iff Gr T yors
For Sale: One bedroom mobile
home close to campus. Phone
332-4169. Gretna, Nebraska.
Mllw(oirmE
FURNITURE RENTAL
interiors diversified
132 S. 13th
432-8851
Diamonds1
HOUSE of GEMS
1338 "O" Street
WIN A
$700YAMAHA'200'
OR ONE OF FOUR 10-SPEED
FLANDRIA BIKES
Miss "Wondcrwheels" and her friend "Spokes"
will ride their Yamaha around Lincoln daily. Just
guess how many miles they drive each week and
be a big winner.
One bike to be given away each week -SI 20
value. The $700 Yamaha will be given to the
closest guesser for the total 4 weeks.
Get your entry blanks and enter your guess
at Joshau Motor Sports or at the
Glass Menagerie
12th & Q
MONDAY , JUNE 25
EDWARD G. ROBINSON
IN
lay la y gala fiTUK2at2iQU
NEBRASKA UNION
Jut 25
LIU LI! CAKSAK, I9JI.95 minutes. Starring
Id ward Ci. kohiniton, Douglas litirbunk Jr.,
Sidney Hlackmer, Glenda I arrell. Directed by
Mervyn Lekoy. 'ItiU in perhaps Robinson's
Kreatnt role and one for which he is widely
imitated and internationally renowned.
LIITI.K CAI.SAR is an archetypal KiinKstcr
film; a Till. VIRGINIAN and STAGFX'OACII
are archetypal westerns.
Newveels of the 20's. 30's and 40's will be
nhown with all the films.
The Summer Film Series is being presented for
the summer University community. Students,
faculty, staff and their spouses and families are
all welcome. All showings will be at 7 00 ptn in
the Small Auditorium of the Nebraska Union.
Admission u 7 5 cents per pervin.
page 2
By Mike McLaughlin
School of Journalism
It was Sept. 14, 1966.
In Lincoln Mrs. Carl
Rohman hurried into the home
of Edward M. O'Shea after her
son told her a strange man was
in the O'Shea home.
Mrs. Rohman found the
body of Mrs. Mary O'Shea
lying in the bedroom.
Police said there were signs
of a struggle and rape was
suspected. They found the
murder weapon, a draw cord
from a curtain which had been
used to strangle Mrs. O'Shea.
A man was apprehended a
few hours later near a
downtown bus terminal. The
man was Thomas Alvarez.
Alvarez was sentenced to
death in the electric chair by
Judge Bartlett E. Boyle in
March, 1 967, for the
rape-strangulation of Mrs.
O'Shea.
He is the first man in
Nebraska history to be given
the death sentence after
pleading guilty to first-degree
murder, even though the
prosecuting attorney had not
asked for death.
He began to cry
Newspapers reported that
Alvarez began to cry when the
sentence was read.
However, Alvarez was not
to die in the electric chair. He
was given six stays of
execution, some of which came
days before his execution date.
He appealed to the United
States Supreme Court twice,
but his first appeal was turned
down. His second appeal never
was heard because the Court
declared the death penalty
unconstitutional.
Alvarez's death sentence
was changed to life
imprisonment.
Alvarez spoke freely about
the crime in a recent interview
at the Nebraska State Penal
Complex.
Can't understand
"The thing I can't
understand," Alvarez said, "is
that I confessed to the murder
and they (the police and the
courts) believed me, but when
I said I'd been invited in by
Mrs. O'Shea they said I was
lying. Why would I admit to
murder and then lie about
that? I know I was wrong and
have to serve my time, but
they made me seem like an
animal and they made her an
angel."
Alvarez is appealing his case
in the district courts on the
grounds that one of his lawyers
in the original trial was legally
incompetent. He also would
like to withdraw his original
guilty plea.
Alvarez sat quietly with his
hands folded on his lap during
most of the interview. No
guard was present.
Alvarez is distinguishable by
his tattoos, a skunk on his right
summer nebroslcon
The SUMMER NEBRASKAN is published nine times
during the summer-five times during the first session
and four times in the second session. The SUMMER
NEBRASKAN is located in Avery 1 10 (472-2557).
Editor Ken Kirk
Business Manager Mitch Mohanna
fort
oofc
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has
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Buy one pizza at the regular price and
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CLIP AND SAVE OFFER
summer nebraskan
arm with "Cindy" written
under it and a flag on his left
arm.
Old girlfriend
Cindy is an old girlfriend
from Commerce City, Colo.,
where Alvarez used to live.
After she decided she didn't
like the skunk on Alvarez's
right arm, he named it Cindy in
her honor.
Alvarez said he never has
been convicted of anything
except the O'Shea murder. He
was picked up in Commerce
City in June, 1966, three
months before the murder,
when police there were
investigating the
l a pe -strangulation of a
14-year-old baby-sitter. He
later was released.
Before the O'Shea trial, a
23-year-old Denver woman
identified him as her
rape-assailant. Colorado has
not decided whether to ask for
extradition, if he is paroled.
Alvarez said that there are
three ways out of the
penitentiary: escape, parole
and death,
Chances 1 in 100
E scape is next to
impossible, he said. "I've got a
chance for parole in 20 years
or so, if you consider 1 in a
100 to be a chance," he said.
He said that the only way
for him to get out is "in a pine
box."
Alvarez is glad to be off
death row despite the life
sentence. Living at the "jail",
the convict's term for the
adjustment center where death
row was located, wasn't living,
he said.
As for the death penalty
being a deterrent to crime, he
said, "If you kill someone,
you're going to get a life
sentence regardless if it's first
or second-degree murder.
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You're not going to have to
worry about that now.
Whether or not it was ever a
deterrent is debatable."
At the time of his
conviction and during the early
days in prison, Alvarez said he
was indignant. "I didn't want
to take anything from anyone,
but I soon learned that this
(prison) was a give-and-take
situation," he said.
He gets along
He said he now gets along
with other prisoners. "They
don't give me any grief and I
don't give them any grief," he
said.
At the time of his arrest he
weighted 161 pounds,
according to newspapers. He
said he now weighs 195
pounds.
"Prison food may not be
good," Alvarez said, "but when
that's all there is, you eat it."
Alvarez is 26 years old. He was
19 at the time of the murder, a
fact few newspapers got right,
Alvarez said.
"Another thing, the papers
made me out to be a a Golden
Gloves boxing champion, but I
just boxed a few exhibition
matches in the Navy. I was
never a champion," he said.
He joined the Navy one year
before the murder. He was
discharged nine months later
for several attempted suicides,
according to newspaper
reports.
Keeps in shape
He said he keeps himself in
shape by participating in prison
sports including baseball. He
said he hoped to box in prison
this year, but was hit by a
baseball which shattered the
left lens of his glasses and cut
his eyebrow.
The penitentiary sets aside
hours in the afternoon for
prisoner visitation but Alvarez
said few people come to visit
him. Even his lawyers don't
always come when he asks
them to, he said.
He has three lawyers. Two
are court appointed since
Alvarez didn't have money to
hire a lawyer. The third is from
the American Civil Liberties
Union.
His mother lives in Denver,
Colo., and can save enough
money to visit him only twice
a year.
"My crime has probably
been harder on her than on
me," Alvarez said. "People find
out that her son is a convicted
murderer and she's out of
work. She can hardly make
both ends meet."
He has a sister who lives (or
lived) in Lincoln. He said the
last time he saw her was at his
trial in 19G6.
(Continued on page 4)
tuesday, june 19, 1973
