Horace G. Benson

The Honourable Horace G. Benson
Benson's portrait for the Colorado Bar Association
Born	1863 Atchison, Kansas, US
Died	January 30, 1922 (aged 58) Denver, Colorado, US
Occupation	Criminal attorney
Political party	Republican

Horace G. Benson (1863 – January 30, 1922) was an American criminal attorney.

Biography

Benson was born in Atchison, Kansas, in 1863, and is of English descent. His mother died at a young age, and he and his father moved to Colorado, living in Denver in 1872, Del Norte in 1874, and Placerville in 1876.[1] He attended Colorado public schools.[2] On October 24, 1884, he was admitted to the Colorado Bar Association.[3]

As a lawyer, he prosecuted 31 murder cases, losing 6, and defended in 27 murder cases, losing 1.[1] Notably, he defended Gertrude Gibson Patterson in the trial for her husband's murder; she was found not guilty.[4][5][6] He served as a plaintiff in a corporate case in the Colorado Court of Appeals in 1914.[7] He defended Italian immigrant Frank Eli in a robbery case in 1897; he was found not guilty.[8]

In 1910, Benson ran as a Republican for Colorado Senate, getting 9.6% votes—13,881 votes—losing to William H. Sharpley. In 1916, he ran for the Denver District Attorney's Office,[9] getting 37.9%—23,796 votes—winning the election.[10]

Benson died on January 30, 1922, aged 58, in a hospital in Denver, of complications during abdominal surgery.[11]

References

1. George, Charles Ellewyn (1914). Lawyer and Banker and Southern Bench and Bar Review. Lawyers and Bankers' Corporation.
2. "Bench and bar of Colorado (1917)/Portraits - Wikisource, the free online library". en.wikisource.org. Retrieved 2024-04-15.
3. "Collection: Horace Grant Benson papers | Rare and Distinctive Collections – University of Colorado Boulder". archives.colorado.edu. Retrieved 2024-04-15.
4. "Find Mrs. Patterson Innocent of Murder; Jury Decides Her Killing of the Husband Who Sold Her to Another Was Justified". The New York Times. 30 November 1911. p. 8. Retrieved 2024-04-14.
5. "Colorado's Trial of the Century | Adam James Jones". adamjamesjones.com. 2011-06-01. Retrieved 2024-04-15.
6. "Patterson's Mother Bitter; Says Acquittal of Daughter-In-Law Who Husband Is a Disgrace". The New York Times. 1 December 1911. p. 5. Retrieved 2024-04-14.
7. "German American Indem. Co. v. State Mercantile Bank". vLex. Retrieved 2024-04-15.
8. "People ex rel. Eli v. Benson". vLex. Retrieved 2024-04-15.
9. "Denver Labor Bulletin October 28, 1916 — Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection". www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org. Retrieved 2024-04-15.
10. "State of Colorado Elections Database » Candidate: Horace G. Benson". State of Colorado Elections Database. Retrieved 2024-04-15.
11. "Obituary for Horace G. Benson". Journal and Courier. 1922-01-31. p. 12. Retrieved 2024-04-15.