The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1894-02-14
SPARTANBURG KILLING
Massey Bailed In Spit nf the Solicitors
Prnt,St
.Spccial to News and Courier.

NEW BEhRIy D. Ss3 tOUs 1os-AUouV do
great an obstruction as there is in the
hill leading to tho residence of Justice
Pope. Massey, who under cover Of the
dispensary law killed Il poor illiterate
farmer, will be released under bond Of
one thousand dollars. A lighter bond
could hardly have been given. The pecu-
liar evidence perhaps warranted such.
and Justice Pope was persistent In an
nouncing the fact OF Massey being an
officer. The argument ofSolicitor Schum-
pert in resisting the bond ought to open
the eyes of those who excuse the wanton
killing of Ballew.
It will appear to many, perhaps, that
the main incident of the proceedings was
the crushing Of lawyer Sease. He was
getting ready to hold all the newspapers
responsible for the trouble, when Solici
tor Schumpert asked him if that was
fact of the case. Sease had nothing more
to say. The proceedings speak for them
selves. At o'clock Justice Pope was
ready. There were present Massey in
charge of Chief FAINT with his counsel,
Sampson Pope, Thomas S. Sease, Solici-
tor Schumpert, the Neacs and Courier
special correspondent and the local re-
porters. After the return had been read
Mr.. Sease plunged into the sea of badly
prepared testimony. Then the argu-
ment followed.
DIR. Sampson Pope was unusually dis
passionate and brief. He said:
eve have submitted the evidence
taken before the coroner's inquest and
the verdict, and we submit that the evil
dence is so plain that bail should be
granted without any trouble. The evil
dence shows that Mr.. Massey in the dis
charge of his duty was obliged to shoot
in self-defence one Ballew, and that Bal
lew was in the act of firing, as Massey
believed. The evidence shows that there
was plain resistance to the law and
complete justification Of the officers in
what they did. do not think that we
are called upon to say anything further
us the case Is so very plain"
Then Solicitor Schumpert opened the
constables' eyes. He said:
SIN the first place, take the position
that defendant is not entitled to bail
under any consideration. There is moth
ing in the evidence to show that Ma" ,ey
was an officer of the law and went there
in the discharge of his duty. There is
nothing to show that he had a warrant for
the arrest of the man Ballew; he himself
testifies that the deputy sheriff had q
warrant for the three Moores and Will
Center, and probably one other. Bal
lewis name was not mentioned. 1t is
singular coincidence running all through
this testimony that while al ofthese men
were acting in concert there 10 mention
anywhere Of any of them having q war
rant for the arrest Of Crawford Ballew,
we are at loss to know with what he
was charged, The warrant is not here,
and we can only presume that he was
wanted for violation of law known as
the dispensary law. That is not felony.
Not clause in it makes its violation
felony, and there could have been no ex-
cuse for the taking of life under any war
rant issued for the violation OF its pro-
visions. We have the extraordinary cir
cumstance in this case Of a deputy sheriff
and q so-called posse endeavoring to
make that felony and an excuse for
taking human life, which the very law
under which they were acting makes
only misdemeanor. Massey says that
some one was sent to buy whiskey from
Moore. According to Moore's evidence
dead honr of midnight and woke him up
to no and get them some liquor. He
goes and gets the liquor. There perhaps
is no doubt that Massey violated the dis
pensary law, but this is not a question of
violation Of the dispensary law. 1T Is not
involved in it. The simple question is
whether Massey had the right to shoot
Ballew. To show Moore's good faith and
to show that he was entirely innocent of
the object of their visit, after supplying
their wants he offers to take them over to
the railroad. The night being dark he
pilots them to the railroad, and after
bidding them adieu and when he turned
to 90 they cried: "HaltI" and almost
upon the heels of the word "halt" they
fred, Moore's evidence bears every inn
preston of truth upon it. After the cry
of "Ohn sounded upon the midnight air
the voices of women are heard crying.
Crawford Ballew runs from his house in
his night clothes and finds his brothe.-in-
law shot down. He removes him to q
place of safety, and at the request of
Moore goes to tell his wife and sister that
he 10 not badly hurt, Sarah Ballew then
appears and. meets her husband, Craw-
ford Ballew, who il inns her that Moore
is not badly hurt. She goes back into
the house and tells Mrs. Moore not to be
uneasy, that her husband is not seriously
injured. The two women then hear
another scream that i am killed. Mrs.
Ballew goes out and Immediately returns
and says, My husband has been killed.
Now, may it please your Honor, take
this position that, even assuming that If
r. 6. Massey, defendant, was armed
with process Of law, to wit, warrant for
the arrest of Crawford Ballew, and he
( Crawford Ballew) came out Of his house
in the darkness OF night after hearing the
cry of distress flom his brother-in-law
(Moors,) armed with pistol or any other
weapon, and had presented it to Massey,
even then under the circumstances Of this
case and In the light of the decision of
the Supreme Court in the case of the
State VS.. Bodie, he would not have been
warranted in shooting him down like
dog, for the very apparent reason, your
Honor, that it would have taken away
from the case consideration of every
element of the law of self-defenoe. Then
wherein is Massey excused or justified,
taking all of the evidence into considera-
ton, in taking the life of the deceased
Ballew. Your Honor has no doubt OBJ
served that nowhere in all Of this evi.
dence is Massey mentioned as an officer
of the law, Deputy Sheriff Dean himself
mentions several who were acting with
him as posse, but nowhere does he men,
ton the name of Defendant Massey as
one of that posse. Then, your Honor,
upon what can we assume that Massey
was an officer of the law and duly
authorized to execute her solemn pro-
cess? It is not in evidence and we are
forced to the conclusion that he was one
of four or five private individuals men
toned in the evidence of the deputy
sheriff who accom- panied the posse upon
the illegal and midnight raid. Now, may
it please your Honor, I say here with
due sense of the high position which I
occupy that the shooting of Crawford
Baliew under the facts and circumstan-
ces surrounding this case as evidenced
by the extraordinary testimony taken at
the coroner's inauisition is pure and
simple murder. Regarding it as such I
most solemnly protest against the grant
ing of BAIL"
Mr.. Sease thereupon made a very good
quoted from the Constitution
on bail, saying that the evidence and
finding entitled Massey tolight bail. He,
was not convicted of any crime; he went
to arrest Yiolator of the law. IT Massey
had not fired some of his party would
have been killed. Nobody would have
stood quietly by and see two pistols
drawn on him. He summed up by say
ing first, the laws were not being violated
by Massey second, Massey was in
posse armed with law and a warrant,
that Ballew was resisting arrest and
using extraordinary force, which was
Justly met by such.
Then be went off on peroration about
the press, when Mr.. Schumpert stopped
tho oma Jnatjca Pona after the arpll.