Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1896-05-06


were discharged. As soon as this had
been done one Of the jurors turned 20
Judge CIute and told him that Mr Wat
kins had sized up the case pretty much
20 the thinking Of the minds OF the ma
jorty OF the jury. one by one ten other
members OF the panel walked up 10 Com
monwoalth' s-Attorney Watkins and told
him that they were In hearty sympathy
with his action. and that they felt about
the case just as he did. Juror Fuqua.
however was TO all appearances. single
ana alone In another view. He said that
ne thought that the testimony was tco
strong for Pokey to be turned loose
SPREAD THROUGH THE TOWN.
The news Of Pokey's liberation sped
thIousn the little town like wildAre. and
Tor an 1our afterwards there was con-
siderable excited talk. Some few persons
old not agree with the Commonwealth
Attorney, but the masses endorsed his
course
While all this was going on in reference
70 Pokey Barnes, Mary Abernathy. the
woman convicted Of the murder on Mon
day. April 9th. was in jail awaiting
sentence 70 death. At noon she Was
brought into court, and her counsel offer
ed stiN another motion for new trial
Tor her, on the ground that the jury
ln her case had not been kept together
They offered the anidavits Of Mr.. a. H.
Porter, a merchant In Farmville. John w
White, a colored minister; -. II. Bragg
and H. Z. Bland Doth cOlored), that they
had seen parts Of the jury apart from
the other jurors, but in company with
q sworn deputy. These anidavts were to
tho effect that some of the Jurors went
into Mr. Porters store 10 buy some shirts.
and were seen upon the streets, while the
Yf ma Oft flf. u
not with them. but were not in sight Of
them. They were accompanied by a
dcputy-shcrin, however. The counsel foF
the defence argued that the Jaw was plain
that IN case of this gravity the jury
should not only be kept apart from every
body else, and under the charge Of the
Sheriff, but that they should be kept alb
sOiutcly together The lawyers for the
prosecution cited numerous authorities
tending 70 show that 10 was only neces-
sarv for the Sheriff TO keep the jury free
from any opportunity for contamna-
tion. Mr.. Wise said that a long line OF
decisions Of the Supreme Court Of Appeals
of Virginia clearly indicated that the law
did not contemplate that the jury could
be separated under any circumstances.
The court officers and the atlantis re-
ferred 10 by the defence were called and
put upon the stand. and IL was proved
that the jurors were kept constantly
under the charge Of a deputy, and had
not been afforded any opportunity 20 dis
cuss the case with any one or to be con
taminated in any way. The Court then
ovorruled the motion for a new trial.
MARY SENTENCED.
May Abernathy was then told to stand
up. The corpulent cOlOred woman did as
she was told, but did not look much taller
than while she was sitting down. Judge
Crute asked her If she had anything 10
say as 10 why the sentence of death
should not be pronounced upon her. She
promptly. and without a trcmor in her
voice replied: Nothing; no more than
am not guilty of killing Mrs. Pollard. and
don't know where that money IS either"
Judge Crute then sentenced her TO be
hanged on July Sth, five days after the
date for the execution Of Solomon Mara
BILE The Judge explained that ne had
given her all the time the law allowed.
This closed a number of very interest
ing scenes in the old courthouse. and. so
far as is known, may end the celebrated
Lunenburg cases Mary's counsel viii
80 before the Supreme Court Of Appeals
with five bills Of exceptions, the points
I'm which have already been given in the
Dispatch. Solomon Marable's counsel
have also prepared several bills Of oX-
ceptions. and may take his case to the
Court of Appeals.
Il will be remembered that IN the trial
OF Mary Abernathy Mr.. Pollard testi-
fed that he left his house on the after
noon Of the murder about o'clock and
that. after he discovered that his wife
had been murdered. he went in the house
and found that before the crime was
committed and after he left her, She
had sewcd five buttons on his trousers
and had marked thirty eggs. In order
TO ascertain exactly how long it would
require to do this counsel for the defence
went into Zimmerman's tailoring es-
tabMshment, I'm Farmville yesterday. end
got that gentleman TO sew five buttons
on a pair Of pants. This consumed
twelve minutes. They then had a man
TO mark thirty eggs i'm the manner the
eggs were marked 10y Mrs. Pollard. 1t
took seventeen minutes 10 do this,
making a total Of twenty-nine minutes,
the buttons being sewod on by an eX-
pert. il was therefore concluded that
the murder must have been committed
after 4:So o'clock AT least. According
10 the testimony in the Pokoy Barnes case
She returned % her Pokey) house. and
was seen 10 enter IL by several persons,
tttet ahouf that hour