MATTHEWS REPRIEVED
IMPRISONMENT FOR !.:! A. CHRISTCHURCH, March 5. At a meeting of the Executive Council held at Christchurch this morning it visa decided that the death sentence on Matthews (the Timaru murderer) be commuted to imprisonment for life. The meeting was attended by the Governor-General (Lord Jellicoe) the Hon. E. P. Lee, and the Hon. W Nosworthy. The following statement was made after the meeting by Mr Lee: —“Commutation of the sentence does not cast any reflections on the verdict of the jury. In all these cases the Crown has to decide whether its prerogative of mercy shall be exercised, and in this particular case, after consideration of the medical reports and the family history and low mentality of the convicted man, the Governor-General, acting on the advice of the Executive Council, has commuted the sentence to imprisonment for life. The Minister 'of Justice thinks that Matthews srill go completely insane and die in a comparatively few years. The prisoner is not to be treated as a lunatio, and will be sent to an ordinary prison. From the beginning Matthews had never, realised the consequences of his aot. It did not neceesarily follow that hp ever would be released. He was a man who should neretr he let loose on society.
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Bibliographic details
Otago Witness, Issue 3495, 8 March 1921, Page 44
Word Count
211MATTHEWS REPRIEVED Otago Witness, Issue 3495, 8 March 1921, Page 44
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