Barnardo Boy -- Executed Murderer
Written by N. E. Dennis
Frederick Robert Shaw said he was born in Stanford, England in, around, 1910. Little else is known about him or his family, or even why his brothers and sisters remained in England after he was sent to Canada with a large group of Barnardo children in 1923.
Upon arriving in Ontario, Frederick (or Robert, as he was known) was almost immediately placed as a farm laborer with George Fielding, who farmed in Puslinch Township, Ontario. He remained a farm laborer there until 1930, when he went to work for William Winer of Guelph, Ontario. There seemed to be no disciplinary problems with Robert while he was in Canada and George Fielding thought highly of him long after he stopped working for him.
On January 1, 1931 Robert Shaw entered the United States to visit Niagra Falls, New York. He returned on January 3, 1931, and, it was at this time he must have met James Vincent. Robert went on to wander about the country, working for farmers and then moving on. He apparently supplemented his income, along with James Vincent, over the five-year period from 1932-1937 through numerous holdups in Buckley, Fort Wayne, LaGrange, Auburn, Kendallville and other northern Indiana towns, as well as various crimes in Michigan and Ohio, and he had also spent some time in a Tennessee penitentiary. The list of his crimes included stealing cars, bank robberies, tavern holdups (including one in which he was chased away by a barrage of beer bottles thrown at him by the patrons), and grocery store heists.
The Death of Deputy Spice
On December 2, 1937, Earl Eulitt, 20, was working his shift as a clerk in a Kendallville grocery store. An armed man robbed him of $59, and, in a scuffle, shot Eulitt through the abdomen. Earl Eulitt identified Robert Shaw as the man "who did the job."
A posse was formed of State police, deputies and the Noble County Sheriff Irvin Cazier. The next day, December 3, 1938, after trailing Robert Shaw through a physician who dressed a gash suffered in the flight, they tracked him down to the home farm of Walter Devenbaugh. That evening, the group went to the Devenbaugh farm to question, and subsequently arrest, Robert for the Kendalville holdup for which he was suspected. As Deputy Sheriff Harry E. Spice, 45, approached the front door of the residence, Robert Shaw poked his gun through a window and fired point-blank at the officer. Officer Spice fell to the ground, dead, and Robert then shot again, wounding Sheriff Irvin Cazier in the arm. Robert fled out the back door, escaping into the swamps, after being shot and wounded by the state police.
The Capture
A manhunt began for Robert's capture, trailing him for two days while he wandered aimlessly through the swamps of northern Indiana and southern Michigan. Radio systems of both Indiana and Michgan State police organizations broadcast a call to mobilize the new "tri-state blockade" which had only recently been organized by Indiana, Michigan and Ohio. Through the night, approximately 500 men searched on both sides of the Michigan-Indiana line.
Robert was only clad lightly. He had no overcoat and tried to purchase one in Sturgis, Michigan, after buying a bottle of whisky in the state liquor store there. He wandered all night, covering about 20 miles through the rough and frozen swamps. In addition to his gunshot wounds, he was suffering from exposure, shock, and hemorrhage which weakened him. In desperation, on December 4, 1938, he returned to the farm home of Walter Devenbaugh, where he tried to retrieve a suitcase he had left at the house. Devenbaugh told Robert the police had taken it. Robert then pleaded with Devenbaugh to exchange clothes with him. But his former employer refused and threw him out. Devenbaugh watched Robert out of the window, watching him hide in a cornfield not far from the house. Then the farmer called the police who surrounded the field.
Robert was captured and shot as he tried to flee from the cornfield. He suffered multiple gunshot wounds. His right leg and right arm were shattered by gunfire and there were bullet wounds in both sides of his chest. Dr. Harvey G. Erwin, who treated his wounds, said that Robert, before lapsing into unconsciousness, confessed to the police of his various crimes throughout Indiana, including a bank robbery in Buckley, Indiana, in which two other men had been imprisoned but they had never captured the third; and a robbery in Elyria, Ohio, which was accomplished with the help of his companion James Vincent. Because he was incoherent at times, he was not subjected to intensive questioning, but the police knew they had the confession they needed.
Conviction and Sentencing
Crippled by bullets from Indiana and Michigan state police guns, he remained in a prison hospital until he was able to be carried into the courtroom which was presided over by Judge Clyde C. Carlin for his trial. Judge Carlin appointed Dudley N. Gleason, of Angola, Indiana, to act as Shaw's attorney. The attorney conferred with Shaw for three hours when Robert Shaw pleaded guilty to Spice's slaying after protesting:
"I shot in self-defense. Nobody gave me a chance and I knew it was either Spice or me.
"Spice shot at me three times but missed. That's why I shot."
However, the Judge stated it had been proven that Spice's gun had never been fired. He then pronounced sentence on Robert Shaw to die in the electric chair at Michigan City state prison.
Robert spent two further weeks in the LaGrange prison hospital before his transfer to "death row" at the state prison.
Robert's death sentence created wide-spread interest in Britain, especially as the time drew near for his execution. Representatives of London newspapers telephoned the governor of Indiana. It was discovered that Robert had two brothers and two sisters still living in England. They were (aged in 1938): Charles, 42; George, 38; Mrs. May Taylor, 42; and Mrs. Ethel Mitchell, 38.
Robert wrote to the British counsel at Chicago, Lewis Bernays, requesting assistance in obtaining a stay. Mr. Bernays passed on the request, forwarding Robert's letter to the Governor. The Governor also received a letter requesting a stay of execution from John W. Holiday, Manager of Dr. Barnardo's Homes in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, where Robert had stayed in 1923. The Governor officially denied any stay of execution on June 23, 1938. Robert Shaw's execution would take place on June 24.
Reprieve and the End of Frederick Robert Shaw
On Friday, June 24, 1938, Robert Shaw prepared for his execution. He had eaten his last meal, fried chicken, french fries, fresh peas, coffee, and ice cream. He wrote letters to his brothers and sisters and a lady friend in LaGrange, Indiana. The death-chamber crew had prepared the electric chair. A physician, and minister chatted in a hallway, waiting for the signal to start their march to the death room.
Nearby, in his office, Warden Alfred Dowd was checking over Shaw's commitment papers. Warden Dowd had only been in charge of the prison for a month and this would be his first execution. He wanted to be thorough, and make sure the condemned man had been given all legal opportunities available to him. Turning a page on the commitment papers, Warden Dowd read a paragraph which said, in lengthy legal phraseology, that Shaw had pleaded guilty in LaGrange county circuit court to the murder of Deputy Sheriff Harry E. Spice, shot to death when he attempted to question Shaw about a robbery. Shaw was sentenced to die after a brief court hearing, without benefit of a jury.
Dowd read the paragraph again, recalling that in 1919, while he was warden at the state reformatory, Thomas and Albert Bachelor, brothers, had been sentenced to die under the same proceedings--but had been reprieved because of a technicality. At 11:13 Dowd got out a copy of the Indiana Statutes and, as the seconds ticked away, hurriedly glanced through the papers. Finally he found a section which said:
"Under the prior law in capital cases, a jury must have been called to assess punishment on a plea of guilty."
At 11:25, Dowd put through an emergency telephone call to Judge Clyde Carlin, who had pronounced sentence. He confirmed that Shaw had not had a jury trial.
Four minutes later, at 11:29, Dowd was talking to Gov. M. Clifford Townsend. After he had explained the case, Townsend granted a stay until Tuesday, pending a study of the technicality by the attorney general.
Twenty-seven minutes before the scheduled execution, Shaw was seated on a bunk in a death cell. Deputy Warden L. C. Schmuhl stepped up to the door and told him he had been granted a stay.
Robert did not move. He said nothing. Deputy Schmuhl said he believed Shaw was speechless.
At first Robert would not believe his life had been spared. After he finally was convinced, he rolled over into bed and slept soundly until 7 a. m. the next morning.
Deputy Schmuhl visited him again the next day, and although Robert was not talkative, he said he was happy to have been granted a reprieve for it might enable him to hear from brothers and sister in England. He told Deputy Schmuhl that he had had no communication with any of his relatives and was not even sure whether they learned of his predicament.
Prison officials did not inform him of the reason for the reprieve.
"I am sorry the reprieve was not longer," Robert said the next day. "I still may not have time to hear from my folks before Monday night."
His case never was appealed to the Indiana Supreme Court during the months that followed his sentencing. The Governor of Indiana, M. Clifford Townsend , said he asked Attorney-General Omer Stokes Jackson to make a full investigation of the law governing Shaw's case, so that he might determine whether Robert would go to the chair or have his life spared.
Meanwhile, back in Guelph, Ontario, George Fielding, the first farmer Robert had worked for, learned of Robert's death sentence from a magazine picture. He told the local paper, "It was entirely unlike Shaw to get into such a scrape, Fielding said. "I got him out of the home the day he arrived and brought him here."
Robert Shaw's death sentence was only commuted for 4 days. On June 25, 1938, Attorney General Omer S. Jackson held that "...the sentencing of Shaw in the absence of a jury was absolutely legal." It had further been determined that Robert Shaw had waived a jury trial through his guilty plea.
Frederick Robert Shaw died in the electric chair at midnight, June 28, 1938. He spent the day before reading his Bible and speaking about his brothers and sister, whom he had not seen since 1922.
He was not yet 29 years old.
Irony
Poignantly, on July 14, 1938, Attorney General Omer Stokes Jackson received a letter from George E. Shaw of Sleaford, Lincolnshire, England, asking if the Robert Shaw held by Indiana authorities was his brother. He explained the family background and identifying characteristics.
Another letter was enclosed in the missive to Jackson which was address to his brother, Robert Shaw. Jackson was asked to forward it to him. George Shaw's letter to Jackson was mailed June 30, two days after his brother was executed.
Jackson wrote George Shaw a brief note saying that his brother had "passed on," and returned the letter written to Robert.
George Shaw's letter to Robert read:
"Dear Bob:
It comes as a shock to me to hear of you. I have tried for years to get in touch with you but they told me they didn't know where you were. I should not have known then if my wife had not pointed it out to me in the paper. I should like to come over and see you but I have not the means as I am only a labouring man. I hope that you get off. If you do, come home and live with me. Keep smiling as we shall all meet some day I hope. With love from your loving brother,
George and family.
Write back"
Copyright © 2008 British Home Children Descendants. All information was obtained from newspapers published in Indiana, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Ontario. Journalism can be slightly tainted, therefore I had done as much research as is possible to obtain the truth of the events as they occurred. However, some facts may be skewed or incorrect. Please write to me if you find an error.
Upon arriving in Ontario, Frederick (or Robert, as he was known) was almost immediately placed as a farm laborer with George Fielding, who farmed in Puslinch Township, Ontario. He remained a farm laborer there until 1930, when he went to work for William Winer of Guelph, Ontario. There seemed to be no disciplinary problems with Robert while he was in Canada and George Fielding thought highly of him long after he stopped working for him.
On January 1, 1931 Robert Shaw entered the United States to visit Niagra Falls, New York. He returned on January 3, 1931, and, it was at this time he must have met James Vincent. Robert went on to wander about the country, working for farmers and then moving on. He apparently supplemented his income, along with James Vincent, over the five-year period from 1932-1937 through numerous holdups in Buckley, Fort Wayne, LaGrange, Auburn, Kendallville and other northern Indiana towns, as well as various crimes in Michigan and Ohio, and he had also spent some time in a Tennessee penitentiary. The list of his crimes included stealing cars, bank robberies, tavern holdups (including one in which he was chased away by a barrage of beer bottles thrown at him by the patrons), and grocery store heists.
The Death of Deputy Spice
On December 2, 1937, Earl Eulitt, 20, was working his shift as a clerk in a Kendallville grocery store. An armed man robbed him of $59, and, in a scuffle, shot Eulitt through the abdomen. Earl Eulitt identified Robert Shaw as the man "who did the job."
A posse was formed of State police, deputies and the Noble County Sheriff Irvin Cazier. The next day, December 3, 1938, after trailing Robert Shaw through a physician who dressed a gash suffered in the flight, they tracked him down to the home farm of Walter Devenbaugh. That evening, the group went to the Devenbaugh farm to question, and subsequently arrest, Robert for the Kendalville holdup for which he was suspected. As Deputy Sheriff Harry E. Spice, 45, approached the front door of the residence, Robert Shaw poked his gun through a window and fired point-blank at the officer. Officer Spice fell to the ground, dead, and Robert then shot again, wounding Sheriff Irvin Cazier in the arm. Robert fled out the back door, escaping into the swamps, after being shot and wounded by the state police.
The Capture
A manhunt began for Robert's capture, trailing him for two days while he wandered aimlessly through the swamps of northern Indiana and southern Michigan. Radio systems of both Indiana and Michgan State police organizations broadcast a call to mobilize the new "tri-state blockade" which had only recently been organized by Indiana, Michigan and Ohio. Through the night, approximately 500 men searched on both sides of the Michigan-Indiana line.
Robert was only clad lightly. He had no overcoat and tried to purchase one in Sturgis, Michigan, after buying a bottle of whisky in the state liquor store there. He wandered all night, covering about 20 miles through the rough and frozen swamps. In addition to his gunshot wounds, he was suffering from exposure, shock, and hemorrhage which weakened him. In desperation, on December 4, 1938, he returned to the farm home of Walter Devenbaugh, where he tried to retrieve a suitcase he had left at the house. Devenbaugh told Robert the police had taken it. Robert then pleaded with Devenbaugh to exchange clothes with him. But his former employer refused and threw him out. Devenbaugh watched Robert out of the window, watching him hide in a cornfield not far from the house. Then the farmer called the police who surrounded the field.
Robert was captured and shot as he tried to flee from the cornfield. He suffered multiple gunshot wounds. His right leg and right arm were shattered by gunfire and there were bullet wounds in both sides of his chest. Dr. Harvey G. Erwin, who treated his wounds, said that Robert, before lapsing into unconsciousness, confessed to the police of his various crimes throughout Indiana, including a bank robbery in Buckley, Indiana, in which two other men had been imprisoned but they had never captured the third; and a robbery in Elyria, Ohio, which was accomplished with the help of his companion James Vincent. Because he was incoherent at times, he was not subjected to intensive questioning, but the police knew they had the confession they needed.
Conviction and Sentencing
Crippled by bullets from Indiana and Michigan state police guns, he remained in a prison hospital until he was able to be carried into the courtroom which was presided over by Judge Clyde C. Carlin for his trial. Judge Carlin appointed Dudley N. Gleason, of Angola, Indiana, to act as Shaw's attorney. The attorney conferred with Shaw for three hours when Robert Shaw pleaded guilty to Spice's slaying after protesting:
"I shot in self-defense. Nobody gave me a chance and I knew it was either Spice or me.
"Spice shot at me three times but missed. That's why I shot."
However, the Judge stated it had been proven that Spice's gun had never been fired. He then pronounced sentence on Robert Shaw to die in the electric chair at Michigan City state prison.
Robert spent two further weeks in the LaGrange prison hospital before his transfer to "death row" at the state prison.
Robert's death sentence created wide-spread interest in Britain, especially as the time drew near for his execution. Representatives of London newspapers telephoned the governor of Indiana. It was discovered that Robert had two brothers and two sisters still living in England. They were (aged in 1938): Charles, 42; George, 38; Mrs. May Taylor, 42; and Mrs. Ethel Mitchell, 38.
Robert wrote to the British counsel at Chicago, Lewis Bernays, requesting assistance in obtaining a stay. Mr. Bernays passed on the request, forwarding Robert's letter to the Governor. The Governor also received a letter requesting a stay of execution from John W. Holiday, Manager of Dr. Barnardo's Homes in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, where Robert had stayed in 1923. The Governor officially denied any stay of execution on June 23, 1938. Robert Shaw's execution would take place on June 24.
Reprieve and the End of Frederick Robert Shaw
On Friday, June 24, 1938, Robert Shaw prepared for his execution. He had eaten his last meal, fried chicken, french fries, fresh peas, coffee, and ice cream. He wrote letters to his brothers and sisters and a lady friend in LaGrange, Indiana. The death-chamber crew had prepared the electric chair. A physician, and minister chatted in a hallway, waiting for the signal to start their march to the death room.
Nearby, in his office, Warden Alfred Dowd was checking over Shaw's commitment papers. Warden Dowd had only been in charge of the prison for a month and this would be his first execution. He wanted to be thorough, and make sure the condemned man had been given all legal opportunities available to him. Turning a page on the commitment papers, Warden Dowd read a paragraph which said, in lengthy legal phraseology, that Shaw had pleaded guilty in LaGrange county circuit court to the murder of Deputy Sheriff Harry E. Spice, shot to death when he attempted to question Shaw about a robbery. Shaw was sentenced to die after a brief court hearing, without benefit of a jury.
Dowd read the paragraph again, recalling that in 1919, while he was warden at the state reformatory, Thomas and Albert Bachelor, brothers, had been sentenced to die under the same proceedings--but had been reprieved because of a technicality. At 11:13 Dowd got out a copy of the Indiana Statutes and, as the seconds ticked away, hurriedly glanced through the papers. Finally he found a section which said:
"Under the prior law in capital cases, a jury must have been called to assess punishment on a plea of guilty."
At 11:25, Dowd put through an emergency telephone call to Judge Clyde Carlin, who had pronounced sentence. He confirmed that Shaw had not had a jury trial.
Four minutes later, at 11:29, Dowd was talking to Gov. M. Clifford Townsend. After he had explained the case, Townsend granted a stay until Tuesday, pending a study of the technicality by the attorney general.
Twenty-seven minutes before the scheduled execution, Shaw was seated on a bunk in a death cell. Deputy Warden L. C. Schmuhl stepped up to the door and told him he had been granted a stay.
Robert did not move. He said nothing. Deputy Schmuhl said he believed Shaw was speechless.
At first Robert would not believe his life had been spared. After he finally was convinced, he rolled over into bed and slept soundly until 7 a. m. the next morning.
Deputy Schmuhl visited him again the next day, and although Robert was not talkative, he said he was happy to have been granted a reprieve for it might enable him to hear from brothers and sister in England. He told Deputy Schmuhl that he had had no communication with any of his relatives and was not even sure whether they learned of his predicament.
Prison officials did not inform him of the reason for the reprieve.
"I am sorry the reprieve was not longer," Robert said the next day. "I still may not have time to hear from my folks before Monday night."
His case never was appealed to the Indiana Supreme Court during the months that followed his sentencing. The Governor of Indiana, M. Clifford Townsend , said he asked Attorney-General Omer Stokes Jackson to make a full investigation of the law governing Shaw's case, so that he might determine whether Robert would go to the chair or have his life spared.
Meanwhile, back in Guelph, Ontario, George Fielding, the first farmer Robert had worked for, learned of Robert's death sentence from a magazine picture. He told the local paper, "It was entirely unlike Shaw to get into such a scrape, Fielding said. "I got him out of the home the day he arrived and brought him here."
Robert Shaw's death sentence was only commuted for 4 days. On June 25, 1938, Attorney General Omer S. Jackson held that "...the sentencing of Shaw in the absence of a jury was absolutely legal." It had further been determined that Robert Shaw had waived a jury trial through his guilty plea.
Frederick Robert Shaw died in the electric chair at midnight, June 28, 1938. He spent the day before reading his Bible and speaking about his brothers and sister, whom he had not seen since 1922.
He was not yet 29 years old.
Irony
Poignantly, on July 14, 1938, Attorney General Omer Stokes Jackson received a letter from George E. Shaw of Sleaford, Lincolnshire, England, asking if the Robert Shaw held by Indiana authorities was his brother. He explained the family background and identifying characteristics.
Another letter was enclosed in the missive to Jackson which was address to his brother, Robert Shaw. Jackson was asked to forward it to him. George Shaw's letter to Jackson was mailed June 30, two days after his brother was executed.
Jackson wrote George Shaw a brief note saying that his brother had "passed on," and returned the letter written to Robert.
George Shaw's letter to Robert read:
"Dear Bob:
It comes as a shock to me to hear of you. I have tried for years to get in touch with you but they told me they didn't know where you were. I should not have known then if my wife had not pointed it out to me in the paper. I should like to come over and see you but I have not the means as I am only a labouring man. I hope that you get off. If you do, come home and live with me. Keep smiling as we shall all meet some day I hope. With love from your loving brother,
George and family.
Write back"
Copyright © 2008 British Home Children Descendants. All information was obtained from newspapers published in Indiana, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Ontario. Journalism can be slightly tainted, therefore I had done as much research as is possible to obtain the truth of the events as they occurred. However, some facts may be skewed or incorrect. Please write to me if you find an error.
Frederick Robert Shaw
Articles from the Toronto Star - 1938
