The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1886-05-28
THE TRIAL OF HENRY DAVIS.
A VERDICT OF CONVICTION.
Difficulty in Selecting a Jury.
A Strong Case Against the Prisoner

0stItCutty III SOtOCCtnS d JuTys
A Strong Case Against the Prisoner
IMBECILITY THE GROUND OF DEFENCE.
The trial of Henry Davis. the negro indicted for
criminal assault upon Miss Elizabeth WEIGH, a
young lady living near Black Horse, was COM
menced on Wednesday. The prisoner u short,
stout mulato, about 2S years of age, had been
previously arragned. He was defended by Mr..
]. 7. G. Hopkins, who undertook the case at the
request of Judge Waters. Tho prisoner having
no counsel, Judge Waters in making the request,
said that the case being serious the accused ought
to have some one to represent him. While the
jurors were being selected Davis sat in the dock
pulling at his short beard or picking at an old hat
which he held on his lap. He appeared to take
no interest whatever in the proceedings al
though his shining black eyes glanced restlessly
Ground the courtroom.
SELECTING JURY.
Only nine jurors were obtained from the regu-
lar panel, the others being disqualified by reason
of having formed opinions which could not be
changed by evidence, &c. Judge Waters re-
marked that to ensure fair trial the jury ought
to be composed of men of intelligence and inde-
pendence, and if, as matter of law, jurors are
excused who have read newspaper accounts, the
excluded.
After the regular panel was exhausted the
Sheriff was ordered to summon ten talesmen. He
summoned b. f. Toy, Patrick Callahan, B. F.
Hanway, John L. Pierce, e. L. Sawyer, Coleman
Sheridan. Henry DeCourcey, Daniel Lynch, Jas.
Whitaker and John H. Vanhise.
Mr.. Yanhise was sworn and the rest were dis
qualified or challenged Ten more talesmen wero
summoned during the recess.
He summoned Daniel W. Wann, A. ]. French,
j. W. Magness, DR.. f. P. Smthson James Tobin
John A. Young, e. ]. B. Moore, James NJ. Cain,
j. Nelson Demoss, John II. Magness, none of
whom were chosen. The Sheriff was thereupon
ordered to summon ten more talesmen. Geo. F.
Walker. Robert Asher and Patrick Martin were
disqualified Edward G. Hanway, James Davlin
and Geo. 4. Harvard were challenged, James c.
Young was excused and Samuel A. Lilly and
Charles s. Walter were sworn.
The jury, as finally made up, were as follows
John ]. McVey, ]. VIM. O'Neill, James P. Beale
X. N. Hanna, James b. Kenly, James Keithley,
jose phi Bosley, j. Frank Reasin, Goldsmith Nc
CUmas of the regular panel; John II. Vanhse,
Samuel A. Lilly and Charles s. Walter, talesmen
THE OPENING STATEMENTS.
States Attorney Maynadier, in his opening
| statement spoke of the Nervousness of the crime
with which Davis was charged and gave a brief.
connected sketch of what the State expected to
| prove.
Mr.. Hopkins, for the defence. asked the jury as
| far as possible to divest their minds of any feel
ing against the prisoner. so that they might try
the case fairly and mpartialy. He did not dis
| close the line of defence.
| THE EVIDENCE FOR THE STATE
The first witness was Miss Elizabeth WEIGH, the
| young lady who was assaulted. She is an intel
| ligent, modest young lady, and although evident
sessed and answered all the questions that were
asked her. She testified that she lives with her
eIch iac aa heT stster Miss
years old and invalid. Her sister and herself oc-
cupy together one room up stairs and their father
the adjoining room; Has known Henry Davis for
| a year. On the night of the 9th of last April
| their father was sick, about IL o'clock witness
| gave him some medicine and went to bed. some
| time after midnight her sister Emma called her
| and asked If she heard noise down stairs She
supposed it their father, but her sister found
| that he was asleep. She and her sister went down
| stairs and her sister saw man s arm at the front
| window. They retreated up stairs. Miss Emma
| took the light and went into their fathers room
to call him, Witness looked out of the window
| of her room and saw Davis standing in the yard
| looking up at the window from which the light
shone. Then the father and daughters went
| down stairs. Witness and her sister went out the
back door, climbed over the galings and ran
their nearest neighbor. Witness ran to the bacL
door and her sister to the front door. AS she got
near the house witness saw she was followed.
|
| The next moment Davis came up and caught
hold of her clothing in violent manner and tried
him as hard as she could and called to Mr.. Amos
| for help, but he did not come. Davis left when
| she called Mr.. Amos, but returned and took hold
| of her again. She had no doubt about his inten-
| tions. AT last the door was opened and she got
into tho house sho did not know how. She woo
| awfully frightened. She found her sister, Mrs
| Amos, her two daughters and two small boys In
| the house. After awhile her father came Some
time afterwards a man came in tho house and
| a La afaira h,t
| they kept him at bay. He kept them up stairs
until nearly daylight, when they saw a colored
| ner. He came and she saw no more of Davis.
The night was little foggy-not very dark and
| not very light.
| Mr. Eli Turner testified that he lives about 400
| yards from Mr.. Amoss. About daylight some
| one called him up and told him Mr.. Amos wanted
| HIM to come down. He went, armed with a gun
| and revolver. The ladies were up stairs. They
| told him what had occurred He started to 90
| done there when he saw man coming out be-
| tween Mr.. Welch's and the store near it. He
| walked towards the man, who jumped over the
He called to him to stop. but he only ran faster
and witness then fired at him, He disappeared
in the woods Miss Lizzie said 1t was "Old Harry !"
the name Davis is known by in the neighbor-
| hood. Tho man he saw seemed to be drunk He
was staggering. He ran in the direction of Mr..
| Jefferson Bradenbaugh's house.
| Miss Emma WEIGH repeated the story told by
her sister of their alarm at hearing noise down
| stairs and seeing man at the front window AS
| and saw Davis following them. They both ran
to the back door, but failing to open 1t immedi-
door, calling to her sister to come with her. The
latter remained and was caught by DAVIS. Witness
burst open the front door and met Mrs. Amos,
| who had been aroused from sleep, coming down
| the stairs She told her story to Mrs. Amos hur-
| riedly aud together they went to the back door.
| outside of which they, could hear her sisters
screams and cries, as she struggled in the grasp
of the negro. The lock was rusty and it was
some time before they could open the door
| QOf Misa 7 d.
| zie, inside, she did not know how. Her sister
was terribly alarmed and exhausted. She saw
Squire Turner came Then she saw him running
away and recognized him positively as Davis and
nailed tse
| the front door. About an hour after they got
her sister in some one threw stones at the house,
burst the door open and came in Mrs. Amos lit
| tie boy had gun. Did not see Davis after she
got into Mrs. Amos's house.
Mrs. Edward Amos corobborated the state
| ment of Miss Emma WEIGH. She saw the man
outside of the back door when they got Miss Liz.
zie in but did not recognize him.
| Miss Saie Amos, her daughter, was awakened
by the noise, but did not see Davis
| Mrs. jefferson Bradenbaugh knows Davis ond
negro passing their house. He was coming from
| the direction of Mr.. Welch's and going towards
| Mr.. Jacob Bradenbaughs.
FOR THE DEFENCE
On the second day of the trial after examining
| two witnesses the State closed. Mr. Hopkins for
the defence called Mr.. Neunemakcr, Richard
| Hayward, Sutton, Bradenbaugh and others to
| prove the weakness of mind of Davis. All these
| while testfying to some mental deficiency on the
| part OF Davis. stated that they thought he was
| responsible and knows right from wrong, and
that it was vciousness of nature more than any
| thing else. The defense closed about II o'clock,
| on Thursday, and the case was given the jury,
| who were out about ten minutes and on their re-
turn rendered verdict of guilty. The court did
not sentence the prisoner, but the term is from
| two to ten years in the Penitentiary
|
| IN a ID
An Enjoyable COncert-Strswberry Fes-
tivaI.
The concert in the Town Hall, by the Will