The weekly clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1863-1882, 1879-09-17
THE CASE FOR THE STATE.

THE CASE FOR THE STATE.
The argument of Judge Morris was to the
effect that a conspiracy was formed TO kill
Chisolm and Gilmer. In order to carry out
this design the consp' rators had an affidavit
made before magistrate, charging Chisolm,
Gilmer, Rosenbaum and Hopper with hav-
! ing murdered, or aided and allotted in the
murder of John w. Gullya few days previ-
Gus. That the object of that step was to
disarm their victims, Chisolm and Gilmer,
and thus place them in such a condition
that they could not defend themselves nor
be defended by their stanch friends ROsen-
baum and Hopper, the only men most like
ly to stand by them and defend them. That
the sole cause of the imprisonment of those
four men was that the conspiratOrs could
more easily and with less danger to them
selves take the lives of Chisolm and Gilmer.
The principal facts sworn to support this
theory were the shooting of Gilmer on the
streets, while on his way to the Jail, in the
presence of defendant; the declarations made
by two young men that day the killing of
Mcclellan as he left the Jail, who had been
acting rs one of the guards of ChiSolm, Ros-
enbaum and Hopper i'll the Jail, and who
had been discharged by the Sheriff. The
taking of the Jail key from the Sheriff, the
final wounds of Chisolm as he came down
the stairway from the second floor of the
Jail, at the alarm of fire at which time Cor
nelia was wounded, and, finally, the declar-
ations of defendant soon afterward, that
they had done what they came to do, and,
according to one witness, made the further
remark: /" If there IS any hanging to be done,
here is my neck" This last declaration was
testified to by two friends and one relative
of Chisolm others standing near did not
/ hear the remark
THE ARGUMENT FOR THE DEFENSE.
/ II. Woods, in his argument for the defense,
called the attention of the jury to this fact.
and requested them to consider why the
prosecution could produce no other witness
/ es to this declaration than the relatives
and friends of Chisolm. The theory of the
! defense was that these men all came to town
armed, simply to assist the Sheriff in the ar
rest Of parties charged with the murder Of
/ John Gully, in case they should resist with
no predicated design or conspiracy to take
the life of any one; that the declarations Of
/ the young men to two negroes in the road
a short distance from town If made at all,
/ for the credibilty of negroes WAS affected
meant only that ChisOlm and Gilmer would
probably resist arrest, in which event there
would be hell to pay; that on the shooting
of Gilmer by some hot-blooded young man,
for the one who shot him was almost boy,
the flame burst out among the young men
which the older could not control, and which
resulted in the death of Chsolm and his
daughter that defendants did at a moment
before the shooting of Corneia and Chisolm,
close the stairway door in front Of them as
they were descending the stairs, so as to
shield them from the mob, ut the time tell
ing Chisolm if he valued his life to turn
back; that defendant had no gun at that
time and that lac invoked the crowd. who
were just about to shoot at Chisolm, to leave
the Jail and go away
THE PRISONER ACQUITTED.
Judge Morris closed his argument for the
prosecution. At 1920 this morning the