Vigo County Historical Society

City’s first legal hanging had high drama in case

"We the jury find the defendant, Oliver Morgan, guilty of murder in the first degree and that he suffer death," stated Ralph Wilson, the foreman of the jury for the murder trial of John Petri.

These 20 words propelled the case to the Indiana Supreme Court. This was the first murder case in Vigo County to go to the Indiana Supreme Court and the case that ended in the county’s first and only legal hanging.

On July 11, 1869, John Petri locked his home and store on Lafayette Avenue and started for downtown Terre Haute. His wife and family were accompanying for the afternoon. His wife glanced back and saw someone climbing over their fence and going toward the read of the house. Petri rushed back.

Petri entered, searched his home and found a man on the second floor. He told the intruder to stand and wait for the police. The intruder, later identified as Oliver Morgan, pulled a piston, shot Petri in the abdomen and in the head, and then fled.

In the 1860s, that area of town towards the Wabash River was not very developed. Large stagnant ponds, small streams, and thick underbrush were common. Morgan, hoping to escape, ran towards the river. Neighbors who had been attracted by the commotion pursued him. Morgan jumped into a pond, swam across and disappeared into the surrounding woods, even though a large group of men had the area surrounded.

According to Morgan’s later testimony, he swam the Wabash River twice, once over and once back, but found the parties looking for him too numerous to outrun. He finally took off all of his clothes and coated himself with the dark, thick mud that covered the ground. He then lay down in the mud, covered his face with a large leaf, and remained quiet the whole time his pursuers searched for him. Several times they missed walking on him by only a few yards.

When it grew dark, he crawled past the old canal system, evaded the men still searching for him, and wearing only his shirt, ran for the home of his ex-wife on 13th Street. What he didn’t know was that he had been recognized when he first fled. He was arrested at her door.

Morgan claimed he was drunk and didn’t remember any of the crime. When asked about the bruises on his face he replied: "That damned Dutchman did it." (Petri was German.) He later said, both in his testimony and on the way to the gallows, that he was only defending himself and that Petri had tried to rob him.

Petri was still alive, but mortally shot. Mrs. Petri came to the jail and positively identified Oliver Morgan as the man who shot her husband. The next day, Morgan was taken by the police to see Petri, who also immediately identified him.

Because lynch mobs were forming, Morgan was returned to jail by way of back streets and alleyways. He confessed later that day that Petri was telling "a straight story." Petri died about two hours later.

The grand jury convened and issued an indictment for murder, and on July 13, Oliver Morgan was arraigned for the murder of John Petri. Ten days later, Ralph Wilson, as foreman of the jury, handed over his note finding Morgan guilty and suggesting death.

Morgan’s lawyers immediately asked for a new trial saying that the defendant had not been able to get a fair trial. On Oct.5, the Indiana Supreme Court reversed the decision and ordered a new trial. This trial was held under Judge Chapman of Indianapolis. On Nov. 27, the jury for the second trial also found Oliver Morgan guilty of murder.

Morgan’s lawyers sought a third trial, but that request was overruled. Morgan’s execution date was set for Dec. 23, 1869. It would be Terre Haute’s first legal hanging.

The execution order for Morgan stated he had to be hung between 9 in the morning and 4 in the afternoon. The time was set for noon and the scaffolding was built at the intersection in front of the jail.

A platform also was built for the press to view the execution. The gallows, the press platform and a small area surrounding it them were enclosed in a fence. Only 30 people were allowed to witness the execution, and they had to have passes to enter the enclosure.

The Rev. W.W. Curry went to Indianapolis with an appear for clemency to the governor, but at 10 a.m. on the day scheduled for the execution, the appeal was returned--denied.

Morgan wrote several letters saying goodbye to people he had known. He said goodbye to the other prisoners in the jail, and walked to the scaffolding. At a few minutes past noon, he was hung.

Morgan also had written two "confessions." One he gave to a Rev. S.M. Stimson, and the other to a Mr. Nelson Markle. Morgan asked that these confessions only be read in the event he was hung. After his death, the confessions said that he had been employed by Chief of Police Alloway on secret undercover work. Alloway had died several weeks earlier in a boiler explosion so could neither confirm nor deny the allegations.

Morgan said that Alloway had hired him to discover if different grocers actually were dealing in stolen goods. Petri was one of those Chief Alloway was supposed to have suspected.

On the day of the murder, Morgan said he had met another man and together they had entered Petri’s store. They helped themselves to the liquor. Morgan said he drank enough to fall into a stupor.

Morgan wrote that he found his gold watch and about $20 missing when he awoke. He also said he found Petri and the man who had entered with Morgan talking together. Morgan said he got to his feel and demanded his money and watch back. A struggle took place and Morgan then shot Petri. Morgan said that Petri had tried to shoot him twice during the struggle (the gun misfired), before he shot back.

In Morgan’s confession he said he was refusing to name the other name involved because "the hanging of one man was enough." He also said there were some very respectable people doing business in the city, who bought up the goods brought in by burglars and thieves, and who were constantly hounding them on the more frequent and extensive operations.

Because this case went to the Indiana Supreme Court, a copy of all of the legal briefs and motions are filed in the Supreme Court Archives. The other copy originally was stored in the county courthouse, but sometime in the 1930s many records were declared to be surplus and taken to the dump. The proceedings for this case were among that surplus.

A.R. Markle, a gentleman who wrote many columns on Vigo County’s history for local papers, learned of the impending loss and went to the dump to look for items of historical interest. He saved the documents that covered the county’s first legal hanging. Later, knowing of his interest in county and legal history, he gave the papers to attorney John Biel. In turn, Biel gave them to the historical society.

Documents like these--musty, fading and yellowing--would at first glance be of little interest. But contained within their pages is a wealth of knowledge and insight into the community of Terre Haute 120 years ago. The story lines then were just as interesting as any soap opera today.