The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1893-01-14
4 QUADRUPLE EXECUTION.
The Murder of DR.. Hill Avenged
by the Law.
HISTORY OF THE CRIME.
One of the Most Remarkable Tales in
American Criminal History.
killing Physician Because His Testi-
mony at an Inquest Did Not Suit
Them-Trial of the Home
stead PRISONERS.

CHEsTERTowN, Nd, Jan. 13.-[Spe-
eial. An unusual occurrence, quad
ruple execution, which came very near
being an octuple one, took place in the jail
here shortly after noon today. The his
tory leading up to the tragic end furnishes
one of the most remarkable tales in Amer
lean criminal history. 1t IS a very simple
matter for the people of Kent county to
trace the causes which led up to the muir
der of DR.. James Heighe Hill. 1t started
in quarrel in which none of the prison
ers or DR.. Hill were interested in the
slightest. John and Joe Potts had a
house built at Milllngton last winter, and
Just before it was completed they got into
a discussion in a saloon at Wilmington,
which was frequented by whites and
blacks, with the builder, man named
Jones, as to turning the house over to
them.
The builder said he would not do SO
until all money due on it had been paid;
otherwise he would put merchants
lien upon it. The Potts brothers de-
clared that this was contrary to the
agreement. One word led to another,
the lie was passed and the contractor
struck one of the Potts brothers. The
latter then left, saying they would raise
crowd and ''clean out'' the saloon.
They secured the services of big colored
man named Tom Campbell, Virginia
combination with bad record. The
latter died in the midst of the brawl. In
tense excitement followed, a coroner's
jury was empaneled, and post norton
held on Campbell's body.
DR.. James Heighe Hill now appear ed
on the scene. He was called upon to
conduct the autopsy. He reported that
so far as he could discover there were no
wounds on the person of Campbell suah-
Gent to cause death. The remains were
buried, nobody concerned IN the row was
arrested for the murder, and the matter
seemed to be at rest, until some one OF the
citizens of Wilmington decided to make
more searching investigation. The body
of Campbell was exhumed and another
post nortem was made.
This time DR.. Todd, another physician
in Wilmington, assisted DR.. Hill. A sec
ond time was the verdict of the physic-
received in the brawl were of a nature to
cause death. The injuries were described
in detail, and the report was signed both
by DR.. Todd and DR.. Hill. The death of
Campbell and the failure to apprehend
anybody for his murder angered the
colored people, especially the Potts fac
ton, in fighting whose battles the big
desperate had lost his lie.
Up to the night of April %, 1892,
Charles Brooks, Fletcher Williams, Moses
Brown, Joshua Brainard, Louis Benson,
Henry HURT, Frisby Conegys and Charles
S. Emory had had no connection with
DR.. Hill in any way which might have
aroused their hatred or enmity. On the
other hand, he had given them every
reason for gratitude by attending the
families of some of them, for which he
was never paid. But the person who cir
culated the stories about DR.. HIPS sup
precision of facts at the autopsy had fired
the animal nature in the three men,
Brooks, Brown and Williams. with the
idea that the death of Campbell, the des-
perado, must be avenged, and that by the
death of a white man.
To their ignorant and british minds
DR.. Hill was the proper man to suffer. So
he was elected to die. They waylaid him
and as he was going on professional
visit, cut mis- throat and beat his brains
out with club. Fifteen negroes were ar
rested for the crime, but only nine were
indicted and one of these was acquitted,
the other eight sentenced to death. Of
this number Charles Emery, Henry
HURT, Joshua Brainard and Lewis Ben
son, boys, three of them only Is and one
Ii years old, had their sentences COM
muted on Wednesday last by the COVER
nor to Imprisonment for life and they
were secretly removed by body of con-
st bles at night 20 Baltimore for fear the
enraged populsce would storm the Jail
and lynch them, which they undoubtedly
would have done.
The remaining four, Fletcher Williams,
Frisby Conegys, Charles Brooks and
Moses Brown were hanged on the same
scaffoId today. Aside from the fact of
the number. the scenes attending the
were In no way unusual. The
had g season OF prayer and praise
before beginning their march to the scat
fold.
AS soon as the drop fell shoutof exulta-
ton arose from the men who crowded
into the Jail yard and surrounded the
scaffold. Fletcher Williams and Moses
Brown died almost without a struggle.
Brooks and Comegys went through the
most appalling contortions. The latter
died from strangulation, and the formers
death was due to dislocating his neck. |
Old farmers who gathered about the do
iEgs laughed and some even cursed the
negroes. The men died in from ten to
eighteen minutes. The he %rt of Williams
beat seventeen minutes al ough he acted
as though he died first. At l2:50 the bodies |
were cut down and placed in piae coffins !
at once and two express wagons conveyed
them TO the potter's field. After the exc
cution people quickly dispersed.
Three Persons Lynched.
BRINKLEy, Ark, Jan. 1S.-Twc more
negroes and one white roon xr,ara /