Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1893-02-02

of the court !OI ApPS"ioj ""'
At this Office to-day
R1cHMoSD Va, Feb. ., 1898.
= ~. Gonrt of Appeals to-day reversed the
,..;s;op Of the Corporation Court OF Alexan-
A.. which sentenced Jefferson Phillips 10 be
-, far the murder Of George 5. Smith. The
III was committed July 22d, 1881, III Alex
audra
# understood that the grounds on
,vtich the new trial is granted were the
;orapacitv of certain jurors and the err
-or made by the lower court in adj
. ~ testimony of witness |. N.
Ee;. In the trial in the Corporation
Court last January. kell testified that
~ the night of the killing OF Smith he,
witness, wi while passing the Eldorado
1Ionse some time previous to the shoot
; NJ saw Phillips and John Harrison
aI7i on the step that in passing he
o ok, to them and said, you look dan
gcYous tonight" and that Harrison re-
66lied Eyes, and id dangerous too.
The new trial, will, it is understood,
come off at the April term OF the Cor
grafton Court. which is the next GRIM
nal ms term though Judge Norton has the
rigbt TO designate any term rs crlmi-
mi term, but he will hardly set an ear,
lier dav. The mandate Of the Court OF
Appeais will not be sent here till that
court adiourns for the present term ana
that will not be till the latter part OF
the month. .,o
Messrs. Brent and Burke were the
COUNSEL for Phillips at the last trial, ana
it is Mr.. Brent's opinion that the case
will not come up again before April.
Mr.. 3. has all along been under the I'M
preston that new trial would be
granted. Mr. Burke is not in the CITY
to-day.
first TO apprise Phillips that new trial
had been granted him. The reporter
reached the Jail just as o niece OF
Phillips was taking him his dinner
The prisoner, who had grown despond-
emit during the long time the Court had
taken in deciding his case, at once
frightened up and manifested great re-
lief when informed of the action of the
HIGHER court and said he had good coune
sell He was profuse in his thanks to
the reporter and expressed his graft
tude at the trouble the latter had taken
in letting him know so soon that a new
trial had been granted him. Phillips
said he was enjoying fairly good health,
though his cough at times troubled him,
and he he'd recently recovered from an
attack of rheumatism.
Jefferson Phillips on the night OF
July 22d, 1891. shot and killed Geo. ,:
smith at the corner OF Cameron AMI
Roya! streets. The affair grew out OF
q previous bad feeling engendered by
Phillips supposing that Smith had
caused the seizure of his (Fhillips)
gambling paraphernalia at the Driving
Park. together with chronic jealousy
which had existed between the two
men over 8 woman named Capitola
Crossman. The trial; after various
postponements, came on at the January
term, 1892, and lasted about ten days.
IT resulted in verdict of murder in
the first degree, and the prisoner was
sentenced to he hanged on March 23th
of that year. \ stay of Judgment was
granted for sixty days III order to allow
the prisoners counsel time in which to
prepare bill Of exceptions. The case
was then taken to the Court of Appeals
and writ of supersedeas was awarded.
The case was argued in November last
but was hot decided until to-day.