Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1884-04-22
AWAITING HIS DOOM.

SShtehce IO-uay-hOW He Spenus the
Time in His Cell-His Almanac and
Calendar Tells the Approach of His
Day of Doom
Alfred G. Inman, the Emanuel county
wife murderer, who has been confined in
Chatham jail since the verdict Of guilty
was found against him, will leave this
morning in charge of sheriff Roman for
Swainsboro, the county seat of Emanuel,
to receive the sentence of Judge Adams,
who is now holding the spring session of
the Superior Court in that county.
The circumstances Of the crime, which
was committed last February year ago.
will be remembered by the readers Of the
MORNING NEWS.
Inman, from a family of wealth and
affiuence. married a lady of worth and
good standing, who kept her estate separ-
ate from her husbands. He soon squan-
dered his possessions, turned upon what
his wife owned, and, but for her positive
refusals to allow him to touch it, that,
too, would have gone the same way This
course created dissensiOns between the
two. The wife had sold piece of land.
receiving S400 for it. This money her
husband was anxious to get into his
possession, but She refused to allow him
to use or control it in any way. The next
morning after she came in possession Of
the money, having business at
heighbOring gin-hOuse. she pro-
ceeded to go on horseback, riding a family
horse known to be remarkably kind and
gentle. The husband left the house i'm
company with her, afOot, saving he had
business in the same direction. Nothing
was seen Of either until he rode up to a
store near by on the same horse his wife
ct n fn .
she had been thrown from her horse and
killed, and he wished to procure a buggy
that he might convey her remains to their
home. According to his story the horse
became restive and unwilling to 90. His
wife turned and asked him to get her
bush, and while he was procuring it for
her, burr fell from pine tree on the
back OF the animal, frightening
hlm beyond her control. Unable
to manage him, she was finally thrown
and killed. The inquest developed
different state of facts The unfortunate
lady was found lying by the roadside, her
head having the appearance of having
been beaten with a club of some kind.
A lightwOOd knot was found near By.
and upon examination it was found that
the prOtuberance on the lightwoOd CORE
sponded perfectly with the wound on the
head. Hair was also found adhering to
the knot. A physician testified that the
neck was broken. A piece of iewelry
that had been worn by the wife for years
and a sum of money was also
found on Inman's person. The trial
in Swainsboro created great excite
ment, crowds of people being attracted
to the court house during its progress.
The defense was conducted by Judges
Twlggs and Hooks, Of Augusta, and Col.
Hines, Of Sandersyille. Upon the cir
cumstantial evidence above enumerated
lnman was found guilty of murder in the
first degree. According to the law a PER-
son found guilty Of murder upon circum-
stantial evidence shall not be sentenced
until the term of court succeeding the
one when the verdict is found. This IN
terim lnman has spent in the Chatham
county jail, it having been deemed
best TO remove him from the Waynesboro
jail, not on account of any insecurity Of
that prison, but because there was fear
among the officials that lynching might
be attempted.
A reporter Of the MORNING NEWS hear
ing that lnman desired to say something
to the public, visited the jail yesterday
morning, and was allowed access to cell
No. 10, wherein he is confined He had
not yet arisen from his bed, and gave as
his reason that he was not feeling very
well. Hurriedly slipping ON his panta-
looms and shoes, he advanced to the door
Of the cell, and the reporter saw before him
a nervous man, perhaps 40 years of age,
Of medium height, quick spoken and at
the same time exceedingly cautious in
what he said. His language was not OF
the cracker yernacular, butin the great
er part correct, and punctuated now and
then with phrases and expressions not to
be found in the Sunday school books.
After explaining his calling, the re-
porter stated that he had understood In
man wanted to say something about his
crime.
Il did tell Sheriff Roman" he com
menced, shat | wanted to have some
thing published about what has been said
OF me in the papers; but have concluded
TO wait until after [ am sentenced. and
then L IL let the cat out of the bag"
TEL me the substance of what vou are
going to say; whether it is in the nature
of q confession" persisted the reporter.
mo, am not ready vet. I've got it all
written out, and just as soon as am sen
fenced | viii give it to you., he replied.
The reporter had been cautioned before
he saw lnman not to say anything of the
journey Of this morning, so he asked In
man when he thought his sentence would
be pronounced.
Very soon," he replied sin thirteen
davs."
''How do you know that?' asked the
NICAtSA ANlSAAAti5 sui PRISE.
"Oh, l know when it's coming: |
haven't lain here and counted the davs
for nothing"
With this he produced an almanac and
the court calendar and pointed out the
date, but he had miscalculated just twelve
DAYS.
4 tell you what's the fact.'' he went
on, 81 am the victim Of the blackest per-
tidy you ever heard of. | never had a
chance to tell my lawyers a word con-
corning my case. nor was | permitted to
make statement in the court
house before they found me guilty. | am
prepared for the worst, come what will.
I'm looking on the dark side, but if some
thing bright turns up | will be glad of it.
| don't want any pardon. l had rather
haye9 new trial."
He produced from his wallet several
clippings from newspapers, which were
accounts of his awful deed, and said:
Pm keeping these. They've told some
hard lies on me, and Pm going to show
up these things to be what they are"
This satisfied the reporter as to what
Inman wanted to say to the public, and
that a confession is far from his inten-