Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1883-05-19
JONES' CRIME AVENGED.
FIVE THOUSAND PERSONS WIT
NESS THE HANGING.

Trouble Which His Attempted suicida
Caused.
LEXINGTON, GA, May 1s.-Wben
James c. Jones, the condemned vifa
murderer, attempted to end his life ves-
terday afternoon by cutting vein IN one
oil his arms with piece of an oyster can.
which he had secreted in his cell. it was
believed that pOstponement of his exc
eution would be unavoidable. Before the
attempt was discovered the prisoner had
lost a large quantity of blood. and
was so exceedingly weak as to cause the
graVest apprehension. His condition was
such last night that Sheriff Dasher. by the
advice of the physicians, telegraphed
Governor Mcdaniel, asking whether TO
! proceed with the execution in case Of
Jones inability to bear up. Governor
! Mcdaniel instructed the Sheriff to wire
hIm Jones' condition this morning. which
he did, reporting Jones as having
| rallied, and only needing VIII mower
to sustain him TO the gallows. Governor
| Mcdaniel accordingly ordered the execu-
tlon carried out according to the sentence
of the court.
Jones asserted that the only reason he
had for killing his wife was he loved her
/ feehng against him was very bitter and
was not executed by law. Jones was
removed from the Jail at 1890 O'Clock
| and was escorted BY an armed
guard to the gallOws, which
| was erected about a mile from the court
house in an open field. He was weak
from loss Oh blood, but the general i'm
! preston was that he was shamming TO a
considerable extent. The prisoner went
to the scatfOld with great cOolness. talk
ing with the reporters all the way from
| the Jail.
Fully 5000 people, some cf whom had
| come as far as 60 miles, had
assembled to witness the eXecutjpn.
Jones mounted the scatfOld with wonder
/ fulcoolness, and his every energy seemed
turned to showing that he was not afraid
| to die. Rev. j. q. Gibson. his
| spiritual adviser, stated that Jones
! wished to make some remarks. and
asked the respectful attention of the
| crowd. Jones then spoke about five
! minutes, manifesting the coolest indif-
ference to his fate throughout his re-
marks. He expressed no hope for the
/ future, not even referring to that subject
! nor to the crime for which he was exc
| cuted. He referred to his recent attempt
/ at suicide by stating that he merely
! wished to die easy. His last words were :
although | stand before you a con-
/ demned murderer, with the rope around
my neck, | am not afraid to die, and am
willing to die to atone for nv crime.
! Here / am and there | CO.
His calm manner and utter want of
! trepidatiOn was remarkable. At 2:30
/ O'Clock the drop fell, and the body fell five
/ feet, the fall breaking his neck. He died
/ without a struggle. Perfect order pre-
/ vailed throughout the hanging.
! THE MURDERER AND HIS CRIME.
! 1t was on Friday, the 10Th day
/ of March past, that tine citizens of
/ that portion of OglethrOpe county
/ known as the Glade, were thrown into
the widest excitement by the COM
mis- sion Of a most brutal and diabolical
murder. Joseph c. Jones, otherwise
! Cohen, deliberately shot and killed his
! young wife, in pure cold blood, and with
out one palliating excuse. The news
! flashed over the county like wild-fre; the
| excitement ran high; people gathered in
/ groups to discuss the terrible deed, and
! open threats of violence against the mur-
! derer were freely made. Prompt action
] by the county officials prevented lynch
| ing. Jones was arrested and carried to
/ prison and there held to await his trial.
THE BIURDERER'S EARLY LIFE.
Joseph c. Cohen was born in Griffin,
| Spalding county, Ga, in January, 1853.
! His parents were poor, and the Cohen
4 family consisting of mother and father,
! Joseph, one other son and a daughter)
| eked out precarious livelihood by doing
anything that might come to hand.
! Joseph was but a small boy when the father
! died and the mother moved her family to
! Mobile, Alabama. Here they lived in the
same hand to mouth way until the mother
| died, and the children were taken in
! charge by the Orphans Home of Mobile.
| The children were of more than ordinary
| intelligence, but Joseph was of remarka-
| bly, bright mind, though Of a stubborn,
sulky and self-willed disposition. While
I the children were at this orphan home
| kindly disposed lady named Jones, from
! Oglethorpe county, touched no less
| by their unfortunate condition than
| their brightness, adopted the orphans
| as her own children, and brought
! them back with her to Georgia. Here the
! children grew up to youth, the one son
and daughter obedient to their adopted
mother, but Joseph to be wild and unruly.
| His wayward pranks were the source Of
/ much trouble and sorrow to the mother
/ and the years but added to the develop
ment of the stubborn nature. His self
| will was often marked by displays of un-
/ governable passion when thwarted in his
| purpose. And so the boy developed into
| man of bright mind, but with few lOyable
/ traits.
MEETING HIS FATE.
| At the age of twenty-One Joseph met a
Young girl named Surilla Matthews, who
! lived with her widowed mother near the
| Glade She was then but a child, about
/ twelve years old, trusting and innocent.
! By some means Joseph engaged her atfec-
| tiOns and the two were made man and
| wife. The mother at first offered feeble
/ opposition to their union, but Joseph, by
/ his arguments, eyer-persuaded her and
| gained her consent. That was during the
/ early part of 1879. For few briefmOnths
/ the pair lived in apparent happiness, but
/ finally the self-will and selfish disposition
/ of Joseph began to manifest itself in vari-
Gus acts of cruelty, and the young wife
sorely
/ REPEN1ED HER HASTY CHOICE.
/ The least thWarting of his wishes would
send Jones into fit of towering passion,
| and violent scenes frequently occurred be-
/ tween the two. Harsh words were fol-
I lowed by harsher blows. and the young
Wife's life became burden and constant
/ dread. AS if not content with the cruel
/ ties he heaped upon his child-wite, on one
| occasion Jones made brutal. assault on
| his mOther-m-law, and sought to commit
upon her person most diabOllcal and
/ heinous outrage. For this crime
/ he was arrested, but in some way escaped
! punishment, and leaving Oglethorpe
| county, fled to Arkansas. There he fol.
/ lowed variously railroad engineering and
carpenter work: his tact and ready
tongue making him friends, and mis- un-
governable passions as often losing them.
! " hen he had been there some Time he wrote
a pathetic letter to his wife in Georgia,
beseeching her to come to him. Strange
as il may seem, she went. For awhile.
they lived peaceably together, and then
there was return to the old indignlties.
The wife again left him and returned to
her home in Georgia.
THE HUSBAND RETURNS.
The mother and daughter were living
peaceably and happily together, hoping
that they were forever rid of Jones, when,
during last Christmas time, he again -ap-
peared upon the scene, He went at once
TO the house of his wife and attempted to
Get her to come again to live with him.
This she emphatically refused to dos and
Jones disappeared, going to the upper
edge of the county, where he went 10
work. The two saw nothing of him until
| last March, about the 14th, when he again
came to the house and besOught his VIE
! to follow him. His Oyertures for recon-
ciliatiOn were repulsed, and the vile ana
/ her mother forbade him the house.
THE VISIT AND THE MURDER.
Jones left the house in passion, VOW
| ing vengeance against all who opposed
1 him. He went to Athens and there pur-
| chased a pistol, and returning to Ogle-
/ thorpe county ON Friday, the 10th OF
| March, sought the premises OF his wife
/ and Law i'm ambush beside spring near
| the h0use. His wife failing to come
/ TO the spring, he went to the house,
| and brandishing his weapon above
t1,,,-f fhn