The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-01-08
BRUTE HANGS AT CAMBRIDGE.
FACT THAT HE HAD KILLED A MAN
CAUSED HIM No REGRET.

His Inability to Avoid Paying the
Penalty of the Crime the Only Re-
gret That He Had in the Matter.
Tells the Morning News COrre-
sPOndent the story of His Career
in Crime-Once on the Point of
Killing an EmpIOyer-Has to BE
supported on the Trap.
cambridge, Ca, Jan. AT noon to-day
Simon Hopkins, a negro, paid with his life
the penalty of the awful crime of murder.
In September, 1897, Hopkins killed John
Harris, a negro butcher, located in Balm
bridge. He was tried at the November
term of the Superior Court, convicted of
the murder and sentenced to be hanged
Jan. Z, in accordance with which he was
to-day executed in the county jail
By courtesles extended by Sheriff Pat
terson the Morning News correspondent
was permitted 10 interview the prisoner
and attend the hanging.
Hopkins was q years old, born and
raised in cambridge, and besides being
generally regarded as a petty thief. was
not looked upon as an especially bad char
acter. He made a full confession of his
crime, claiming that he and the negro Har-
ris had for some while been guilty of
stealing cattle together, that Harris would
butcher the same and sell the beef and
had failed to give him, Hopkins, the full
share of the proceeds, and for this reason
he on the day of the murder wrote Har-
ris a decoy note to meet him in a field
three mics from cambridge and look at
some cattle he had penned, in response to
which Harris came, whereupon he made a
demand upon him for the money he said
was due him.
Harris made some excuse, claiming that
he had no money, and began riding off
from him, whereupon Hopkins became en-
ragged and shot him in the back Of the
head, and Harris fell off of his horse dead.
Harris then dragged. him feet fore
most a distance of hundred
and fifty yards to the river, where he
threw him in. All the while he was gaz-
ing in his victims face He says that
after he had thrown him into the river
he thought he would never be caught up
| with.
Harris made a number of confessions
| of other crimes, among which he claimed
that he and two or three negroes were to-
| gether when they killed a negro between
| Naldosta and Dupont, and placed his body
on the railroad track, so that the train
| might and did run over the body, cutting
/ it in two. He claimed that no one was
| ever arrested for this murder He con-
fessed to having stolen several sets of
! harness at different times from Hines &
/ Callahans livery stable here, where he
was employed. He claimed that on che
/ occasion he stole a set of harness from
| Mr.. Hines and sold them to a liveryman
! in Whigham, and that his employers were
/ so close on his track that he went TO
! Whigham the same night and robbed the
! liVeryman of the harness and brought it
! back to Hines.
He confessed to others having entered
! different dwelling houses after the occu-
| pants had retired, and had robbed them.
Some time during the summer of 1876 he
went with j. w. Patterson of this city
out west attending some race horses Mr..
| Patterson had with him. He confessed
that while in Pennsylvania he had made
a demand Mr. Patterson for money
| that was due him. and had arranged and
planned that if MIR. Patterson refused him
the money he would kill him and rob him.
! Fortunately for Mr.. Patterson the time
| planned for his death he paid him the
! amount of money he demanded. He con-
fessed to other parties to having planned
other murders, and committed many
crimes of lesser offense.
When asked if he realized that he was
about to be hurled in the great and I'M
/ known beyond, he replied that he did, and
that as he was not prepared to die, he did
not care to go. Ministers, both white and
| black, of different denominations, prayed
with him, but he claimed that he felt no
change of life. When asked if he felt no
compunction of conscience about commit
ting the crime for which he was about to
| give up his life he said no, that the muir
der had given him but little concern, and
that Harris had only appeared to him once
in has dreams. He said he regretted COM
hitting the murder for the reason that his
own life was to pay the penalty, but other
than this he seemed to have no cares or
regrets
He was very nervous and when the hour
/ of execution arrived, completely broke
down, so much so, in fact, that he had to
be held up while the hangman's knot was
/ being tied about his neck He said moth
ing while on the scaffoid, but "Goodby."
Death from strangulation was pro-
nounced in eighteen minutes after the drop
fell.