People v. Nakis

The penalty of death was the sentence imposed upon the defendant in this case, in keeping with the verdict of a jury finding him guilty of murder in the first degree. Edwin Taylor, the deceased, was a familiar character about the streets of Fresno, commonly known as “the old broom man,” who had accumulated considerable wealth and was reputed to be in the habit of secreting large sums of money about his person. On May 16, 1919, his body was found in a tractor-shed on the Gibson ranch, a lonely place about twelve miles north of Fresno. About 8 o’clock, or some time between the hours of 8 and…