The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1896-07-04
SOLOMON MARABLE HANGED.
Executed Yesterday for the Brutal Muir
der of Mrs. Pollard.

Farmylle, Va, july 3.-Solomon
Marable was hanged here at J:57
o'clock this morning for the murder
| OF Mrs. Lucy Jane Pollard ON June
18th, 1895.
lie met his fate calmly and ON the
scaffold reiterated his oft-repeated
statement that Mrs. Pollard was muir
dered by white man.
Death was caused by stranguiation.
Marable was pronounced dead 1874
| minutes after the drop fell, but was
| allowed to hang thirty-fiye. The exc
cution was in the jail and was Wit
messed by only few citizens. Three
negro women are alleged to have been
| accomplices in the Pollard murder,
which aroused the whole State of Nir-
ginia. OF the three, nOlle pros had
been entered as to Pobey Barnes,
Mary Abenathy has been sentenced to
hang, but the execution has been
stayed by an order of court and Mary
| Barnes is serving ten-years sentence
in the penitentiary.
Mrs Pollard was murdered in her
back yard in broad daylight by being
knocked in the head with an axe. There
were twenty-five separate and dis
tinct cuts on the back of her head.
which was hacked to jelly. Her hus-
band, e. s. Pollard, was at work at
the time in a field about three hundred
yards from the residence. 1T was a
daring deed, as fifteen or twenty hands
were working in the field with Mr..
Pollard, who was a man Of considerable
means and known always to keep
money IN the house. \ trunk was
robbed of $500 in money.
Solomon Marable, who was suspect
ed of the crime, was captured the fol-
lowing Tuesday in Mecllenburg coun-
ty. He was taken to the scene of the
murder under a heavy guard. The
evidence against him was conclusive
from the start, as the clothes he had
on the day of the murder were found
and they were covered with blood. He
finally confessed to having partici-
pated in numbering Mrs. Pollard He
would have been taken from jail the
night of his arrest and lynched, but
the commonwealth Attorney pre-
vailed upon the crowd to allow him to
live in order that Marable might be
used as a witness to convict three Wo-
men who were under arrest as ac-
completes. These women were Mary
Alternately. Mary Barnes and Pokey
Barnes. All four prisoners were taken
to Petersburg for safe keeping, and
when the time of their trial arrived
they were escorted to Lunenburg by
a company of soldiers. They were all
convicted Mary Abenathy, Pokey
Barnes and Solomon Marable were
conyited ~on trial Of murder
in the first degree and sentenced
Barnes received "a verdict of murder in
the second degree and was sentenced
to ten years II the penitentiary. The
three convicted of murder in the first
degree were all given new trials by
the Supreme Court and a change OF
venire granted by the County Court of
Lunenburg. The prisoners were or
dered to be tried in Prince Edward
county. At the March term, Marable
was convicted and at the April term
Mary Alternately was condemned,
while Polley Barnes was set free by a
nolle prosequi order. Mary Alternately
was sentenced to hang on Wednesday,
July 8th, but her execution was stayed
by the granting of a writ of error.
\ rather remarkable feature of the
murder and robbery is that the stolen
money has never been accounted for.