The Union times. [volume] (Union, S.C.) 1894-1918, 1895-03-01
THE BARRETT CONSPIRACY.
The jury Returns Verdict of
Guilty and the Defendant is SEN
fenced to Two Years

The jury Returns u Verdict uf
Guilty and the Defendant is SEN
fenced to Two Years.
From the Greenville Mountainecr:
The Barrett case welt to the Jury
Thursday afternoon, and after being
out two hours they returned a verdict OF
Guilty" After hearing the evidence
OF both prosecution and defense, the
verdict was no surprise. The govern
ment examined some thirty witnesses.
j. w. Owens gave tho most damaging
evidence against the defendant. He
told OF Barretts approaching him, get
ting the postmastership for him, and
then inducing him to falsely cancel
stamps, raising the amount thirty and
forty dollars quarter, part of which
was paid to Barrett. Others corrobo-
rated this testimony, and it was all on
the same line. Mr.. st. Armand, of
Atlanta, was another star witness. He
had bought $95 of stamps from the de-
fendant for $S5.
The defense offered no new testi-
mony, but was chiefly directed against
the character of the government wit
nesses. Barrett took the stand and for
more than two hours endeavored to
explain his actions. The stamps, he
claimed, were sent him by the post
masters as legal fees, and some were
received from two sisters who were in
dcbted to him. The Court with diff
Guilty held the defendant to the RUE
of evidence.
The testimony was closed Wednesday
and Thursday che arguments began.
Barrett, who occupied the novel role
of defendant and counsel, had the
opening speech. He occupied the floor
nearly live hours. At times his argu-
ment was ingenius and ut others repe-
titions. The burden of it was: IL
would have been fool or crazy man
To have taken these strange men into
conspiracy, and | am neither. This
Is all "a conspiracy, persecution by
that little Yankee carpet-bagger Peer,
his pal Calvert, Poinier and others" ."
OF course District Attorney Murphy
came IN for share of the Defendants
notice. and even the Court did not
escape. Mr.. Murphy had the closing
argument, occupying about forty min
| utcS. lie went over the evidence ad-
duc"d and pointed out the salient
points.
! Judge Brawley's charge was short,
concise and To the point. and was very
i.npartsal. The jury retired and re-
turned the verdict Of Guilty" Judge
Brawley sentenced the defendant to
two years in the Denitcntiary at Co
lumbus. Ohio, and 81 600 fine. Barrett
asked an arrest of judgment and was
granted thirty days in which to file it.
w. .. Erins. who was Il fcllOw-con-
spirator OF Barrctt's. plead guilty and
was sentenced to eighteen months in
the Spartan5urg jail and "a fine of
81, 900.
Nabors' sentence was left 0pcn and
suspended until next August. This
action was taken on account of the good
character given Nabors' bv his neigh
| bOrs.
1T was noticeable fact that Barrett
seemed To lose sight Of himself during
the conduct of the trial. 70 Il specta-
tor who might happen to drop in it
would have never occurred that ChaS.
| Il. Barrett waj defending himself, that
he was | Is OVID client. He succeeded
completely in separating himself from
| the crilnC. II was IL rare instance of
the tiuthiu.nrs5 Ol the famous story of
Robert Louis Stephenson, "Dr. Jckyl
nature ui man is so wonderfully de-
| picted.
Barrett moved around in the court
room with aS much sang froid as any
other attorney. He was much more
careless and less nervous than the Dis
trict Attorney, whom he frequently
interrupted with an objection as to the
admissibility of some plea he was mak-
| ing, or to protest to the Court that
there was no evidence to show any
such facts.
The great strain under which Bar
| rett labOred began To tell on him as the
trial began to terminate on Thursday.
| During Judge Brawleys charge to the
| jury he relaxed the solemn vigilance
he had SO long exercised, and dozed
and nodded in his chair for IL minute or
two at the time. This sentence will
begin when the first one OF eighteen
months expires. AS he has moved for
IL new trial in each, neither can yet
| become operative.
Judge Brawlcy in his charge to
the jury took occasion to defend In
spcctor Peer against the insinuation
OF blue bellicd Yankee" carpet bag
ger" etc. He told the jury that Peer
was an officer OF the government, do
ing such duty us was assigned to him
by the PostmaStcr-Gc and that
such appellatiOns were in no sense
proper, and could not apply to Mr..
Peer in the commonly accepted mean
ing OF the terms.
Great sympathy is manifested for
the innocent parties who must suffer
for Barrctt's wrong doings, but for
him there is IL general belief that the
verdict is lust