Little Rock, Feb. 8--Between sunrise and sunset tomorrow the legal hours for executions, P. C.Nichols will be hanged from the gallows at the courthouse of Marion, Crittenden County, Arkansas to pay the penalty for his murder of 15 year old Ed Smith.  Governor Donaghey Saturday refused a number of petitions to commute the sentence and Nichols must hang if no new evidence, showing the verdict to be wrongly accused, or that Nichols did not receive a fair trial, is laid before Governor Donaghey by today.

From the reports sent out from Marion, the killing of young Smith was a cold blooded one though Nichols was shooting at the father and killed the son.  Nichols and the elder Smith had a problem over a woman and Nichols was shot by an unknown person soon afterwards.  The wound was not life threatening.

Soon afterwards, Nichols, who was a fisherman, saw Smith and the boy, also fishermen, in a boat.  He ran his boat close to them and opened fire.  The young boy fell at the first shot, Smith was also shot, but he managed to escape to the bank and later recovered.  The petition for the commutation of sentence came from Memphis, Tenn. and was signed by many county officials and the majority of the Memphis police force.  Only two Arkansas residents had signed the petition.

This execution should it take place will be the third in Crittenden County, Arkansas within a month, two negroes being recently hanged there.  It will also be the fourth hanging in the state within the month and the first white man to be legally executed in Arkansas in over 10 years.

It was the custom of acting Governor Pindall to commute the sentences, but Governor Donaghey thinks the courts when it is shown the trial has been fair and impartial, should be upheld, therefore keeping down lynchings in the State of Arkansas.  (Source:  The Daily Soliphone, Paragould, AR, Feb. 8, 1909; contributed by Tina Easley.)