Richmond planet. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1883-1938, 1896-05-16


Shortly after the tribunal bar had been
OpeRed, Mr.. y atkins, the Common
Wealth's Attorney of Prince Edward
county, with a solemn demesnor, arose
and addressed the court briefly, stat
ing that he. by virtue of his office, had
made very thorough investigation of
the case, and had studied the evidence
! carefully. He had been very cautious
J TO weigh e.ery point brought out for
and against the prisoner at the bar.
and, after this due deliberatiOn, had /
come TO the conclusion that the evil
dence was not strong enough for him
to ask for conviction ct the hands of
( jury
RECOGNIZED THE REsPoN siBILITY.
He said he recognized the position
2 he was taking, but felt that it was his
l duty TO ash that the Court enter a mol /
? Ie-prosequi order. Mr.. watkins stat
u ed that the evidence for the Common
5 wealth WAS all i'm and that il failed to
show any conspiracy between this /
! prisoner and the two other persons
2 convicted of the crime, and that it al /
= so failed to develop that the accused
= had had sufficient time TO engage il
the murder from the time at which,
according TO the testimony, she left
her house in company with Ellen Gale,
4 and the other women, until she re-
4 turned there in company with Ellen
Gale.
:. PLAINLY SHOWN she WAS NOT GUILTY.
t This evidence showed that the time
e which lapsed was only about thirty
II minutes, and to have gone the distance
y Pokey would have had TO have gone
d and assisted in the murder of Mrs.
e Pollard would have taken more than a
7. half an hour. The distance she was
r alleged to have walked through the
q woods and over ploughed ground was
e something liz two and a half miles.
r Mr. WatNins only stated his grounds
briefly, and took his seat
He was followed by Mr.. Mann for
= the prosecution. who said that, while
'. he recognized the delicate position in
IN which Mr.. Watkins his associate, was
Il placed, he (Mann) was just as conf
on dent OF the guilt of the prisoner at the
Ve bar as he was in his own existence.
III He said he was perfectly willing to go
ON with the case, but for Mr. Watkins
ne views and conviction riding il In
u view of them, he would proceed no
- further.
No Commonwealth. also made a few re-
IL marks along this line, saying that if he
he felt as Mr.. Watkins did be should do
:, exactly as he had done. He said that
III he as perfectly satisfied that Mr. Wat
Ell kins was acting thoroughly conscien-
tiously and that he would not proceed
with a prosecution in which the Com
Up monwealth's Attorney was not thor
oughly convinced that II was JUS
prosecution. M ~.
Mr.. Wise spoke for the defence first
4, saying that he was heartily glad tha
ne Mr.. Watkins had taken the bold, cour
ny ageous ard manly stand that he had IL
luS the case. He regarded that it was the
proper thing for the Commonwealth
ere Attorney to have done. he said tina
| 4. Il i, ~ Toe 81
i'u iident of the innocence of Pokey Barn
es as his friend on me other side wa
of her guilt He was followed in SINH
ne lar remarks by Messrs. Flournoy anG
nu Guigon for the prisoners. nesa
SATISFIED OF THEIR INNOCENCE.
Mr.. Guigon stated that before h
and the gentlemen with him agreed T.
is take the cases of the women the.
made a thorough examination int
ar them. and satisfied themselves OF tn
a. innocence of the accused Had he ant
VI his associates not been convinced tina
-. the women were not guilty OF tina
lae crime, Mr.. Guigon said, they woul
- never have undertaken to defen
'ei them. Both he and Mr.. Flourno
commended the action of Mr.. Watkin
as high and honorable, as well as Jus
and righteous.
Ith JUDGE cRUTE CONSENTS.
on n5 At the conclusion of these shol
- = speeches Judge Crute said that he re-
- ognized the right of the p-SSScutin
IA attorney to say whether or not til
-, facts in a case, warranted its prosecl
IL ton. The court, he felt, was simpl
; an arbiter between the prosecute
dad and the defence. He said he woul
enter the order in accordance with Il
mas motion of Mr.. Watkins. There w
.sDs then quite little scene in the cOu
ticI chamber, number of persons most
colored, rushing up TO shake han'
and with the liberated prisoner.
PoKEY's PREDIcAMENT.
Up to this point, however, Polk
seemed TO have been oblivious to VIII
he was going around her, and, in fact, s.
uch did not know that she was discharg
snce until Mr.. Wise turned to her and VIII
had pered: "Pokey, you are free" Ev
ler's then she manifested no great emoto
; to- her demeanor being composed 5
the expressed herself as being very 81
tier and was just little overcome VIII
t he her father came up and clasped her
cred the hands.
ac- THE PANEL BROKEN.
.ina A Juror was then withdrawn fro
..o,. the panel, breaking it, and all the OF
er we're discharged. as soon as Il
ndQ Do6n QODS one Oh bHC I'LL
ldge ed to Judge Crute and said that n
mon Watkins had slZed up Inc case pre-
rd of much to thinking of the minds of
be- majority of the Jury. One by one
J. M. other members of the panel walked
Mrs TO nwealth's-Attorney Walk
av Of and told him that theV were In heai
sympathy with his action, and Il
oh a they felt about the case just as
al as did.
Ups ONE LONE JUROR.
10 no Juror Fuqua, however, was to all
pearances, single and alone in anOt
view. He said that he thought t
: the testimony was too strong for P
oged ey to be turned loose.
,S563e, The news of Pokey's liberat
--ss spread through the little town
= Yo oa. wildfire, and for an hour afterwa
isros there was considerable excited talk
de OF SOME DID NOT AGREE.
ler VI Some (, w persons did not agree y
- n the Commonwealth Attorney,
,,aant the masses endorsed his course.
aest While all this was going on in re
- 10 ence to Pokey Barnes, Mary al
'0' ~ nathy, the woman convicted of
murder on Monday, April 27th, wa
jail, awaiting sentence OF death.
read THEY FIGHT FOR AUNT MARY.
some At noon she was brought into co
Ma, and her counsel offered still anoi
n and rootion fo,. now trial for her on
Ma erannd that the fnrv in her ease
Ormer oot haen kent tooefher They off
Judge the sf6davits OF Mr. A. III. Port,
WIN merchant in Farmville; John
would White colored minister d. p b
triai and II. P Bland Cloth colored,)
saiu they had seen parts of the jury a
q INT from the other jurors, but in conn