Notes for James V. FOSTER

Notes for James V. FOSTER Doug & Nancy Russell's Homepage

Notes for James V. FOSTER

-----Original Message-----
From: TeleEar@@aol.com [mailto:TeleEar@@aol.com]
Sent: Monday, October 15, 2001 1:24 AM
To: nanruss@@icehouse.net
Subject: Re: Day Family

Nancy,

About Foster, he planned it for some time, bought the gasoline a couple of days in advance, was out of work during the depression and probably blamed his wife and kids for his problems. Very calmly talked to friends the day before about other things, did not seem upset in conversations with friends. He readily confessed to the sheriff, she and two of the children lived long enough to tell police who did it. He said he had to be crazy, because no sane man would do the things he did. There were two trials, under Colorado law you could have a sanity trial separate from the murder trial and then the murder trial, depending on the whims of the judge. The judge ruled that he should have a them concurrent, the jury found him sane at the time of the murder and convicted him of multiple counts of murder, judge sentenced him to hang. His lawyer appealed the sentence, not the conviction, on the grounds that under CO law you cannot execute an insane man. His lawyer tried to prove that he had gone insane after the murders. I just got a note from a friend in Greeley that said he had been found sane on the second sanity trial and he had been transferred to Canon City for execution. My source says he will let me know when he finds the final outcome in the Greeley Tribune, seems as if he is as engrossed in the case as I am. So more news at 11. Notice that the family had had another sad series of child deaths, two other girls died just a couple of days apart, one from influenza and the other from another childhood disease that we don't even think about now, diphtheria. And my great grandfather, your great grandfathers brother tells the newspapers that he had been a good son in law, Foster, and hoped the judge would not in him guilty but insane. I don't believe I could have that kind of sympathy.

I remember my great grandfather quite well. I was in Colorado on Christmas vacation in 1942. I went back with an uncle in his car. While I was there I go the mumps and was quarantined, uncle left me there as he had to get back to California, so my great grandfather got elected, or he chose one of the two, to bring me back to CA on the train. So I spent a couple of close days with him.

Will keep you informed as to the final outcome of Foster.

John

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