Brenham weekly banner. [volume] (Brenham, Tex.) 1877-1907, 1879-10-10
DISTRICT COURT.

Friday State VS.. August
Hoddc, murder. The case went
to the jury at noon and after
about half an hours's delibera-
ton they returned with 4 verdict
of guilty and assessed the pun
ishment at Imprisonment for
life. The evidence was wholly
circumstantial, but very strong.
On the first ballot the jury stood
eleven for life sentence and
one for acquital; finding that
lie was hopelessly in the mirori-
ty he soon joined the majority.
This was an aggravated case of
murder, the murdered man,
VIM. Sprein, was shot and kill
ed while blowing in a corn
field, in the afternoon. His
dead body was found next
morning where he had fell from
the pillow handles and the mule
he was blowing was standing
| contentedly in the harness.
The murdered man and the
murderer had been counting
the same girl and she had dis
carded Hodde and was engage
ed to be married to Sprein.
Adjourned until Tuesday
morning 9 o'clock.
Tuesday. State VS. Lewis
Babb, colored, indicted for the
murder of Milton McGowen,
colored. After some time the
following jury was empanneled:
Z ware. Arnold. colorcd, T n Gentry,
W A Biddell,.. John Watson, c Is Francis,
W Bowers Jordon Ford, colored, ID G
Bowers. c NJ Campbell, W Burnett,
Henry Glenn, F W Bamhill.
The defendant in august last
went..to the cabin of Milton Nc
Gowen, who was living with his
mother on the Lauderdale plan
tation near Long Point and shot
him and his mother with shot
gun, killing him and severely |
wounding his mother who was
the principal witness in the |
case. The defendant was rep |
resented by Alexander Thomas, |
colored. of Burton and Sam R. |
Kanada, ofthe same city. The
county attorney managed |
the prosecution. At the time |
our reporter IVES in the count
room Mr.. Thomas was adj
dressing the court and the jury |
by turns.
Wednesday.-State VS.. Lewis
Babb. The case closed and
went to the jury about 9 o'clock
yesterday evening; the jury at
once hung, but about eleven
o'clock returned with a verdict
of guilty of murder in the sec
ond degree assessing the punish
ment at imprisonment in the
penitentiary for fifty years.
Babb is ayoung negro about 81
or IS years of age and had the
in his neighborhood
of being bad among the mig
gers"
State VS.. Dennis Jones, col
ored, charged with the murder
of Sam Butler, colored, near
Chappell Hill, in February 1873.
Jones and Buffers wife had been
on intimate terms and he was
to get Butler out of the
way. On one occasion, shortly
before the murder, Jones at
tempted to poison Butler by
putting arsenic in his coffee pot:
by an accident this scheme did
not work; subsequently Jones
went to Buffers cabin armed
with a pistol and shot him to
death, firing several times. The
parties were tenants on w. II.
farm. At the July
term 1878 of the district court
Jones was tried and found gull
ty of murder in the first de-
gree, the penalty at that time
being death. The case was ap-
pealed to the appellate court
and reversed and rcmanded, on
the ground of defective charge
to the jury, and now comes on
for new traial. The following
named gentlemen we're cmpan-
neled as jurors:
Thomas Gilmore, TIE. schley, j. +.
Routt, John Haynie. W. s. Buster. Jehu
Mcguire, E. Waller, F. Busse, VIM Dwyer,
&. G. Blake, j. a. Dunlap, j. V. Nichols.
The trial is now progressing.
the evidence being about the
same as that upon which he
was convicted. The prisoner
has been in jail since the COM
mission Of the crime and now
wears a haggard appearance
and has his head done up in a
reg. Judge McAdoo and F. D.
Jodon appear for the defendant
and county attorney Schutze
or the state.