Smyrna times. [volume] (Smyrna, Del.) 1854-1987, 1895-07-10
Price Lynched by a Mob.
TAKEN FROM DENTON JAIL AND HANG
ED TO A TREE.

ED TO TREE.
Marshall +. Price. the murderer Of
little Sallie +. Dean, near Harmony.
Caroline county, was taken from the
county Jail at Denton Tuesday night
by crowd of masked men and hanged
to tree near the jail. Price was to
have been executed Friday, but Tues
day Sheriff Berry received telegram
announcing that Governor Brown. act
ing on the advice of Attorney General
Poe, had granted a reprieve until the
court of appeals could pass upon the
case.
When this became known the gen
eral discomfort which had begun to
manifest itself as soon as the appeal
proceedings were commenced broke
out into a storm, and strong lynch
ing party was quietly and quickly or
ganized. When Sheriff Berry received
official notice of the reprieve he with
drew the death watch, ard the Jail,
which is a poorly constructed affair,
was left practically unguarded 1t
could not have been defended against
a determined mob, however, except by
a strong armed force.
About 10 o'clock that night crowd
of strangers began gathering in town,
and their presence created a great deal
of excitement among the citizens, who
had not retired to rest. Sheriff Berry
was notified, and he and his deputies
gathered at the Jail, determined to de-
fend the prisoner until the last. An
effort was made to find some avenue
of escape by which Price could be
taken from the reach of the avenging
mob, but every street leading from the
Jail was found to be closely guarded
by strong force, 4 delegation from
the lynchers, all masked, waited upon
Sheriff Berry and Motif ed him not to
attempt to remove the prisoner. Then
it was known that the attempt at
lynching, which had been rumOred for
several days would be made, was near
at hand.
Price had been resting quietly in his
cell during the early part of the even
ing. but the sudden and unexpected
appearance of the sheriff and his depu-
ties warned him that something un-
usual was Transporting. The prisoner
became much excited. Finally one of
the guards told him of the threatening
mob about the Jail and he cried out /:
For Gods sake let me out. l will
hide, will not run away"
The lynchers completed their ar
engagements about IL O'clock, and in a
body advanced upon the Jail and sur.
rounded it. They demanded the KEYS
from Sheriff Berry, and when that
officer declined to give them up they
easily knocked open the door. Once
inside, the guards were quickly over.
| powered, and soon Prices cell was
reached. The prisoner was in pit
liable state Of excitement and fright,
and mis- condition was such that it was
an easy matter to get him out of the
! Jail. A rope was thrown over his
head, he was hurried to a tree near
the Jail and strung up without delay.
The mob stood around for some time
watching the dying man swinging in
the moonlight, and when it was known
that he was dead all departed
Governor Brown, when informed by
the representative of the Associated
Press of the lynching of Price, said he
considered 1t great misfortune
that the law was not allowed
to take its course. In granting
the reprieve, he said, he had only
taken the one course to be pursued.
Exceptions had been filed by Prices
counsel, and these had been sent to
the court of appeals. AS this was ne.
cessary, according to law, he could not
do otherwise than grant the respite
He recounted the suggestion made in
his message to the general assembly OF
inearoerating in the penitentiary in
Baltimore all prisoners under sentence
of death. If the suggestion had been
acted upon the two lynchings which
Maryland has been the scene of during
the past month would have been
| aVerted