Charles Dow Richards

Charles Dow Richards
Charles Dow Richards as Chief Justice
20th Premier of New Brunswick
In office May 19, 1931 – June 1, 1933
Monarch	George V
Lieutenant Governor	Hugh Havelock McLean
Preceded by	John B. M. Baxter
Succeeded by	Leonard P. D. Tilley
MLA for York
In office October 9, 1920 – August 10, 1925 Serving with John A. Young, Samuel L.B. Hunter, James K. Pinder
Preceded by	William C. Crocket
Succeeded by	B. H. Dougan
In office June 18, 1930 – June 2, 1933 Serving with B. H. Dougan, Marcus Lorne Jewett, James M. Scott
Preceded by	Riding re-created
Succeeded by	Stewart E. Durling
MLA for Fredericton
In office August 10, 1925 – June 18, 1930
Preceded by	Riding created
Succeeded by	Riding dissolved
Personal details
Born	June 12, 1879 Southampton, New Brunswick, Canada
Died	September 15, 1956 (aged 77) Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada
Nationality	Canadian
Political party	Conservative
Spouse(s)	Grace Bolton (m. 1907)
Children	1 daughter
Alma mater	University of New Brunswick
Occupation	lawyer, judge
Profession	politician

Charles Dow Richards (June 12, 1879 – September 15, 1956), born in Southampton, New Brunswick, was a judge and New Brunswick politician.

He served as Conservative house leader and then Minister of Lands and Mines under Premier John B. M. Baxter. In 1931 he became premier and tried to deal with the Great Depression without much success. His two-year administration, in the depths of the Great Depression, instituted public bidding on crown land and fishing rights. In 1933 he left politics when he was appointed to the Supreme Court of New Brunswick, serving as its Chief Justice from 1946 to 1955.

As Justice, Richards sentenced the last man to be executed in Charlotte County. He did not accept the jury's request "that mercy be shown to the accused," 22-year-old Thomas Roland Hutchings, and sentenced him to hang at St. Andrews, New Brunswick on Wednesday, December 16, 1942 for the rape and murder of Bernice Connors.

Personal life

Initially a schoolteacher, Richards was admitted to the bar at age 33. Richards married Grace Bolton. The couple had one daughter, who married a descendant of Philemon Wright.

He is best remembered not so much as a politician but as a dignified, scholarly lawyer and distinguished judge. Charles Richards died in 1956 and was buried in the Forest Hill Cemetery in Fredericton.

References

• Government of New Brunswick biography (pdf)
• The Canadian Encyclopedia