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We begin this column where the last left off on October 4: full confession. Amos Ratliff, a 25-year-old convicted murderer on September 29, 1921, believed he was going to die at sunrise the next day.
In fact, his execution had been suspended by Governor Thomas McRae, to allow time to find out if a sheriff had tricked Ratliff into confessing the murder of Winifred Frazier by promising him a life sentence. The lie was bad in 1921.
Prison guards, a minister, an Arkansas Gazette reporter, all knew about the stay. But they didn’t say anything to Ratliff. Instead, they gathered in the prison dining hall to hear what they called his “declaration of death”. Lying was perfectly fine in 1921.
On September 30, the Gazette published Ratliff’s account, which began with how he shot his wife’s lover. (See arkansasonline.com/1011first if you need to catch up.) Ratliff was on bail in this murder and was trying to raise money to pay his lawyer when he shot Frazier, who was described in the Arkansas newspapers as an old maid .
She was 32 years old. She had bought her small farm near Eureka Springs the year before. His brothers Elmo and Marvin still lived in Kansas near their parents in Montezuma. She had five uncles and her parents in the Salem Valley included Oaty and Rosybell Frazier.
Considered a splendid businesswoman who loved the outdoors, she wrote to the Montezuma press describing her farm as half plowed and “well fenced”. There was a good orchard and outbuildings, and everything she planted grew. She liked the climate and the country very much, but was dismayed that so many Arkansans could not read or write.
His lifeless body was not found for a week. Authorities ruled that she was stabbed and left to bleed, and that’s what the Montezuma press reported when John B. Frazier escorted his only daughter’s body to his home for burial. But then Ratliff told Sheriff Ed McShane that he had used a shotgun, so his poor parents agreed to let his body be exhumed and reexamined.
The day he killed her, Ratliff was boarding with a Mrs. Key and had a job at the factory.
RATLIFF’S STORY CONTINUES
“One Thursday night I left the house after telling Mrs. Key I was going fishing. I carried my shotgun with which I intended to scare Miss Frazier into telling me where she kept her money. I never dreamed of shooting her or harming her. I walked the six miles to Miss Frazier’s house and got there at ten in the evening. She had just come back from town and was in the house, and I stopped at the door and looked at her.
“She went back to the stable and took care of her horse. Then she went back to her house and got undressed. I watched her closely and when she left the house again I snuck in. through the front door and I stood behind. There was no light in that room but a lamp was burning in her bedroom that joined the room I was in.
“Miss Frazier returned to her room and then entered the room where I was hiding. She closed the door and locked it before I could say anything.
“The fact that the door was locked made me jump for a moment and at that point Miss Frazier went back to her room and turned off the lamp. Then I walked into her room and with a flashlight , I saw her sitting on the edge of the bed.
“She grabbed a quilt and held it against her. I told her not to be afraid because I wasn’t going to hurt her, and that all I wanted was her money. called out a dastardly name and took a gun from her bed, at the same time pulling the quilt up around her body.
“At that point, I knew she intended to kill me. To protect me, I intended to shoot her in the right arm to prevent her from shooting me. J fired a shot and then I saw that she was in a bent position. I aimed for the arm, but because she was bent over, the charge hit her in the right side. She staggered away. ‘one side of the room and fell in. The whole time I kept my flashlight pointed at her and saw her every move.
Ratliff was asked if he went after his money afterwards. He said no, he was afraid the sound would be carried to the neighboring farm.
“After Miss Frazier fell, I saw that she was dead. It scared me terribly. I unlocked the back door and ran out.
“I stayed in and around Eureka Springs, believing no one would suspect me. Several days later, the police arrested my former roommates and obtained an admission from them that they had conspired with me to steal the woman. They proved an alibi as to where I was on the night of the murder, and I was released, and then I was arrested.
“I was placed in the county jail and on several occasions the police tried to scare me into confessing. I resisted until Sheriff McShane called me and told me I was walked over to the electric chair and begged me to say everything I knew about the murder. He then told me the evidence the state had against me and I saw they had me. He told him he promised me he would do whatever he could to get me a life sentence.
“In court, the judge appointed a tough-headed lawyer to defend me. His arguments for me were about the confession, saying I didn’t make them. He made me plead not guilty and stand trial. he refused to allow me to speak and testify on my own behalf. I still believe that if I had been able to testify I would have received a life sentence. “
Ratliff told his audience that confessing made him feel a lot better.
Pressed to get information about his former roommates, Ratliff eventually said they robbed some stores in Eureka Springs. When asked for the names of the stores, Ratliff was silent. After a while he lifted his head and said, “Gentlemen, I don’t think I mean that. It’s not a good thing to do. If they were in my shoes and I was in theirs. and that they refused to give you information to the officers which would lead to my arrest, I would certainly appreciate it.
“If there’s any part of the manhood in them, they’ll go straight from here on out, having failed to go to the chair with me. They missed it very nearly, and I know if I did. was in their shoes now, I would go as long as I lived, and I know I could. “
The Gazette reported that everyone in the room told Ratliff they admired his stand, and he smiled weakly. So Reverend WB Hogg leaned over and said, “Amos, you remember telling me the other day that you had a dream that the good Lord stepped in and you were saved from the chair. the 30?
“Yes, sir,” replied the condemned man.
“Well, it happened.”
Ratliff sat paralyzed. He hasn’t moved. He only looked at the divine.
“Yes,” Reverend Mr. Hogg continued, “the governor has granted you a two-week stay. “
A broad smile crept across Ratliff’s face, and half-doubtful he asked, “Is that true?”
“Yes, that’s right,” Mr. Hogg said.
“Well, sure it’s good,” Ratliff replied.
Hogg must have left for a wedding, but the others stayed to chat.
Ratliff described a long conversation with his stepmother. She had cried that her daughter got involved with John Berry while Ratliff was serving two years on Tucker’s Prison Farm for selling mortgaged property. Her daughter slapped her face.
Ratliff told them he didn’t care about anything in the world except his wife and baby girl, but after shooting his lover he “resigned” her. He had intended to be a good citizen, but it seemed like he had always had bad luck.
Ratliff smiled as he left for the death cell he had spent the past 60 days in. He said “good night” and “see you later”.
“He is not as ignorant as he has been described,” the journalist concluded. “Although his education has been limited, he seems intelligent. His vocabulary is sometimes flawed, but he speaks intelligently.”
Next Week: Ratliff’s Story Metamorphosed.
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