New Press Release

The following press release has been sent to over a dozen media outlets serving New Jersey and the nation:

PRESS RELEASE

From The Desk of:
Erik B. Anderson – Founder: The Free James Titus Movement
Contact: Erik - freejamestitus@myspace.com

NEW JERSEY GOVERNOR NOT READY FOR POSTHUMOUS PARDONS

April 2, 2010 – Last November, a letter written by Erik B. Anderson of Independence Township, New Jersey, was sent to Governor Corzine, asking for a posthumous pardon on behalf of a Hackettstown Janitor named James Titus, 29, husband and father, convicted of an 1886 rape and murder. Titus was the night watchman on April 8, 1886. A kitchen worker named Tillie Smith had asked him to let her in after 10 o’clock that night, a deliberate violation of the strict rules of the Victorian Methodist Seminary. Titus refused. Tillie’s body was found “outraged” and strangled the next morning.

Smith was seen in the company of a man named Munnich that night. They and their friends had been followed and harassed by Frank Weeder and five other members of the town gang on their way back to the college. Inexplicably, detectives abandoned the case within a week. Outraged journalists from Joseph Pulitzer’s The World and The New York Times led an aggressive campaign to prosecute someone for outraging the pure, innocent Tillie.

According to an anecdote by “Old Newspaperman” published in a 1940’s-era Dear Lou column found in the files of the Hackettstown Historical Society (source unknown), the famous yellow journalist James Creelman, (“just out of the cub stage”) laid in wait in the belfry for a Janitor known as Mr. T to ring the bell. At the appointed time, Creelman jumped out at the Janitor, shouting “You killed Tillie Smith! You killed Tillie Smith!” The janitor subsequently went stark raving mad and was soon brought in on suspicion.

A LOCAL LEGEND

Tillie’s Ghost has been said to haunt Centenary College for more than a century. Hackettstown is a popular place for paranormal researchers of all ages, readers of Weird NJ Magazine and Ghost Hunters on Cable Television. It is no coincidence that the whole thing was started by a journalist. The story of Tillie Smith is a publishing phenomenon.

The most authoritative book on the subject is In Defence of Her Honor: The Tillie Smith Murder Case (2000) by Denis Sullivan, a friend of Erik B. Anderson’s family. Many other books mix fact and fiction, but Sullivan’s book thoroughly examines the transcript, the original newspaper stories, the death certificate, etc..

His conclusion:

A careful reading of the trial transcript supports the argument that Titus' guilt was never established beyond reasonable doubt. The state never proved that rape had been committed at the time and place alleged, let alone that Titus had committed it. (Chapter 8, p124)

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Erik B. Anderson sent an application for Executive Clemency to the State Parole Board in December 2009. Susan Meyer, the Governor’s Counsel’s Aide in charge of Executive Clemency, suggested he do it even though the Governor’s office does not have a policy for posthumous pardons. As it stands, the NJ Parole Board requires applications for pardons to be filled out personally. James Titus died in 1952. A posthumous pardon now would be the first posthumous pardon in state history!

Mr. Anderson is seeking publicity for his campaign to Free James Titus!

Erik has already done interviews for The Warren Reporter (Newspaper) and WRNJ-AM Oldies 1510 Radio News.

Please call for more information, or email freejamestitus@myspace.com.

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freejamestitus.blogspot.com           myspace.com/freejamestitus           twitter.com/freejamestitus

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"[N]ot one word of real evidence."

Hackettstown Gazette, May 7 1886

It is true the air is full of theories and suspicions, and the reporters of the metropolitan papers have woven an ingenious network of circumstantial evidence around James Titus and have manufactured public opinion so fast that the belief has settled into a positive conviction in the minds of a majority of our citizens that the right man has been found. ... [N]ot one word of real evidence has been adduced to convict him of this crime...we think it would be just as well to hold off condemnation of this man until something is shown connecting him directly with [it]...3

 The indictment of James J. Titus was also written on May 7, 1886:

...hat James J. Titus, of the Town of Hackettstown, in the said County of Warren, on the 8th day of April, in the year of our Lord  1886, at the town aforesaid, and within the jurisdiction of this Court, in and upon one Matilda Smith, then and there feloniously, willfully and of his malice aforethought, did kill and murder, contrary to the form and statute in such case made and provided, and against the peace of this State, the government and the dignity of the same.

...the said James J. Titus, on the 8th day of April, in the year aforesaid [1886], in said county and within the jurisdiction aforesaid, in and upone one Matilda Smith, in the peace of God and this State then and there being, did commit, rape and in attempting to commit rape, and in committing rape in and upon her, the said Matilda Smith, did kill the said Matilda Smith contrary to th eform of the statute in such case made and provided, against the peace of this State the government and dignity of the same.

...that the said James J. Titus, on the eighth day of April, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and eighty-six, at the town and country aforesaid, and within the jurisdiction of this Court, with force and arms in and upon the said Matilda Smith, in the peace of God and of this State then and there being, feloniously, willfully and of his malice aforethought did make an assault, and that he, the said James J. Titus, on and about the neck and throat of the said Matilda Smith did then and there foloniously, willfully and of his malice aforethought fix, fasten and grasp with his hands, and that the said James J. Titus with his hands aforesaid, her the said Matilda Smith then and there feloniously, willfully and of his malice aforethought, did choke, suffocate and strangle, of which said choking, suffocating and strangling she, the said Matilda Smith, then and there instantly died; and so the Inquest aforesaid, on their oaths aforesaid, do say that the said James J. Titus, in manner and form aforesaid, feloniously, willfully and of his malice aforethought, her the said Matilda Smith, did kill and murder contrary to the statute in such case made and provided and against the peace of this State, the government and dignity of the same...²

But Tillie Smith didn't die on April 8th, 1886. According to her death certificate, she died between on April 8th between 10:15 and 10:30 p.m..<sup>3

1</sup> Sullivan, Denis. In Defence of Her Honor: The Tillie Smith Murder Case. Flemington, NJ: D.H. Moreau Books, 2000. p135
²Ibid. p46
³Ibid. p47

New Postcard - RE: Warren Reporter Story

You might see this postcard on a bulletin board in the Hackettstown Area. Look in the Laundromats and the Quick Cheks. If you see anyone try to take it down, ask them their name. If they are not Erik Anderson, ask them if they are authorized to take it down. Thanks.

Read the rest of the NJ.com article.

Thanks,

Erik

More postcards here and here.

Warren Reporter Story - Free James Titus! - UPDATED

An image of James Titus,

who was convicted of the 1866(sic)

murder of Tillie Smith in Hackettstown.

Independence Township man leads charge to have Hackettstown man convicted of Tillie Smith murder pardoned -- nearly 150 years later

By Warren Reporter

December 06, 2009, 4:04PM

Story Written By Todd Petty

Regardless of whether you believe in ghosts, Hackettstown residents have been aware of the presence of Tillie Smith for well over a century. Murdered in 1866 (sic), Tillie’s name still elicits an impassioned reaction from local residents – it is a part of their dialogue, a part of their folklore, and a part of their history.

However, pieces of the story may still remain unwritten — there remains a specter of doubt regarding the involvement of James Titus, the man who was found guilty and sentenced to prison for seventeen years for Tillie’s murder.

One resident in particular from Independence Township, Erik Anderson, is determined to close the case once and for all. Anderson is working to have Titus pardoned for a crime that he does not believe that Titus ever committed.

“If you look at the case and if you read the trial documents, it’s really obvious that there is a ton of reasonable doubt,” Anderson said.

More...


UPDATE!

This article was on NJ.com on December 6, 2009. I just discovered that it was printed on the front page of the Print Edition of the Warren Reporter (under the fold) on January 1, 2010! The title of the piece was shortened, the date of the crime was corrected and one or two other typoes were fixed.

I found this in the Hackettstown Historical Society already:

click on it for a better view

Not a bad way to start the new year!

The Press Is Interested in "Free James Titus"

Greetings Freedom Fighters:

On October 31, 2009, I sent a press release similar to this one to several media outlets, including the Star-Ledger, Express-Times, Daily Record and New Jersey Herald newspapers; History, Smithsonian and American Heritage Magazine: New Jersey Monthly Magazine; and, several radio stations, too.

Almost immediately, I got a call back from Joyce Estey of WRNJ Radio, who said the press release was the most interesting thing she had gotten in the mail in a long time. I did a five minute interview with her on the spot. You can hear that interview on the Free James Titus Myspace Music Player. If you have a myspace page, it would be awesome if you could add it to your player for a while. This issue really needs to get some attention. Governor Corzine is only going to be Governor for a little while longer. It is the right time for him to be considering pardons. Gov. Christie is a "law and order" guy, and a conservative. That's not a bad thing, but I feel that he doesn' t have much incentive to pardon James Titus right away.

Anyway, last Wednesday, I got a call from Todd Petty, a reporter for the weekly county newspaper called The Warren Reporter. He was very enthusiastic about it, too. I could tell by the way he wished me good luck at the end of the interview. If we succeed at this, it will be very exciting, so I don't blame him one bit.

I have sent updated press releases out to many other outlets, and I will continue to do many things to draw attention to the Free James Titus Movement, but I need your help. It seems so simple and obvious that anyone with the power to do so would pardon James Titus if he or she would just look at the evidence, but as you know, these things can get very complicated.

Please write and call the Governor. Please do it multiple times. Especially now. Tell your friends. Bring it up at an Amnesty International meeting. Bring it up in your history class if you're taking one. It's very important.

I will keep posting updates here. I know that people are interested in this. We need more than interest, though. We need more than speeches and outrage. We need action. We need a pardon for James Titus. It's simple. There is more guilt involved in buying a Big Mac at McDonald's than there is in pardoning his 123 year old murder conviction.

Thank you everyone who has helped so far. As long as I live, I will not give up the fight to free James Titus.

Have a blessed holiday season.

Warm Regards,


Erik B. Anderson
Independence Township, New Jersey
Established 1782