The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1891-04-28
. BLUNDER OF THE Law.
ONE MAN HANGED FOR ANOTHER
MANS CRIME.

ON hfs Deathbed Bird Confesses that ne
Killed Hawkins. for the Murder of
whom white was Hanged in spartan
burg.
AsHyILLE, N. e., April l6.-The
hanging of Tom White, q white man, in
~Spartanburg about twelve years ago for
the murder of Pet Hawkins, a colored
man. will always be remembered as a
remarkable execution. 1t happened just
at a time when the white and colored
races were decidedly at daggers' poin is,
but which had GO influence or bearing
on the case. The idea of a white man
being hung for the killing of a negro was
rather repulsiye to a great many people
who had suffered under negro domina-
ton and misrule, but the law took its
course and the man was executed in the
co unity Jail. But he suffered the penal
ty of q crime with the commission OF
which he had nothing to do, and which
was laid to his account by the man who
did the killing.
The facts of the case were about as
follows: Pet Hawkins aud Tom White,
both OF whom were under the influence
of whiskeY, had a quarrel, which result
ed n q row. This vas quieted, how
ever, but the two antagonists were still
angry. White WAS of a rather wander
ing disposition, possessing nothing but
an abundance of ''shreds and patches"
and lived around the bar-rooms. Pet
Hawkins, the colOred man, was of a SIM
liar disposition. For some reason an
other white man, named Dick Bird, be-
came involved in the quarrel, and, as
will be seen later, played a prominent
part | n it. Shortly after the tirsj row
the two white men went into a bar room,
which then stood in Church street, and
afterwards Pet Hawkins and a crowd Of
colored satellites came into the same bar
room. Tom White was rather drunk,
perhaps in that peculiar condition when
whlskey has The effect of d%eadening the
senses, although the man can still stand
up and fight.
1t is believed that White was too drunk
to know anything when the shooting oc-
Cured. Hawkins and the white men got
into a row, and during the melee Haw-
kins was shot and killed. A pistol was
found in Whites hand, and lie was ar
rested as the murderer. When the trial
came on Bird was the principal witness
against White. The circumstantial evil
dence was so strong that White was
found guilty. and was sentenced to be
hanged.
All along White professed his inno-
cence, and declared that he had not
killed Hawkins. When the execution
took place. just before the cap was put
over his face, White said: II am an in-
nocent man, and 1 am now to suffer
death for another mans deed" He was
executed, and there was a good deal of
talk about his last words; but nothing
was ever done to ferret out the other
OF whom White poke on the scaffold.
Dick Bird soon afterwards left Spar
tanburg and went over to Polk County,
in this State, where he got into some
trouble and then went over into Nc
Dowen County. Last year he si1kened
and died. While on his deathbed he
made o fell confession Of his crime in
permitting Tom White to be hanged for
on to say that he killed Hawkins, but
put the blame on White; that the evil
dence, taken altogether, was against
White and that he had permitted him to
be hanged for the murder, although he
had nothing to do with it.
This will startle some people in Spar
tanburg, perhaps, but there are some
who heard of the confession some time
ago. Whether the confession was writ
ten out / have not been able to learn,
but the facts above were obtained
from an excellent source. My inform
ant is one of the best known men in
Polk, in this State, and Spartanburg and
Greenyille counties in SOutb Carolina
He is a detective and knew Bird and
White, we'll, and is sure of his tacts.-
Newsand Courier.