The Ouachita telegraph. [volume] (Monroe, La.) 1865-1889, 1874-03-20
IPicayune's Report.
THE GRANT PARISH PRISONERS.
Last Day---Chargc Of Judge Woods.

! The Circuit Court met at Il a. NJ,
Judge Woods then read the following
charge:
The Indictment is presented against
9S persons, 8 of whom are on trial here;
J. Il. HadnOt, J. B. Irwin, Donas Ie-
moine, VIM. Cruckshank, Alfred Lewis,
Clement Penn, BudhOmme LenOine
and Austin Gibbons.
The indictment is framed under the
sixth section of an act of the United
States of 1865. This section Of the act
reads:
eff two or more persons shall band
together with intent to deprive any
person of the rights and privileges
given him by the constitution and laws,
he shall be found guilty of felony, and
punished as tho court may order; and
if in the execution of this intent he
shall commit any crime Or felony, he
shall be punished as such Crime or
felony is punished by the laws of the
State in which the crime is commit
ted.''
The prisoners are brought to bar up
on an Indictment containing thirty
two counts. The first count of the in
dictment charges that these prisoners,
OH the 18th of April, 1873, did feloni-
ously and illegally band together un
lawfully to injure, oppress, threaten
and intimilate Levi Nelson and Alex.
Tillman, with the intent to intimidate
them in the free exercise of their right
peaceably to assemble together.
The next seven counts are the same,
except that they charge different intent
to the conspirators that they were
banded together to prevent Nelson and
TiIIman from bearing arms, etc.
The counts to 16 charge that the
prisoners were conspireu together; the
counts II to "a that the parties indicted
being banded together with tho intent,
etc, did then and there murder one
Alex. Tillnan.
charging that the indicted parties were
conSpired instead of banded together
in the murder of Tillman.
The gist of the indictment is the in
t t,nt with which the felonies were COM
mitted. The prosecution must show,
first, that the accused were banded and
together; second, with the
intent to injure, Cypress and intimidate
Nelson and Tillnan; third, that this
intcntto Cypress was designed to carry
out one of the purposes specified in the
If these three facts arc
not found, no matter how guilty the
accused may be of other crimes, they
are innocent under this Indictment.
There are many facts not disputed by
either side; that Nash was commits
stoned by Warmoth, and exercised the
duties Of sheriff for some time; that
Shaw obtained possession Of the court
house and deputized sixteen persons to
hold it; that armed white men, headed
by Hadnot, came into ColfaN, and that
the negroes terrified by this and by the
of Jesse Mckinney, FASTENED
to Colf,X and that the white people
Of the parish were equally frightened
and fastened from the parish. After
several skirmishes, Il regular battle was
on Faster Sunday. the ne
grocs were defeated, fled into the court
house and were captured by the whites.
The prisoners, some thirty-Seven in
number, were then marched out and
shot by the whites.
Conspiracy must be shown by the
but to show conspiracy it
is not necessary to show any regular
agreement. 1t is sufficient if it be shown
that all the conspirators We're acting
with a common purpose, If there was
this completes the otfense
on the first sixteen counts. Every
right in the indictment, which, it is
charged, the accused attempted to pre-
vent, is constitutional right, granted
and secured by the constitution or the
laws of the United States.
The third count charges the intent to
deprive them (Nelson and Tillman) of
life and liberty without due process of
law. The United States charges that
that tho white men had banded to-
gethcr to kill Tillnan and Nelson. If
Tillman and Nelson We're guilty of
and stealing, of killing IIadnot
and Harris, they are nevertheless en-
titled to due process Of law. If the
indicted persons supposed Tillman to
be guilty Of Il public otfcnsc, and took
the law into their own hands, they are
guilty undcr this count. No one has
the right TO take into his hands the
summary right of justice.
You must disabusc your mind that
there was any war at ColfaN. There
was no martial law; there could be
none; there could be no flags of truce.
If 'rillman shot on the flag OF truce and
killed Hadnot, he was guilty of muir
der; but he was still entitled to Il fair
and equal trial by al impartial jury.
1t is sufficient TO prove that Nelson
and Tillman were in the crowd of me-