Penney, Thomas.

On September 6, 1901, Leon Czolgosz shot President William McKinley in a receiving line during the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, N.Y., stating his reason for doing so as "I didn't believe one man should have so much service, and another man have none." Following a brief trial, Czolgosz was executed on October 29, 1901 at the age of 28. Czolgosz has been described as a troubled man who suffered a nervous breakdown and was rejected by several anarchist groups he attempted to join prior to moving to Buffalo. Thomas Penney was Erie County's District Attorney at the time of the McKinley Assassination and prosecuted Leon Czolgosz. Penney immigrated to the United States from London, attended school at Yale, and went on to become a respected trial lawyer, specializing in insurance and corporate law. Penney was appointed District Attorney of Erie County by then N.Y. Governor Theodore Roosevelt in 1899, elected to a two-year term in 1890, and served as DA from 1899-1902. He declined a renomination to this position and instead resumed private practice after his term ended. Penney served as President of the International Railway Company from 1908-1912 and was also an active mason. Thomas Penney died at his home in Buffalo on November 11, 1933.