Circuit Court Adjourned
- Title
- Circuit Court Adjourned
- Source Type
- Newspapers
- Publisher
- Weekly Herald
- Publication Place
- Wetumpka, AL
- Publication Date
- 09/05/1901
- Transcript
-
Circuit Court Adjourned.
Five men were charged and tried for murder in the 1st degree: George Howard was convicted as charged on his own testimony and sentenced to life imprisonment for hanging Robin White; Tom Warren, a negro was convicted of murder in the 2nd degree for killing Frank Spaun and given 30 years in the penitentiary; the other three, John Strength, Martin Fuller, and John Thomas were each convicted of murder in the 2nd degree for hanging Robin White and each sentenced to ten years in the penitentiary.
George Howard was the principal witness for the state, he having turned state's evidence, and it was on his testimony mainly that the defendants were convicted.
Messrs Strength and Fuller were tried together, and were ably defended by Col. John A Holmes of the local bar. The jury in the case was carefully selected and a fair and impartial trial was given them, and we understand no appeal was taken in their cases. Sir John Thomas was ably defended by Cols. Bulger and Lackey of Dadeville and H. R. Golson of the local bar. The special venue was exhausted and only 6 jurymen selected, the other members of the jury were selected from the by-standers. The case was fought from start to finish and every inch of ground was contested, numerous exceptions were taken during the progress of the trial, and the case will be taken to the Supreme Court, in the meantime Mr. Thomas will have to lie in jail. The prosecution centered its efforts against Thomas and the Solicitor went so far as to say, that it would be preferable to turn all the lynchers loose rather than let Thomas go free. The verdict was freely discussed by the people generally, and the remark was frequently heard that Thomas was convicted on general principals and suspicion, that the evidence did not warrant conviction.
Public sentiment has changed wonderfully within the last few days in favor of the boys who did not actually participate in the lynching, and it is claimed by those who were tried and convicted except Geo Howard, that they were not present, it is also claimed by Messrs Lem Strength and Will Still who are still in jail, that they did not participate in the hanging. The opinion is rapidly proving that Geo Howard has become the prosecutor in these cases, and that his motive is for gain, either financially or Executive Clemency, or both.
The case against Mr Ben Martin, Jr, who was represented by Messrs Bulger, Lackey and Golson, was Not pressed by the state, there being no evidence whatever to connect him with the killing, except Geo Howard's who swore before the Grand Jury that Mr Martin was in the conspiracy to kill Robin White.
While the people of our county are law abiding as a rule, some of our best people believe that the pendulum of justice has swung a little too far the other way, and that it is barely possible that our courts and juries are indicting and convicting innocent men.
Part of Circuit Court Adjourned