The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-06-23
HOLMES GOES UP FOR LIFE.
Joe Richardson's Slayer Found Guilty
Of Murder.


Recommended to the Mercy of the
Court-The Defense Argued That the
Shooting Was Accidental, as the
Pistol Went OF in His Pocket.
Other Witnesses Say He Took De-
hberate Aim and Fired-More Grim
mails Indicted by the Grand Jury.
Jerry Holmes was found guilty yester-
day of the murder Of Joseph Richardson,
July 81, 1898, with Recommendation to the
mercy of the court, and was sentenced TO
life imprisonment in the penitentiary.
The jury in the case was sworn in as
follows: Edward G. Hughes, Frank L.
George, Stephen r. Harris, William c..
Barthelmess, James B. Kelly, j. Wheeler
Wilson, James e. Henderson, Edward
Moyle, James l.. Gordon, Joseph B. Ches-
mutt, William A. Kent and William S.
Harris.
The states contention was that Mary
Mills, who was taken TO a 10-cent ball on
Reynolds street, near Lovers lane, by
Jerry Holmes, had a quarrel with Joe
Richardson. Jerry was called in by his
dusky partner to take her side, and re-
piled he would see Joe after the dance, in
which he was calling the figures. Jerry
called Joe after the dance, and about two
minutes afterward shot was fired, and
Richardson fell. From this the state
contended case Of murder was estab-
lished.
The defense set up that the shooting
was accidental.
THE STATES WITNESSES.
DR.. B. f. Sheftall and DR.. Small testi-
fed as to the nature of the wound, stating
1t was a fatal one. Mary Richardson,
the dead mans mother, knew little of the
facts in the case.
Isaac Wilson did not see the difficulty,
but heard voice, which he recognized as
Jerry's, say, Loot out of the way" i'm
mediately after which he heard pistol
shot, ana saw Jerry go out of the house
trying to conceal the pistol under his
! coat.
Maggie Williams gave the details of
| the fuss between Mary Mills and Joe
| Richardson. She heard Jerry call Joe
under the steps and heard pistol shot
| Henry Simmons, she said, held up Rich
ardson's head and asked him who shot
! him. The reply was Jerry"
What fori'' he was asked.
For nothing; in cold blood" was
| Richardson's reply.
/ MOL oOuCoy bllC Stdbt pEluClpdl VIII
| ness, came pretty near getting herself
| into tangle. She said Mary Willis re-
| ported her row with Richardson 10
| Holmes, who went out, and returned in
| about three quarters of an hour. All
! this, she said, happened between and
| o'clock. She said also that she saw Jerry
pull his pistol from his hip pocket and
| take aim at Joe, when he fired
DENIED SHE COULD READ AND WRITE.
! On cross-examination by Attorney
| Gazan, she stuck to her statement as to
time. She was somewhat nervous and
| apparently afraid of the attorneys ques-
tions. She was asked about q letter
alleged to have been written by her
| to Jerry while Oshe was in Jail,
| stating that she knew there had been no
trouble between Jerry and Joe. She de-
MED having written it, claiming she
could neither read nor write.
Henry Simmons, the first witness for
! the defense, stated he had seen Joe and
Jerry under the steps talking, but not
! quarreling. The pistol, he said, was
| fired from Jerry's pocket He contra
dicted Mary Jones' statement that the
shooting occurred in the middle of the
| hall.
| GAVE him SOME ADVICE.
Moses Scott, the next witness for the
| defense, gave Attorney Gazan quite
lecture, much to the amusement of the
| spectators in the court room.
dat lawyer" he said, ''come to me on
Sunday, when was bout to go to church.
| What you come to me on Sunday fOr2' I
asked him. What you work on Sunday
| forl Don't you know you are breakin'
the tenth commandment, and violatin'
the law of the United States2"
He stated that at one time Mary could
read and write, but since she was shot in
the mouth she couldn't do either. He
said nothing about the letter on the stand,
although at his house he told Mr. Gazan
that Mary Jones, his daughter, had writ
ten the letter referred to.
pistol with which the shoot
ing was done was taken by
him from Moses Quarterman, that he be-
came drunk, and Holmes then took it
away from him at the ball.
SAID IT WAS AN ACCIDENT
Jerry Holmes statement was to the
| effect that the shooting was accidental
He was asked, he said, to go to the ball to
call the figures. He was sitting under
the steps in the hall when the deceased
came up to him with a match in his
mouth. That made him think, he said, of
half cigarette he had in his pocket. He
attempted to get it out, but the pistol was
in the way. As he caught the pistol by
the barrel to remove it, it exploded, kill
ing Richardson.
He said he then walked out of the
house, intending to give himself up, but
became frightened, and went instead to
the sea islands. He lost his clothes in
the storm, afterward went to Florence
and Wilmington, and then returned and
gave himself up He denied that the
shooting was intentional, or that the
quarrel between Richardson and the
Mills woman had anything to do with it.
Solicitor General Fraser for the state
endeavored to make out a clear case of
murder in his opening. and conclusion.
Jacob Gazan, for the defendant made
strong argument to show that the shoot
| ing was accidental. The case went TO
the jury about o'clock, and the foregoing
verdict was returned about o'clock.
Half Dozen True Bills.
The grand jury had several criminal
cases before it for investigation.
Willis p. Pennington was indicted for