The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-07-30
eoDBoLD FOUND NOT GUILTY..
CLEARED OF THE CHARGE OF At
TEMPTING TO BRIBE A JUROR.

| Before the Court This Term-Enort
of the Defense to Impcach Juror
Thee Who Accused GOdbOId of the
Crime.
Detective G.. S. Godbold was tried for
the crime of embracery yesterday and ac-
quilted. The jury was out twenty min
utes.
Godbold was charged with having Of
fered a bride to Juror w. F. Thee dur
ing the trial of the Lucas VS.. Florida
I'Central and Peninsular railroad case,
suit for $4,000 damages for personal in
jury.
1t was charged that Godbold had Of
fered certain sums of money to Thee if
the verdict Of the jury should be against
| the plaintiff and certain sums If the case
should be a mistrial
The witnesses for the state were Juror
Thee and Mrs. Thee The evidence other
wise was purely circumstantial.
Juror Thee's own statement of the fact
that such an offer had been made him,
being the only direct testimony for the
state, and coming, too. after he had stat
ed to Chief McDermott of the police force
that the charges against Godbold were
| falsehoods, and that they had not been
made by him, it was natural to expect
that the counsel for the defense would
take the course of endeavoring to estab-
| lish an impeachment of the testimony.
Mayor Meldrm the attorney who repre-
scented Godbold, took this course, and sew
eral witnesses were put on the stand who
testified that the general reputation of
| Thee was bad and that they would not be
lieve him on oath. Solicitor General Os-
born had one witness to offset this, who
swore that while Thee had been unfortu-
nate in business, his sworn word was
worthy of belief and his character was
good.
Detective Godbold made a clear and
forceful statement of the case. He said
it was a put-up job on him which he
thought he understood, but which he did
not quite see clearly enough now to relate
He said he thought the motive behind the
attack on him would be made clearer as
the days rol. by and new light is thrown
on it. He stated that he had no interest
in the case whatsoever, and the reason he
was at the court house the day the bride
is said to have been offered was that he
| had gone there tp listen to the trial of the
| Ponder murder case, and had gone into
the city court room, where he learned for
the first time that there was such case as
| the Lucas case up for a hearing.
| He denied having ever offered a bride
| to the juror and accounted for his visit to
! Thee's house the night after the trial by
| saying that he had gone there to find
| negro woman who had been suspected of
stealing some goods. and he had learned
| that the woman worked at Thee's house
The arguments for the defense and the
state were well put. Mayor Medrim ar
gued in a most logical way over the evil
dence on both sides and made some clear
points in favor of his client.
Solicitor General Osborne who
prosecuted the case for the state,
was also very forceful in
his argument. He unraveled the evil
dence which was more or less circum-
stantial, showing that Godbold was
| boon companion of the detective of the
railroad company at interest in the Lucas
case, that he had taken supper with the
railroad detective at the Pulaski house
and that he, with the railroad man and
also the claim agent OF the road, had gone
out after supper for a night of 1t.
w. F. Thee the juror who made the
charge that he was approached by God
bold and offered a sum of money if he
would see to il that a verdict was brought
in against the plaintiff in the damage suit
against the Florida Central and Peninsu-
lar railroad company, was put on the
stand by the state. He declared that he
was approached by the detective and that
the offer was made to him. He was posi-
tive In this statement and declared that
| Godbold was persistent in making the Of
fer. He said that he refused to entertain
any such offer and made the same state
ment about the case as he had set forth in
the affidavit by which the case was
brought into the courts, the only differ
ence being in the amounts named by him
as the offers made by Godbold.
Mrs. Thee was put on the stand and de-
clared that Godbold had come to their
house the afternoon after the trial, even
before Juror Thee had reached home that
he had asked to see Thee. He said he
must see him" She stated that she did
not know what business he wanted to see
her husband about.
There were many witnesses for the de-
Tense. The first on the stand was Special
Agent Nutter Of the Florida Central and
Penlnsuar Railroad Company whose du-
ties for The road consist in ferretng out
evidence in cases and general detective
work. He acknowledged that Godbcld had
gone with him to supper at the Pulaski
house during the trial OF the Lucas Ease
against the railroad, but stated that this
was on the evening of trial after the case
had gone to the jury. He stated that he
knew Godbold in business relations, but
on cross-ques tloning by Solicitor General
Osborne. he Acknowledged he knew him
socially. too. as they had spent "a night
Of IL after Godbold had taken supper
with him at the Pulaski house that even
ing. He stated that he never mentioned
the Lucas case TO Godbold in his life, ex-
cept in a passing way. lie declared that
he never authorized any offers Of bribery
10 any juror in the case, and never heard
Of any such offer being authorized by any
officer OF the railroad company. When
I eI h. a1 he boz
In conjunction with detectives I'm all the
towns and cities where the rail-
road touched. and whenever these local de-
tectves did any special work for the rail-
road company they were paid for Il by the
company, re- wards being frequently Offer
ed for the recovery Of stolen baggage etc.
lie said his taking Godbold TO supper with
him az the Pulaski house was In no way
for the purpose OF comforting concerning
the probable outcome OF the Lucas damage
suit then on trial.
The next witness for the defense was
b ]