The morning news., 1897-06-18
WAYNE WAS WILLING TO DIE.
But ON TRIAL HTS GUILT WAS
FOUND TO BE NOT so GREAT.

| The Man Who Killed His Wife Given
Fifteen Yenrs in the Penitcntiacy
ON a Verdict of MansIaughter.
His Wife an AduIteress, He Hurled
Brick Mt the Man, and 1t Struck
the Woman in the Head-Threv
Her Dead Body in the Ogeechce
Canal.
James Wayne, the negro who killed his
wife May 16, was tried for murder yester-
day and found guilty of voluntary man
slaughter Judge Falligant sentenced him
to fifteen years in the penitenuary.
The crime was committed one month
to a day prior to the trial Less than
week after the killing Wayne was going
about making a clean breast Of the deed
in spite Of the fact that he threw the dead
body Of his wife into the Ogeechee canal
just after he had committed the crime,
to hide his guilt
The horror of his deed seemed to haunt
him day and night, well nigh running him
mad. He went about town two or three
days after the killing pretending to be in
search of his wife, offering an advertise
for trace of her, and going to the police
barracks to make inquiry. At the bar
rackS he made the remark that since they
had not seen anything of her he supposed
she had jumped in Ogeechee canal and
drowned herself. This gave the detectives a
clue and they straightway found the dead
body of the woman and suspicion rested
a TIa ma Cd nd
confessed the killing
The strangest feature of the case is that
Wayne sought to enter a plea of guilty
to the court some days ago. He seemed
worried to an extreme degree for what
he had done, and although the charge
against him was murder he said that he
was willing to plead guilty and go to the
gallows. He appeared to have lost all
mental control. He did not realize that
he had any other plea than that of guilty,
and, like a dumb creature without rea-
son, he was utterly reckless and willing
to die.
According to law, however, a plea of
guilty to murder is not permissible be-
fore trial can be had in court. The ac-
cused is compelled to make his plea in
open court, and even then there must be
evidence to prove him guilty. This princi-
pie of law is to cover cases of some who
have mania for posing as murderers,
before courts.
1t was in this way that Wayne came to
have trial, and in the same way the
man, who a week ago was willing to step
that minute on the galloWs, is allowed to
atone for his crime by fifteen years of
labor, with a chance even then of a re.
ducton OF the time by good behavior
This is not improbable, either, since
Wayne seems to be a perfectly harmless
negro, docile, obedient and easily influence
ed
Messrs. Gordon Saussy and C. d.
Kline, the two young men, who were ap-
pointed to defend Wayne, were congrat-
ulated by the members of the bar very
literally for their clever work. The case
had been generally understood to be a
weak one for the defense, particularly
In the face of the willingness of the pris-
oner to plead guilty, but the young at
torneys entered fully into the spirit of the
case and brought out such a volume of
evidence to show that the killing was
nothing more than manslaughter, the jury
was only out few minutes in agreeing
upon verdict to that effect 1t was
shown that Wayne had been a dutiful
! husband, and that on the contrary, his
wife, Emma Wayne had been anything
but dutful wife. She was always going
off from home on sprees with negro men,
and was on such round OF dissipation
when Wayne came upon on the banks of
the canal, and hurting a brick at her
companion struck her back of the head
causing a fracture of the skull, which
produced instant death.
This was the gist of the evidence and
upon this the jury returned a verdict far
short of that which had been expected
before the attorneys took the case in
hand. The general comment on the YER
dict about the court house was favorable,
many declaring that the negro was as
Inc fRal1 it, I'm
panion under such circumstances as any
body could be, this being generally allow
ed by courts in this section of country.
In the case of the Southern Home Build
ing and Loan Association VS. Eva Hen
ley, on trial in the city court yesterday
Judge Norwood raised point of law that
will create considerable speculation among
the lawyers as to the practice, which
seems to have been general here of tax
ing judgment before filing the reconvey-
ance for levy in case of the usual deed
| to secure debt.
Judge Norwood held that the proper
practice is to file the reconveyance before
! judgment is taken. The judgment being
| taken against the property specified in
| the deed, being against the defendant
| Quere, should not the property be in the
| defendant In order that il may operate as
/ a proper lien against the property? The
almost universal practice here since the
| law has been enacted, over twenty-five
| years, has been to file the reconveyance
for levy and sale after judgment has been
| rendered
This may prove to be a very interesting
| question some day in case IL is passed
| upon by the supreme court Should Judge
| Norwood be right in his position, the titles
| to hundreds of thousands of dollars in
real estate IN this city alone would be af-
/ fected. Judgment was rendered for the
! plaintiff for the fun amount claimed, with
costs and 10 per cent. attorneys fees c.
| B. Whauey, Esq. represented the plain
tiff, and G. w. Beckett Esq. the defend
| ant.