Two Elmore Whitecappers

Title

Source Type

Newspapers

Publisher

The Montgomery Advertiser

Publication Place

Montgomery, AL

Publication Date

01/06/1896

Transcript

TWO ELMORE WHITECAPPERS TRANSFERRED TO THE MONTGOM-ERY JAIL FOR SAFE KEEPING. Josephus Jowers and John Edwards, the Young White Men Convicted of Murdering the Negro Rufus Smith, Brought Here by Sheriff Sedberry Yesterday- Their Elmore County Friends Were Talking About Releasing Them from jail. Two of the Elmore county whitecappers are now confined in the Montgomery jail for safe keeping. They are Josephus Jowers and John Edwards, the young white men who were convicted of murder at Wetumpka Thursday and each sentenced to ten years in the penitentiary. Their cases have been appealed to the Supreme Court and pending a decision in that tribunal, Jowers and Ed-wards will be kept here to avoid the probability of trouble from their friends in Elmore. Sheriff Sedberry arrived with the prisoners yesterday morning, and during the day said to an Advertiser man; "Last night I reported to the court the advisability of having these young fellows moved away from Wetumpka and brought to Montgomery, and there upon an order was made to that effect. Early this morning I spirited them down here. "You see they have a pretty strong following down in our Beat 6 in and around Central, and their sympathizers in the county are numerous. Lately there has been considerable muttering, and I heard talk strong enough to cause me to believe that we might expect trouble- a possible attempt to release them from jail. "At present I am very busy and have to be away from the jail the most of the time, and under the circumstances I decided to bring the men down here." Sheriff Sedberry with his tail shot gun returned to Wetumpka in the afternoon. The story of the whitecap murder is, briefly, as follows: Some time last March a party of young white men, six in number, went to the home of Rufus Smith, a negro man on the plantation of Dr. Judkins in Elmore county, for the purpose of giving him a good whipping. They had taken the whitecapper's oath, and it seems agreed not to hurt the negro seriously. They also disguised themselves by blacking their faces. They took the negro from his bed and soon after passing out of the door shot him, killing him instantly. They left his dead body lying across the road. They also knocked the negro's wife down, telling her to stay in the house, that it would be guarded until morning. She waited until the men guarding the house left and then went to the house of Dr. Judkins and told what had happened. The negroes in the neighborhood were so badly frightened that several families left and the country thereabouts was terrorized for a time. Soon after the crime was committed, young Lon Edwards gave himself up, turned State's evidence and was the cause of Will Jowers, Luther Ingram, John Edwards, Josephus Jowers and John Morgan being arrested. Lon Edwards's statement was that the party organized themselves for the purpose of subduing several impudent and troublesome negroes in the community, and first decided to give Rufus Smith a good whipping. "Texas Jack", John Edwards, "J.W. Blackjack;" Lon Edwards, "Blue Grass," and Luther Ingram, "Ramos' Red Bull." John Morgan was not fitted out with one of these yellow-black wild-west appellations. According to Lon Edwards's confession they had no intention of killing Smith but that John Edwards, his cousin, had a pistol and while the parties were tieing the darky to carry him out for an improvised whipping post, he ran into John and the pistol accidentally fired with fatal effect. Upon being arrested Will Jowers and Luther Ingram, at different times and without the knowledge that either of the others had owned up to the business also turned State's evidence and corroborated Lon Edward's account of the affair. At the spring term of the court these three were tried and convicted and sentenced to ten years each in the penitentiary. Governor Oates pardoned Lon Edwards but the other two are now serving their terms. The grand jury failed to indict John Morgan, and on the spring hearing a mistrial resulted in the case against Josephus Jowers and Jon Edwards, who are now in the Montgomery jail, they were convicted and sentenced last Thursday. Yesterday afternoon, Jailer Powell allowed a reporter to visit the white-cappers cells on the second floor where the white prisoners are kept. They were just arranging their bed and un-loading a hamper basket of coffee pots, cooking utensils and odds and ends which they brought down with them to make their confinement as pleasant as possible. "Yes, I am Jowers," answered the older man of the two, a fellow of about 30 with not a bad looking face except for its encasement of short, wiry whiskers. "I am the man they say, was Captain and called "Texas Jack," This is the one they say had the name of "J.W. Blackjack," he continued, turning to John Edwards, who was leaning on the cell door at his elbow. Edwards stated that he was 21, and he did not look over the age. Josephus did most of the talking alleging that Lon Edwards, Will James, and Luther Ingram "put it up" on him and John in order to get out them-selves. They also declared that if they were given another trial by the Supreme Court, they could prove it. "Do you think your friends over in Elmore would have tried to take you two from jail had you remained there?" Jowers was asked. "Yes, they might have done it, be-cause down about Central the folks don't believe we two are guilty, and we ain't!"

Sources for

See all items with this value Rufus Jackson Swindall