AUTHORITIES HAVE BLOOD STAINED WATCH AS A CLUE
Item
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Title
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AUTHORITIES HAVE BLOOD STAINED WATCH AS A CLUE
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Source Type
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Newspapers
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Author
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N/A
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Publisher
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The Montgomery Times
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Publication Place
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Montgomery, AL
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Publication Date
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January 6, 1915
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Transcript
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AUTHORITIES HAVE BLOOD STAINED WATCH AS CLUE. Coroner's Jury Finds Lynched Negroes Were Killed By Parties Unknown. That the two lynched Elmore County negroes, Ed and Will Smith, came to their deaths by violence at the hands of parties unknown, was the report made by the coroner's jury at Wetumpka Tuesday morning. The negroes, held as suspects in the murder of R. A. Stillfell, were taken from the jail at Wetumpka Sunday night, carried to Coosada, six miles away and hanged to a tree, then riddled with bullets. A special grand jury was assembled at the order of Governor O'Neal to probe the lynching. A drastic report issued by the Governor criticizes Sheriff Jackson for the successful carrying out of the lynching plans. A blood-stained gold watch found under the bodies of the negroes is the only real clue in the hands of the authorities. Sheriff Jackson, in a statement, declares he had done his best. "There was no chance for me to do anything," he said, "but to submit to the mob's demands." Thomas J. Wade, Edward Wade and John T. Pentan, held in connection with the lynching, have produced a witness to prove that they were on their way to testify in the county court at Wetumpka when arrested.
