The western sentinel. [volume] (Winston-Salem, N.C.) 1887-1926, 1895-08-29
THE RIOTERS SENTENCED
SEVENTEEN Of THEM GO TO THE
COUNTY ROADS

! Three Sent on for Twelve Months
Tuesday-Names OF the Guilty
Parties and Their Sentences,
The cases Of twenty-three of the
persons charged with participating in
the recent unlawful assembly were
submitted to the jury Wednesday af-
ternoon OF last week.
The jury reported Thursday that
seventeen OF these were guilty and six
were not guilty.
Those acquitted were:
Frank King, Soon Matthews, Ed
Knowles, Walter Price, Green Scales
and Walter Searcy.
The following were found guilty:
Jim Williams, Aaron Stone, Sam
Penn, Frank Robinson, Tom Myers,
George Bailey, John Grogan, Mat
Malone, Gus Coins, Charles Hauser,
Coy Ross, Mat Scales, Nat Jones, Sam
Skeen, Anderson Steele, James Dan
bridge and Robert Barnett.
The following, not heretofore re
ported, plead guilty: viii Copper and
Ellis Matthews.
Two of those convicted, George
Bailey and Anderson Steele, were
brought before the Judge, who told
them that as Bailey was old and
Steele was inflrm and as there was
not strong evidence against them,
judgment was suspended land they
were discharged.
Mitigating testimony was then Of
fered as to several of the defendants
who had plead guilty.
Two or three against whom were
separate indictments for carrying con-
cealed weapons plead guilty and judg-
ment was suspended on account Of
sentence in former case.
Frank Robinson persisted that he
was innocent of the charge of carrying
concealed weapon and insisted upon
d trial. The jury returned verdict
Of guilty and the same action was
taken as in the cases Of those who
plead guilty.
Judge Brown stated that he had
given this matter a great deal Of
earnest thought. He did not want to
be severe nor weak in asserting the
majesty of the law. If those people
had dispersed when requested to do so
by lawful authority there would have
been no prosecution. They were given
ample time to disperSe. If they chose
to defy the law they can't come in
Court and say they didn't mean to do
it. 1t was hOt-headed rashness in
the extreme. 1t was only merciful
Providence that prevented many on
both sides from being killed. or bad
shooting, he didn't know which. He
deemed it his duty to impose sentence
| on most of the prisoners He would
try to impose sentence according to
the degree of culpability. Some
| would think he was too lenient, while
others would think they ought not to
| be punished at all. With him it was
a matter of conscience.
THE SENTENCES.
The names of the guilty parties and
| their terms of sentence are as follows :
Pleas Webster, Frank Robinson and
Charles Hauser, II months each at
hard labor on the county roads.
James Williams, Sam Tolliver, Oscar
| Taylor, 1hos. Myers, Morgan Hart,
Gus Coins, Ernest Day, Coy Ross,
| John McJohnson, Nat Jones and Jim
| cambridge, four months each.
Aaron Stone, Lee Foy and Sam
| Penn, three months each.
Frank Carter was fined fifty dollars
and his proportion of the costs, the
Judge stating that Carter had been
| given an unusually good character
and through Difference to this he i'm
| posed fine in his case instead of
| consigning him to the county road.
| DISCHARGED.
The following were discharged with.
out payment of costs: Mat Malone,
Sam Skeens, John Grogan and Mat
Scales.
The following were discharged upon
| payment of their proportion of the
costs: Robert Barnett, Win Copper
Ellis Matthews.
The special term of court closed
| Thursday afternoon.