The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-08-09
THE JOHN ooNNELL CASE.
How Judge Hanseu Came TO Release
Him on a 81, 900 Bond.

Him on a 81 900 Bond.
/ Thomasville Ga, Aug. There has
/ been a great deal written aud said about
| the bond Of John Council, who lately
| killed a negro in Brooks county, Ga. I
wish 10 relieve Judge Hansell and assume
all the responsibility. If any wrong has
bee done l did it. If there is any indig-
nation, il ought TO be against me. / have
known Connell since his childhood He
has worked for some of our family nearly
all of his lie. He is poor
man, but my friend. no man
lives who is more loyal or trustworthy
He has only one fault. He OCCASIONAL
drinks and when he does he is absolutely
crazy. At the time that the negro was
killed, he was acting as deputy sheriff for
Thomas county and hunting for desper-
ate negro, named PlumBCr, who had kill
ed several parties. The negro had threa t.
ened TO assasinate him. He had been
warned. He came to ThOmasville and
told Mr.. Mitchell and myself that he mad
been attacked by negroes about II o'clock
at night and had killed. two of them. He
gave himself up TO Sheriff Doss of Thorn
as county. We and great majority of
our people here believed him, as he was
regarded as perfectly truthful | still
LhlHh Jiltt nc tnOhAAb llC ldlt bldL ne
told was true. His wife, we both knew,
had a child about a week Old,
and was in a very critical condition; and
we both believed that if he were sent to
Jail, she would die We wired Judge
Hansell that Connell had been attacked
by negroes at night and had killed two,
and had given himself up and asked that
he fix bond. He answered that if he
had killed them as he said thousand
dollars vypIHfd he ggFipianT fI'bA hCnH
was taken. The next day heard that
Connells tale was declared to be not true
] Immediately investigated, and on the fol-
lowing day wired Judge HanSell that the
case was much worse than we had wired
him and TO increase the bond. He
wired back that under the cir
cumstances, he could not allow bond
without hearing. Before the bond was
taken MIR. COnnell had promised Mr.
Mitchell and me to deliver himself up
whenever we asked him to do So and his
intention was so to do Immediately upon
Judge Hansell's arrival / asked MIR
Mitchell, as soon as | wired Judge Han
sell a second time, before / had received
his answer (Which was on Saturday
evening. it taking considerable time to
get telegram TO and from Indian Springs)
TO go down to Counelrs and see that he
came up on Monday morning ana delivered
himself up. In the meantime, the sheriff
of Brooks county came up, q think on She
day after the bond had been taken,)
and said that the people of Quitman
we're very indignant because Council had
been let out on bond. He said that he
had two other warrants, in his posses
sion, against Council; one for carrying
concealed weapons and the other for
pointing pistol at another. / told him
that he had perfect right to take him
on either of said warrants, and to go and
take him. | think Capt. Doss, sheriff of
Thomas county, told him about the same
thing. The understanding when Mr.
Mitchell left on Saturday to go to Mr..
Connell's was that Cornell was TO come
to Townsville on Monday, if he could
possibly leave his wife, and deliver him
self up Mr.. Mitchell went down on
Saturday, and after seeing how crit
ically i'll his wife was, made arrange
ments with Mr.. C0nnell to deliver
himself up in Townsville on the follow
ing Thursday. [ understand from him,
that several hours afterwards, Mr..
Thrasher, the sheriff of Brooks county,
came and said that the people of Quitman
would not be satisfied with any such ar
rangcments; and that they would not be
satisfied unless Cornell went back with
him TO Quitman under arrest. Mr.. Mitch
ell prevailed upon Mr.. Cornell to deliver
himself up, and, as his bondsmau, deliv-
bIGN INN W biit SiACAAli VI AJIbuhS NuQu ~.
Mr.. Council went into the house by per-
mission of the sheriff to change his
clothes and has not been seen since, eth
er by Mr.. Mitchell or the sheriff.
want to say this that the relation
ship existing between Mr.. Cornell and
myself has been and is very close; that
know his wife to be one of the best wo-
men in the world, l know further that
she is frail and delicate and very suscep-
tible to troubles.
know that she was in very critical
condition. | acted from friendship and
| humanity. l wired what l thought was
true 10 Judge Hansell; he acted upon it
and if it had been true his action would
have been eminently proper. 1t is
claimed that was mistaken as to the
facts. AS soon as | found out the story
of the prosecution. l consulted with
sheriff Doss of Thomas county, and wired
Judge lHanseQ the state of affairs as
claimed to be true by the sheriff of
Brooks county. l took the precaution
to get sheriff DOss. himself to send the
telegram off. l Immediately made ar
rangements to have Mr.. Connell deliver
himself up; so that affairs would be in
the same condition they were in before
the bond was taken. There is no doubt
In my mind if public opinion had not
forced sheriff Thrasher TO interfere, Mr..
! C0nnell would have been before Judge
Hansell in person on next Thursday.
want to suggest another thing Sher-
iff Thrasher informed both the sheriff Of
Thomas county and me, that he had two
! additional warrants for Mr.. Cornell. If
he, or any other parties in Brooks county,
| so desired, they could have gone to Mr.
Connells home and arrested him. know
one thing: tina Judge Hansell has done
nothing that a careful and upright Judge
| should not have done, l am willing to
admit that acted hastily in my first tel
egram. l say now, as l said in the be-
ginning. if there is any fault, it has been
committed by me, and not by the judge.
/ am unwilling that anybody should be
blamed for any mistakes of mine, If
mistake was committed. I am willing
to bear all the censure in this matter
A. Il. MAClNTYRE.