SENTENCE TO STAND

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 79, Issue 109, 9 May 1936, Page 9

SENTENCE TO STAND

EXECUTION OF HICKEY CABINET RECONSIDERATION AUSTRALIAN CONTROVERSY .£> Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright] Received May 8, 10.37 p.m. SYDNEY, May 8. The State Cabinet, after the fullest consideration of the new facts concerning Edwin Hickey’s career, decided that the death sentence should, stand. Hickey will be executed next Thursday. He was 18 years old to-day. Edwin .John Hickey, a dairy hand, was found guilty in the Sydney Criminal Court on December 16 of murdering Mr. Montague Henwood, the New South Wales Conciliation Commissioner, whose body was found beside a railway line. Hickey was sentenced to death. Recently a wide public controversy has raged in Australia on the subject of capital punishment, this centering round the cases of Hickey end another condemned youth. Frank Howard Jones. A review of Hickey’s case w r as promised when the Minister of Justice received a statement from the youth withdrawing aspersions he had made against his victim, Mr. Henwood. Hickey said he was anxious to e*ear Mr. Ilenwood’s name and make complete reparation to his family, whose forgiveness he asked. He added: “I had no intention of killing Mr. Henwood. I intended merely to stun him and rob him, but when he attempted to defend himself I completely lost my head and was not responsible for my action afterwards.” T’he sentence on Jones was recently commute:! to life imprisonment. In a statement to the Howard League of Prison Reform, the Minister of Justice said: “No doubt the executions would cause a certain amount of horror, but frankly, we must put an end to this reckless and wanton killing of innocent citizens by even young people.”