The Lexington dispatch. [volume] (Lexington, South Carolina) 1870-1917, 1894-10-10
THE COLOR LINE DRAWN.
An Unusual Incident in the Court
of Sessions.

OF Sessions.
COLUMBIA, 5. c., OFT. An incl
dent much out of the ordinary occur
red In the Court OF General Sessions
yesterday. 1t was while the case o.
Ell. Green AID John Bro IN, colored
charged with breaking into and roboini
railroad car, was being tried. The de
PENDANTS were represented by John Nc
Master The testimony was that The
stolen goods had been found In the pos
session Of the prisoners, but Green
proved an sllbi by three Witnesses.
The jury 10 charge Of the case had
for its foreman j. Frank Smith and
there was Que c2lored juror, Tobias
Derrick. The jury was IN its room fot
some time and finally reported that II
was unabla to agree upon . verdict
Judge Benet asked the foreman OF the
jury what was the trouble that yer
dict could not be arrived at. Mr.. Smith
stated that the colored member Of the
Jury had drawn the color line and va.
the only j1ror who stood for the acauit
tai of the prisoners, all the Others being
in favor Of 8 verdict Of guilty.
Judge Benet became somewhs,
aroused at this and made few remarks
tue substance of which were rs folio Hs
"It such conduct Is INDUCED In 1t
will necessarily lead to the Jury Com.
missioners excluding colored people
from acting as sjuror5, which they have
2 perfect right to do under the law.
rha law requires that the names 10 .
j17y box snali be OF men qualified to
serve as jurors. No coloced man II
qualified 10 serve as a juror who will
allow himself to decide q case on q
color line. Without saying word q,
TO the guilt or innocence Of the parties
in this case, 1t is great misfortune
especially IN the interest of colored peo
pie, that colored man should refuse to
agree to a verdict because the psrty Is
a negro and he is one himself. There
is no principle Of justice In matter
like that and sucn action would justify
Com missioners In excluding sll colored
mems from the box. can assure the
colored people on my own ponsibi.
lity that In my long residence Of twen.
ty.six years in this State and my expert
ence as a lawyer and ajudge, white
men 999 cases out of ], 600 give colored
prisoners full justice"
Judge Benet went on to say that be
had known OF lawyers paying the ex-
penses of CAGES for negroes and spend
Ing hundreds Of dollars for poor color
ed men and that there was not shade "
of reason for the action Of the colored
Juror. He said that there were colored
men on the panel who where capable
of acting as jurors and who had acted
fairly and without prejudice.
In conclusion he said: "Mr. Clerk,
you will excuse the juror and strik e
his name from the roll"
Attorney McMasser stated to the
court that so far as the testimony wac
concerned be thought Derrick had acted
right. He did not know what had &C.
Cured in the jury room.
Later in the day Derrick went to
Judge Benet and said that he had not
raised the color line in the jury room.
He had simply insisted upon the &C
Quittal of Green, who, he felt satisfied
was innocent. He had voted, he said,
for the conviction OF Brown. j udge
Benet accepted the statement, remark.
ing that Derrick was apparently sincere
in what he said.
Judge Benet stated that II he had
known that Foreman Smith was going
to speak of the color line he would not
have allowed him to talk.
A n1istrial was ordered In the case
and Judge Benet ordered that 1t be
tried again today. Attorney AcMes-'
ter had bench Warrens, taken out for
William Sheppard, W. II. Richter,
George Cannon and Frank Robinson,
witnesses the defense, who had not
appeared at the trial.