Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1874-05-16
THE HouSEN MURDER.
Fletcher Fields Brings His Testimony
toaa Close. rT 81 u 4

IlctCHcf Iictuo DEiuSc ms Testimony
7 to,a Close. :. y.
hsssftsoh Tells What TIE Knows
About That Confession-why IL was
Ruled out-@Is Old MIS-. Houseu
Dead ut g.sstt-
The Criminal Court room was well filed
with spectators yesterday, there being no
abatement of the interest shown by the
public in the trial Of Mrs. William Housen.
J. tLETcftfR ffELbs,
witness for the State, resumed his testi-
mony, which was in substance as follows:
On my examination before the commit
ting magistrates, do not recollect having
stated to Mrs. Housen while I'D Jail thst It
was known thai she was guilty; she asked
me il IL was thought she was guilty and l
trld her such was the case. .wheii she asked
me il she would tell ali about il, whether
it would make it any better for her, / told
her did not know; / did not say that it
would not make it any worse; Robertson
asked her if she waswilling to make state
ment to a magistrate, and she asked if it
would make il any better for her; do not
now think that I said that il would make
Ii no worse; 1 do hot recoliect that / stated
on that trial to her that if she wanted to
make 4 Statement She had, best do Il before
The Trial and not Afterwards; L 90
not remember that Robertson stated
to her that the negroes Ind
brought her ard her hlsbahd boN
into the murder; my recollection Is that
she asked Robertson if the negroes had
made any confession, and he told her they
49, le1,o -, Aa1 h.,
her and. Will fher hnsband) into it; Willis
Barnes had at that tiiIie fjtsd6 ctnfession,
and Robertson told her about it; this was
a few days before she was tried by the
magistrate; after she made statement to
me in Jail, Mr.. Brien and Mr. Dodd, her
attorneys, eaihe In; | had Sent for Esd.
Brantly to reduce her statement to writing,
and he asked her to repeat the statement
over, which Robertson preceded to do:
when he got to certain point she stopped
him, and said ii was incorrect; neither
Robertson nor myself offered her any in
ducement to make the statement; the ex-
aiming trial was to come of in day or
two after had the conversation with her.
foBERfsoNs TESTIMONY.
B., At the REQUEST of Judge Frazier: Mr..
Robertson was here called to the witness
stand with the view of examining him
touching the conversation. He testified:
Was with Fields at the time; it was before
the trial before the magistrates; neither of
us made any promises to her.
Here the counsel fer the defense proposed
to exainine the Witness, to SHOW tbs incoill-
potency of the confession, when the Court
ruled that the Attorney General was en-
titled TO conduct the examination.
The witness continued: Went to the Jail
on Monday, and Fields and l went in the
block-hOuse where she wasi she asked Us
what She had best do, that il was too bad
to stay there, We told her that We hsd cofte
there to find out what she knew about the
murder, and she said she knew nothing
about it; she saidit was too bad for her to
be accused Of it; she asked us what she had
best do, and told her that if she knew
anything about it, she had best tell the
ruth about 1t, that the truth would be bet
ter than a lie; she asked ire whether,
II she wonld tell all about It;
would that help her out OF the
case; told hei / did not know; she asked
ne if Barnes had told ME anything about
i; told her he had not, but that he had
old the attorney General; asked her to /
ell me what she did know about it; she
aid she believed il was Willis Barnes; | |
Isked her why, and she said that Barnes |
lad told her that the old lady had taken his |
)ag and Ratchet and that he would kill her; |
he said she told him net TO talk that way |
II She would tell viii; she said she had not |
old Will; told her that i: would not do |
Ter any more good to tell lie than TO tell |
he truth; she asked me if it would be bet |
er to tell ii then or after the trial; told |
Ter did not know, but that if she told
nything she must tell the truth; told her
hat Barnes had made confession to the
Attorney General; also told her that she
ppeared to know something about 1t. and
nat she had better come out and tell il all;
lived about two miles from her; am con-
table in my district and she knew it.
Cross Examined was going out
aturday to arrest her when met the 9TH
rs coming to town with her; had arrest
d Stokes and Nolen before she was arrest
4; L was examined as witness before the
Magistrates; it was MONDAY
forming that / had the conversation with
er;she was sick at the time and in great trou
lie and distress aud was somewhat excited;
hen we went in she said, II am in
lightly bad place." | told her that she must
AXE herself as comfortable as she could
lder the circumstances. we told her that
e were her friends and had come there to
TX with her about the murder; she asked
9 il she could not turn States evidence;
told her that il she would tell the truth |
would be better than a lie; | told her
at it would be better before than after
e trial; after told her that Barnes had
AIDE confession she asked me if she could
It turn States evidence before Barnes;
old her did no. know, but that if she
uld, would prefer that she should; while
e were in there the door was open until
ut by the jailor, who was with us at first, I
It left; she was crying and wringing her
nds while We were in there; / told her
at Barnes had made statement to the
tOrney- General; after she had made a Z
ltement l told Fields to 90 and get a $
agistrate to reduce it to writing; while he r
Is gone MeSsrs. Brien and Dodd, her ,
unset, came in; when Fields returned .
tn the magistrate, told her to make the \
Itement to him; she said she could not e
1t and asked me to make the statement; c
hen proceeded to make the statement, 8
d at certain point she interrupted me; b
len her counsel came in went out, and h
very few minutes they called me in, h
d 1t was in their presence that l made (,
: statement for her, and she interrupted
;; she did not say that Willis was the n
e who had said that; her attorneys had 4
before Brantly came. o
THE CONFESSION RULED OUT.
After the argument of the case upon a
sc points, the court held that any con- o
sion that the defendant may have made a
der the circumstances, was improperly a
aimed, and consequently could not be a
'perly received. n
FIELDS AGAIN. n
Fletcher Fields was again called to the a
nd and stated: The next morning after r.
death of Mrs. Housen, started to get | h
orse to 60 and rearrest Barnes l saw I,
5. Housen near the gate; she asked me n
ere was going; told her / was going n
arrest Willis Barnes; she said, what are Ia
going after Willis for, he is innocent; ~
'ked her why she thought so, and she M
that he had always been very good to
and the old lady, and she did not be- Fl
e him guilty; she asked ne if Willis had Ca
me anything about it; while the cor W
II was there she came up and he told a,
that he would have 10 swear her, which
did; she then testified that she thought w
heard footsteps in the house; she did or
see anybody, but when she woke up. nj
saw the door open and sprung up and 81
out of it at once. OF