The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-07-15
GALLONS FOR A WOMAN.
Mrs. Mobiles Sentence of Death Re-
calls the Eberhardt Case.

calls the Ebcrhurdt Case.
From the Atlanta (Ga) Journal
VIII Gov. Atkinson allow Mrs. Mobiles
to be hanged?
Great interest has been awakened in the
case at Jeffersonville. which ended in
sentence of death being passed upon the
woman who planned the murder of her
husband and who paid the negro FAMILIES
to commit the crime.
There is a strong sentiment in Georgia
against the hanging of woman, no mat
ter what she has done. The only woman
ever hanged in the state was the girl
Susan Eberhardt who was executed in
Webster county in the summer of 1872,
along with her guilty paramour. for the
killing of the mans wife, a weak and
sickly old woman who had only one leg.
James NJ. Smith was governor and the
strongest sort of pressure was brought to
bear upon him to commute sentence of
death to life Imprisonment. lie refused
and his refusal provoked a storm of in
dignation which ruined his political pros
poets and did so much to defeat him for
the United States Senate.
T.. II. Spann was a farmer who lived
in Webster county, near the little town
VI LI6SAOns Otlt VI AliH mNibAbbAo was a
Mr.. Eberhardt who had a family of chill
dren, among them a girl of l6 or Il years
old, named Susan. Mrs. Spann was not
in good health, suffering with a disease
that caused one of her legs to be am
putated Sometime after this the only
daughter of the couple married and went
away from home TO live. Mrs. Spann
was able to do little work and at the
earnest request of Spann, old man Eber-
hardt allowed his daughter Susan to go
over to live with the Spanns. Spann fell
in love with the girl and asked her to
marry him. She told him she would IL
the old woman was out Of the way.
One night about 10 o'clock, after some
visitors had left the house, Spann went
to the stable and coolly took pillow line
from a set of harness. He carried this
back to the house and put it under his
pillow. Susan was sleeping in the same
room with Spann and his wife. About
u o'clock Spann lit the lamp, and, as
sisted by Susan, placed the rope around
the neck of his sleeping wife and choked
her to death. Susan stood by and helped
him and handed him a handkerchief to
stuff into the mouth df the dying woman.
When the deed had been done the guilty
couple barred the front door and went
out of the back door into the night. They
fled to Alabama and remained there until
they were arrested, a reward of $3.50 hav
ing been offered by the governor for their
apprehension.
They were brought back, tried, convict
ed and then sentenced to death. They Sc
cured a new trial which resulted as the
first in a death sentence. ~
Petitions of all sorts, sizes and kinds
poured in upon Gov. Smith asking him to
commute the death sentence of the girl
to life Imprisonment He gave his con-
sideration to all of them and then re-
4 4 -.
doing, on sentimental grounds only, as
there were no mitigating circumstances.
The only argument if it could be called
an argument, in favor Of the commute
ton was that the prisoner was a young
woman.
A diabolical murder was committed in
Gordon county few years ago. A negro
woman was convicted of poisoning and
killing an entire family. She was tried
and sentenced to death. There was moth
ing that could be advanced in her favor,
excepting that she was woman, and on
being petitioned to commute her sentence
to life Imprisonment Gov. Gordon did so.
An aged Jewish merchant was brutally
murdered in Darien by a negro named
Pagan and his wife Ella Pagan. They
were tried and sentenced TO death. Il
was a brutal murder, for which there
was no sort of justification. yet a great
cry went up that a woman should not
be hanged Petitions poured in upon Gov
Northen asking him to commute the
death sentence. Before he could pass
Upon the question the woman went crazy
and was sent to the asylum.
Now comes the Mobiles woman who is
Under sentence Of death. No application
has yet been made for new trial and
she is sentenced to die on Aug. le. Gov
Atkinson has never been called upon to
pass upon such a case, and it is diff:
cult to predict what he would do in the
event that petitions were sent up asking
fer a Communication. 1t was brutal niur-
der. conceived and planned by the heart
less wife, and yet there is a sentiment in
Georgia which Will be certain, sUnner or
later. to ask that the sentence of death
be committed t. life imprisonment.
Will Gov. Atkinson follow the ksad Of
Gov. Smith, or will he heed the voice Of
the petitioners? That is a question which
only the governor can answer. and, Of
course, he will not answer it until the re-
tition Is presented.
SOME TENNESSEE CAVES.