The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1881-10-06
Execution OF Hicks, the Spartanburg
Wife.Aurderer.
SpARTANgvEG. September 3

pfyllAn w DltncN illcES w dS pIouSiit
i.o.n his cell at III O'Clock ihis morning
and placed upon the scaiiold His spiri-
tuai adviser sang a hymn and the pris-
oner offered q prayer, concluding ft
twenty minutes after II. AZ which time
the trap was sprung.
The fatal moose was suspended from a
cross beam. which rested upon the sill
Of one of the second.story windows in the
front of the jail and was supported by an
upright piece eight or ten feet distant
a cloth was drawn around the scaifold
hiding il completely from the gaze Of the
hundreds who crowded around the jail
yard hoping TO see or near something OF
The execution. The sheriff being absent,
the deputy-sheritf oiiiciatcd, aud admit
ted only the witnesses specified by the
law. Everything was quietly conducted
aud there was no excitement whatever.
History OF the rhine.
On the night preceding tho Centennial
celebration OF the battle OF the Cowpens
in Nay last, while the Village Of the
Spartans echoed with the tread OF armed
bnttalions and u thousand tongues were
recounting the valorous deeds of Morgan
and his men and kindling anew the fires
Of patriotism upon historic grounds, in
the solitude OF the country. and near the
very spot where the victory Of the Cow
pens was won, q most foul and brutal
murder was committed by Benjamin w.
Hicks, the victim being his wife. The
entire community stood agliast at the
ArRoClTY OF THE CRIME
which was utterly cruel and heartless,
and almost without parallel in the
criminal annals OF this section. Not
content with discharging shotgun
heavily charged with birdslIot into the
abdomen of his wife at close range,
Hicks made sure Of his terrible revenge
by cutting her throat from ear 20 ear with
for Ina N
died almost instantly. and then, in fit
of remorse that would have done credit 10
Judas, he attempted to kill himself TAX
ing good care not to plunge his knife too
deep. He was arrested on Il warrant
issued by Trial Justice j. l.. Scruggs,
Of Benson Martin with his wounds
bound up and his hands still red with
the blood of his poor victim.
The day after his confinement in jail a
, reporter for the -Icus ani Courier visited
him i'll la, .vii anu secured from his own
lips the story OF his life. He claimed
that his wife was unfithful to him and
that he killed her because he loved her
Her maiden name was Mary Clements
and sho was ten years older than him
SELF They were married in March, 1850,
| and had one child, baby. They lived
together pleasantly Until about month
before the murder when, according to
TICKS. she got coutIarE because Sno
liked man named George Henderson
better than himsolf
II thought said Hicks, "thcy were
intimatee but did know it until month
ago, when Henderson camc to our house
| and mado sign. "stretching his eyes at
her." On Monday I saw him drop q
bush in the road in front of the house.
| near the bush as signal for meeting at
night. Henderson came back early and
heard him hawk" She went ou,, on
| the piazza and around the house to meet
him. didn't sec them together, bu.
| knew in season they did meet In
| about fifteen minutes 1 went out on the
piazza and she canlo from around the
house. Our baby was very sick, dying,
| and told her God was going to take It
away for her sins l had talk ed to her
before and asked her to pray for me, and
| 1 would pray for her. but 1t got worse
! and worse. I told her 1 thought it was
better for both of us to be dead than liv-
my mothers, pull off my shoe, WORK the
| trigger with my toe aud kill myself after
had cut her throat She caught the
gun, which discharged the load which
entered her groin. then took the razor
| and cut her throat, and then left the
house and went to my mothers, one mile
distant When got there tried to cut
my throat with razor, cutting it from
ear to ear. The razor wouldn't cut and
| pullud out my pocket knife and tried to
stab myself to the heart The blads
struck tho rib and glanced off. Then I
tried the knife on my throat, cutting un-
der the right jaw. No ono caught lie or
went out behind the garden, and laid
down then in .he woods and then tried
| to cut my throat until tainted from loss
Of blood. After recovered 1 went back
to the house. leaving the knife and razor
in the woods, and asked them to kill me.
I stayed there until Benson Martin ar
| rested me and brought me to Jail in a
wagon"
When Hicks waa first lodged in Jail
he pretended to be crazy, and claimed
that his cell was full of all sorts OF spirits,
| and little demons of variegated colora
and conditions. This disguise he soon
threw OIL, however, and although ut first
he professed willingness to die he soon
began to lay plans for escape. which were
only thwarted by the vigilance Of his
jailor. Ho also attempted the pious
dodge ard read his Bible. conversing at
times quite freely about his "hope OF
| Heaven and his "love for Jesus" On
one occasion ho requested the sheriff to
open the small aperture in the door OF his
| cell to allow him to converse and pray
with his follow prisoners.
AT the June term Of tho Court of Ses.
| sions ior Spartanburg he was tried and
sentenced to be hanged to-day. at his
trial tho testimony, which occupied two
hours. was clear and uncoutradicted.
Tho only defence was insanity-both of
tho counsel for the prisoner, Messrs f.
II. Bobo and j. w. Carlisle, declaring to
tho jury that if the prisoner was in his
right mind the killing was a most harba-
rous murder.
| The jury, after an absence of flfty-five
| minutes, returned with verdict oil
guilty. The prisoner maintained stolid
indifference during the entire proceed
| ings, and received the verdict with un-
| moved Dispatch e Neus &