John Herbert Bonner (1914 - 1982)

Born 24 Nov 1914 in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

Husband of Mary Magdelene Leon (LeDuc) Johnson — married 15 Feb 1947 in Pierce, Washington, United States

Husband of Lilly Ruth (Lind) Bonner — married 4 Jun 1954 (to about 1957) in Queen Anne, King, Washington, United States

Died 3 Mar 1982 at age 67 in Wenatchee, Chelan, Washington, United States

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Biography

John Herbert Bonner was born on November 24, 1914, in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.

He married Mary-Magdelene-Leon LeDuc on February 15, 1947, in Pierce, Washington. They had one son during their marriage.

He lived in Seattle, King, Washington, United States in 1950.

John's second marriage was to Lily R. (Lind) Bartok on June 4, 1954 in Queen Anne, King, Washington. They divorced about 1957 and had one son together.

On June 3, 1957, John H. Bonner was committed, by the superior court for Pierce county, to the Western State Hospital as a mentally ill person. On August 10,1957, the superintendent of Western State Hospital paroled Bonner as a patient safe to be at large, however, on October 15, 1957, John shot and killed his ex-wife.

He was charged on October 23, 1957 with the crime of murder in the first degree for killing his former wife Lilly Lind on October 15, 1957. November 15, 1957, he was arraigned, and entered a plea of not guilty. He stood trial on January 13, 1958, was convicted of murder in the first degree, and sentenced to be hanged.

Following an appeal, John was adjudged mentally ill, and committed to Western State Hospital. The State V. Bonner. Petition for rehearing was denied on May 21, 1959.

"Commutation: John Herbert Bonner - Sentenced to be executed for the Crime of Murder in the First Degree, commuted to life imprisonment on September 11, 1961. This action was by the sentencing judge." (Source: Journal of the Senate, Message from the Governor, page 146)

An article in the Daily Chronicle (Centralia, Washington) dated April 11, 1973 entitled "Eligibility explained", stated "Persons sentenced to death for first degree murder, then who have the sentence commuted to life in prison by the governor, are eligible for parole, the attorney general's office says. In answer to a question by Gov.Dan Evans, Assistant Atty. Gen. John Henry Browne wrote Tuesday that the law allows the parole board to grant parole to any person who has completed 20 years of his life sentence, 'less earned good time...'. The governor said he was aware of two prisoners who had their death penalties commuted by previous governors and fall into this category: John H. Bonner and William A. Poole. he said there may be others."

An article in The Daily Chronicle (Centralia, Washington) dated April 25, 1973 elaborated on the two prisoners who fit the category of having their death sentences commuted by a governor, William A. Poole and John H. Bonner. "Bonner has been 15 years at Walla Walla. He killed his wife but hadn't been in any trouble before so Gov. Albert D. Rossellini commuted his death sentence. Bonner has since reconciled with his stepdaughter and has been such a model prisoner throughout his confinement that even his guards have been among those writing letters asking the governor to free him...Gov. Evans is against the death penalty...He felt something should be done for Bonner and Poole so inquired as to what the parole board could do..."

John died on March 3, 1982, in Wenatchee, Washington, at the age of 67.

In 1997, a federal lawsuit was filed on behalf of prisoners who participated in a radiation experiment at Washington State Penitentiary. John Herbert Bonner was listed as one of 64 inmate volunteers whose testicles were bombarded with X-rays in the Cold War tests. The purpose of the 1960s experiments was to understand how radiation would affect the fertility of nuclear workers, soldiers and astronauts. In 1995, a White House advisory committee concluded the experiments were unethical given that the inmates were incapable of informed consent.

Sources

• Washington, U.S., County Marriages, 1855-2008. Name: John Herbert Bonner; male; age 33; birth date: 1914; marriage date: 15 Feb 1947; marriage place: Pierce, Washington; spouse: Leon Le Duc Johnson.

• U.S.,Newspapers.com Marriage Index, 1800s-current. name: John Herbert Bonner; male; residence: Portland; marriage date: abt 1947; spouse: Leon Leduc Johnson.

• "United States 1950 Census", database, FamilySearch (ark:/61903/1:1:6X1W-9QG5 : Sun Jan 29 15:39:44 UTC 2023), Entry for John Bonner and Leon Bonner, 10 April 1950.

• U.S., City Directories, 1822-1995. Name: John H. Bonner; male; residence year: 1951; Street Address 606 W. 80th, Seattle, Washington; occupation: Bartender; spouse: Leon Jj Bonner; publication title: Seattle, Washington, City Directory, 1951.

• Washington, U.S., Marriage Records, 1854-2013. Name: John H Bonner; marriage date: 4 jun 1954; marriage place: Queen Anne, King, Washington; spouse: Lilly R Bartok.

• U.S., City Directories, 1922-1995. Name: John H. Bonner; male; residence year: 1956; residence place: 1624 5th ave W, Seattle, Washington; occupation: Driver Rainier Brewery; spouse: Lilly Bonner; publication title: Seattle, Washington, City Directory, 1956.

• Washington, U.S., State Corrections and Jail Records, 1877-1970. Name: John Herbert Bonner; age 43; record type: criminal; birth date: 1914; birth place: Hamilton, Ont.; criminal date: 16 Oct 1957; criminal place: Everett, Washington; charge: 1st Degree Murder; Sentence: Released; Trial Place: Washington; Sentencing Place: Washington, USA; Admission Place: Washington, USA; Discharge Place: Washington, USA; occupation: Bartender.

• "Eligibility explained", The Daily Chronicle (Centralia, Washington), April 11, 1973, page 15.

• "Paroling 'lifers'", Daily Chronicle (Centralia, Washington), April 25, 1973, by Adele Ferguson, p. 1.

• Washington, Death Index, 1940-2014. Name: John H Bonner; male; age 68; residence: Wenatchee, Washington; death date: 3 Mar 1982; death place: Wenatchee, Washington.

• Washington, Death Index, 1940-2014. Name: John H Bonner; male; age 68; birth year: 1914; residence place: Chelan, Washington; death date: 3 Mar 1982; death place: Chelan, Washington.

• U.S., Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014. name: John Bonner; birth date: 24 Nov 1914; issue year: before 1951; issue state: Washington; last residence: 98801, Wenatchee, Chelan, Washington; death date: Mar 1982.

• State v. Bonner, The Supreme Court of Washington, February 13, 1959. See https://www.casemine.com/judgement/us/5914c9a0add7b049347f3ca5

• 57 Wn.2d 670, In the Matter of the Application for a Writ of Habeas Corpus of JOHN HERBERT BONNER, Appellant, v. B. J. RHAY, as Superintendent of the State Penitentiary, Respondent. [No. 35495. En Banc. Supreme Court , February 2, 1961.] http://courts.mrsc.org/supreme/057wn2d/057wn2d0670.htm

• "Spokane Court to Get X-Ray Case Inmates File Suit Seeking Damages for Cold War Fertility Experiments", June 14, 1997 by Karen Dorn Steele - https://www.spokesman.com/stories/1997/jun/14/spokane-court-to-get-x-ray-case-inmates-file-suit/

• Senate Journal of the Thirty-Eighth legislature of the State of Washington at Olympia, the State Capital, convened January 14, 1963 (https://leg.wa.gov/LIC/Documents/Historical/FloorJournals/Senate/1963SenateJournal.pdf)

Repository

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