Free James Titus!

About me:

This is the first public image James Titus in April 1886:

James Titus, a janitor prone to panic attacks that can be attributed to the facts that his father committed suicide and both of his siblings died very young, was convicted (by the press) on rape and murder charges in 1887. He served more than 17 years of hard labor for a crime he did not commit.

Titus was almost alone in the world. His lawyer was terrible. He was convicted by the press. of the murder of an eighteen year old kitchen worker named Tillie Smith in Hackettstown, New Jersey. The murder happened in 1886. He was sentenced to die in January 1887. He signed a confession, so he was allowed to live. He got out of jail in December 1904, one month after his beloved wife Nettie died.

"Tillie's Ghost" continues to this day as a legend among Centenary College students and residents of Hackettstown, more than 120 years later. Halloween is the most popular holiday here in the heart of so-called "Weird New Jersey". the Historical Society sells T-shirts that say "Got Ghosts?" and hosts speakers who talk about Ghostbusting.

Many people still believe James Titus killed Tillie Smith. Please visit the information on the Free James Titus Myspace page, blogspot blog, facebook group and Twitter account to make up your mind for yourself.

Then call the Governor of New Jersey (609-292-6000) and ask him to Free James Titus!

Thank you for your time, and for helping to forward what has been Hackettstown's dirty little secret all around the globe.

It's time to wipe away the patina of mystification.

Warm Regards,

Erik B. Anderson
Independence Township, New Jersey
Established 1782

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"Perhaps the emotional force of the crime and the need to call someone to account for it proved in the end more persuasive than either side's arguments.

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.

Consider this.

"Man's lust is a potent force," Prosecutor Henry S. Harris declared in the opening of a summation that went on to accuse Titus of sacrificing the life of Tillie Smith to it. Indeed lust is a potent force, but was thet state's position credible that Titus' lustful thoughts, evidenced by allegedly salacious remarks to Mead and others, foretold criminal activity? How many millions have made passing remarks of the same type and never followed them with an antisocial act? What minister has not had less-than-religious thoughts about a parishioner; what accountant has not considered embezzlement? Who can argue reasonably that the thought being the father of the deed extends, as a general rule, to crime?

The Free James Titus Movement is something that has been building up inside Erik B. Anderson for a long time. “It’s just bizarre that whenever I hear anyone talk about Tillie Smith, they get real quiet and tell uncomfortable jokes. This is a rape and murder we’re talking about,” he says.

Expect an online presence: a petition, a blog, a MySpace page, a Facebook group and more. “It is just so obvious that a Presidential Pardon is something that should happen. Why would anyone want to stop this?” Pleads Mr. Anderson: “Anyone interested in history and social justice should sign my petition, send in their own letters to the President and start getting creative to make this happen, unless they want to live in a miserable world where an innocent man can serve nineteen years only to be the subject of ghost stories on Halloween. I’m tired of living in so-called ‘Weird New Jersey’.”