aisle are numbered from 1 to 10, beginning with the west cell, and those south of the aisle are numbered from 11 to 20, beginning with the east cell. Each cell has two doors, which open into the aisle. The outer door is a blind one, while the inner door is built of steel bars.

Adjoining the lobby or reception room on the south is the deputy warden's office, which is a room about 11 by 15 feet, the latter dimension running east and west. Two separate single doors were built in the south wall of the lobby to gain access to the office, but of these two doors the east one was kept closed. The right end of the deputy warden's desk was set against the south wall of the office. The space between the desk and the west wall of the building was 3 feet. When seated at his desk, the deputy warden faced east, and the person interviewing him sat on the opposite side of the desk and faced west. North of the lobby are two rooms of equal size. Access to each of these rooms is gained through a steel and glass door, on the inside of which, to cover the glass portion, is a shade operated on a spring roller. The west room, furnished with a cot, was occupied by Sam Odom, an inmate of the penitentiary and the janitor of the solitary building. The east room was used for storage purposes. About 2 feet north of the east door of the lobby stood a desk. The left end of the desk was placed against the east wall of the lobby. Chester J. Larson, an inmate, was the deputy warden's clerk, and he worked at this desk. When so occupied, Larson faced south and could see the deputy warden at his desk, and by leaning slightly to the west Larson could see the person sitting on the east side of the deputy's desk. Inmates who sought interviews with the deputy warden occupied the benches in the vestibule while they waited. He could not see them from his office while they were so seated in the vestibule, but Larson could, and the deputy warden usually asked Larson whether any persons were waiting for him.

On May 5, 1926, the new pentientiary had about 1,000 inmates, who were supervised by 45 or 46 keepers. Shader, Duschswski, Roa, Rizo, and Torrez were employed in the shoe shop, of which Albert L. Shawmaker was the keeper. Stalesky was a runner in the clothing department, which was in charge of C. E. Bryant. Jacob Judnich was the keeper of the solitary department. An inmate who desired to have an interview with the deputy warden made a request therefor upon his keeper. This request was transmitted to Larson, the deputy warden's clerk, who in turn presented it to his superior. If the request was granted, the deputy warden sent a slip or ticket to that effect by Albert Franzen, an inmate who ran his errands, to the keeper of the particular department. The keeper noted on the ticket the time of the inmate's departure and handed it to him for presentation to the person designated. The officer to whom the slip was presented indorsed upon it the time of its receipt and retained the slip.

On the morning of May 5, 1926, there were present in the solitary building, besides certain prisoners, Judnich, the keeper, Odom, the janitor, Larson, the clerk, and Franzen, the runner. Peter Klein, the deputy warden, arrived at his office shortly after 8 o'clock. When he entered, both Larson and Franzen were in the reception room. Roa, Rizo, and Torrez had asked for interviews with the deputy warden. Their requests were granted, slips for that purpose were made out, and Franzen was directed to deliver them to Shawmaker, their keeper. Franzen performed this duty. About the same time Stalesky brought to Shawmaker similar requests, signed by Keeper Bryant, for the presence of Duschswski and Shader at the laundry building. Shawmaker inquired of Duschswski why he was wanted at the laundry, and he answered that Bryant desired that he change his shoes or shirt. Bryant had not issued slips for Duschswski and Shader, nor had he sent Stalesky after them. A number of blank request slips bearing Bryant's signature were kept in his desk. Some of these slips had been surreptitiously taken, and two of them were fraudulently used to allow Duschswski and Shader to leave their place of employment.

Roa, Rizo, and Torrez left the shoe shop between 9:05 and 9:10 o'clock, ostensibly to interview the deputy warden. Duschswski and Shader left about 5 minutes later. Immediately afterwards, these five men and Stalesky and Price met outside of the solitary building. Torrez was the first to enter the deputy warden's office and engaged in conversation with him. Duschswski, Price, and Roa shortly afterwards followed as far as the reception room, and stood at the north, center, and south, respectively, of the double doors between the vestibule and the lobby. Odom heard Klein say to Torrez, ‘I will attend to that.’ Torrez arose, and instantly Duschswski, Roe, and Price rushed towards the deputy warden's office. The first two succeeded in entering the office, but Price was temporarily prevented from doing so by Odom. Larson, who was at work at his desk, saw Duschswski rush at Klein while he was sitting in his chair and strike him on the head three times with an iron bar. Emil A. Rooth, an inmate, who waited in the vestibule for an interview with the deputy warden, was pushed into the lobby, and saw Duschswski strike Klein on the head and Roa draw a knife from Klein's body. Judnich saw Klein covered with blood, his hands over his head, and Duschswski standing in front of him with an iron bar in his hand. Klein staggered, crumpled, and fell to the floor of his office. Torrez had left the room, but soon returned with a weapon in his hand. Later he and Shader stood guard at the double steel doors of the vestibule to prevent all persons who entered, as well as those already inside, from leaving the building. When Larson saw what was taking place, he ran into the storeroom behind his desk. He was immediately followed by Stalesky and Rizo, the latter with a knife in his hand, and both...