Reprieved In Election Year

NZ Truth, Issue 1175, 7 June 1928, Page 8

Reprieved In Election Year

(From "N.Z. Truth's" Specia! THE gallows have been cheated of a victim and the hangman of his gruesome fee by the Executive Council's decision to reprieve Alan George N^orgrove.

Two weeks had passed since the New' Lynn murderer heard those terrible words that constitute the death sentence, as uttered by Judge MacGregbr, and he was within a week of mounting the scaffold had the reprieve not been granted. ,He will now expiate the brutal murder of his sister - m - law, Mrs. Ernistina Mary Norgrove, by imprisonment for life

,; Norgroveis '■■ still a young man and may yet emerge from the sombre, chilling at mo s p h ere of , Nit.,. Eden gaol with its disci- . pline and daily routine, which, as the weeks merge into months and the months into years, can become a veritable, Hades by reason of its soul-de-stroying monotony. Yes, twenty years may see him walking from the grey, stone prison on the hill a free man. . .-» . Ordinarily, the , duty of ' a condemned man's counsel finishes when the final word of the death sentence falls from the lips of the blackcapped judge,, but m Norgrove's case Lawyer Alan Moody was not satisfied to leave matters so. He was determined to save his client from the hangman's rope if it could possibly be accomplished. Sheer luck placed m his hands the most v,a|uable information he could have obtained at that stage of the affair. A woman entered Lawyer Moody's office to the petition he was handling on behalf of the relatives. •■■•■'■■

Auckland Representative.) Quite casually the woman, Miss* Holder, mentioned to one of the typistes that she had taught Norgrove m the Ponsonby School and remembered him well. Lawyer Moody promptly obtained an affidavit from Miss Holder, m which she corroborated practically, everything that a former schoolmaster of Norgrove's had. said respecting his ,unc o n trol I able temper. Miss Holder recalled this particular schoolmaster bringing young Norgrove to her, "a. kicking, bit^ ing, sc rea m ing young fiend." The information secured from Miss Holder was sent on to the Executive^ Council and its importance may be gauged by its prominent mention m the announcement made by Prime Minister Coates when giving the decision of the Executive Council. With the idea of a further appeal m his' mind, should the council decide to let the sentence stand, Lawyer Moody had Norgrove examined the day after Drs. Gray and McKillop had examined him on behalf of the Executive Council: Dr. Beattie f . who stated at th& trial that the murderer was insane when he slew Mrs. Norgrove, examined him with two other experts last week, all three reports being sent to the council. Norgrove received the news of his reprieve with characteristic calm and very little outward sign of emotion. His mother and sister were at the gaol when the decision Was telephoned through. Naturally, they were overjoyed, the mother's relief leaving her almost prostrate with joy.