The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1884-01-17
THE JURY.ROOM CONSPIRACY.
j. Gideon Long, One of tho Jurors In the
Marion Cases, Relates what Happened In
tho Jury. Room.

j. Gideon Long. One of tho Jurors In the
Marion Cases. Relates what Happened In
tho Jury Room.
c. G. Turner, Of Spartanburg, one Of
the perjured United States jurors who
agreed with others to convict the defend
ants in the election trials at Columbia
las month before hearing the evidence,
| and, after being sworn rs juror TO find
q verdict upon the evidence alone, has
published ststcnIent in the Carolina
| Hp>!rtln which is rs vilanous in language
as it is absolutely false in fact. The
statements made by the .NsWs and Courier,
alleging that caucuscs had been held by
the Green1gck and Radical Jurors and an
wet the defendants, with or without eyi
dcncc, for political purposes, were based
upon aiiid1vitS made by certain jurors
who wcr" present ri the caucuses, but
who could not consent 10 enter into the
dnmnabIc conspiracy. These afidavito
were held by the counsel for the defence,
and would have been submitted to the
Court If Judge Bond had not wisely de-
tcrmincd To pat IN end 70 the shameful
| prosecutions.
II the statements made by the CORES
poIidcnt Of the Mus amt Courier needed
any confederation Mr. Long very EN-.
phaLicallv and satisfactorily nails Tur-
ncrs lies, and shows furthermore that
| the Government prosecuting officers we're
III league with Turner and his miserable
allies 10 secure convictions at any cost.
| Mr.. Longs statement is as follows
| IN he Editor of tie fdroiinu Spartan :.
Sir-Thc letter which you published from
| Claude {. Turner, of the 3lst Of Decem.
Der, 1888, in which he uses my name,
aud denies certain charges against him
and others, published in the -Nems and
CDnrisr Of the 18th Of December last,
calls for short notice from me. | viii
try and give you some plain, simple facts
in reference TO the matter.
Mr.. Turner, on Saturday evening, after
the jurors had been empanclled to try
the Marion cases, and were locked up in
the Court House, proposed that ne should
organize debating club, (which we did,
and elected juryman julius Littlejohn,
(colorcd,) as chairman. Turner also re-
duced the subject to writing, which was
as follows: "Whether or not there was
juror on the panel with the intention Of
defeating the Government in convicting
the defendants? Aud if 30, what would
be the result, as there were the eyes Of
! fifty millions Of people watching and
| led of in the debate, and made Il :ong
| speech, in which he stated that in order
TO establish q precedent we must neces.
sarily find verdict of guilty.
1t was tho intention Of the Govern
ment officials to secure such verdict as
We all know. The other eight, whose
uames will give you, all expressed the
same opinion. They are as follows !:
Middleton Ray, of Spartanburg; Fuller
Pricket, Of Orangeburg j. II. johnson,
Of Clarendon ID. G. Wolf, Of Lancas
ter; E. l.. Arthur, Of Orangeburg
Julius Littlejohn, colored. OF GreenvilIe ;
Joseph Bush, colored, Of Georgetown =
Childs, colored, of Edgefeld stated,
rs juryman, that intended to give the
defendants fair and impartial trial, and
that if it was the Intention Of the Govern.
ment to pack The jury and convict inno-
cent men l was the wrong man so also
did Mr.. Grant Of Chesterfield, and July
Emley, colored, Of Orapgeburg. So the
case went on until Wednesday evening
when it was handed to the jury. Turner,
the spokesman for his friend, Raw,
foreman began to get shy OF the three,
and proposed 10 the jurors, before any
one expressed All opinion as to the de-
PENDANTS guilt or innocence, that we
would take Il two-thiSds vote, and let
the verdict be whatever they said, and
eleven voted in favor Of Turner's motion.
TO this, of course, 1 objected, which re.
suited in q mistria. Turner stated to
me in the jury-room that they would re.
lease nine of the defendants if l would
find verdict Of guilty against Bethea
and Moody, As they seemed to be leading
Democrats Of Marion County, and he
wanted to punish them whether they
were guilty or not, to establish prece
dent in the Eastern portion of The State
N 1t would help them during the cam.
paign of 1884
Now in reference to the Horsey case
that Turner was on. About two minutes
before the district attorney requested the
ljary to fiud verdict Of mot guilty" he
Turner, whispered back to Ellis and nv.
self that we would be obliged to find g
verdict of guilty. Write to Hezekiah
Ellis, of kcrshaw, and he will recolleci
it.
Now, Mr.. Editor, few words in refer.
ence to Turner's comment as to the
Marion defendants guilt, in which he
says the evidence was 40 clear as the
MONDAY sun. He reminds me of the
cowardly dog who has sneaked in by
night and stolen the carcass and swai.
lowed it whole-crept out in the sunshine
and puked it up for the whole world to
zee.
only wish that was fluent with the
pen. would give you the details of the
Court.
Respectfully yours,
j. GIDEON LONG.
Jonesville, S. c., January 8, 1884.
1t 10 useless to add one word to what
Mr.. Long has said. Turner etands con.
vieted not only of perjury as juror, but
of being the leader, the chosen instru
ment Of the Government to drag down
with him to his own depth of infamy the
more ignorant men who acted with him
in his ncfarious plot. Speaking of Tur.
ner's card the Orangeburg Time, an,
Democrat says:
G. G. Turner, of Spartanburg, s. c..
ono Of the United States Greenback
jurymen who voted first, last and all the
time in the recent trials at Columbia te
convict innocent Democrats, is out in O
card defending his action. We think
the least said by these Greenback tools OF
Melton and Speer the better. We know
they feel like sheep ssealers, and the best
thing for them to do is to hide theil
worthless carcasses in some big hole and
then pull the hole in after them, so thai
. no trace of them oi0hf pollnto N tbo r;s; -