The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1898-04-01
HE SHOT HER BRAINS OUT WITH
HIS GUN.
THE Jury our ONLY FIVE MINUTES
The Trial Consumed The Whole Day and
Booker's Lawyers Made Strong Fight
for Mis- Life--Sentence viii be
Pronounced To-Day.
Pronounced To-Day.

white men. They had been out but hVe
minutes by the clock, and now people
held their breath as they leaned for
ward, intensely eager to know Wha
would be the verdict.
The trial of James Booker for killing
hIs sweetheart, Mehaley White, ON An-
gust both, 1896 had been in progress ail
day. 4 crowd, anxious TO hear the evil
dence. had packed into the court room
since early morning. Now the end had
cone-the defendants doom had been
sealed. Was it REIMBURSEMENT or
was it death upon the gallows? The
Judge said it must be one of these.
Which?
flames Booker, stand mp! Raise your
right handr' 1t was the clerk who
spoke.
The negro did as directed. There was
n perceptible trembling of the heaven
ward-pointing fingers. twitching of the
lips and swallowing at the throat.
Gentlemen. have you agreed upon
your verdictF
I'VE have"
What say you, is the defendant at
the bar guilty or not guilty."
Guilty Of murder in the first degree.
so say YOU ALL.
The negroes head had dropped for
ward. the uplifted hand moved slowly
to his chin and his eyes looked furtiyely
around as if fearful that the Judgment
of the court was to he executed at once.
do You realize what all this means,
Jim?'' asked him a few minutes later.
II think / do
'Of course You know it means you
mist hang!"
Yes
What have you got TO say about it
ALP
II feel very bad and don't want TO
talk,
The sentence of the court will he pro-
nonnced upon Booker this morning and
the date for his execution fixed.
When the verdict was announced there
was. among the negroes in the court
room. some slight applause. but it was
quickly suppressed and the court room
was soon empty.
The trial began at 10 O'clock yester-
day morning. A special venire of fifty
men had been summoned and it took
Time and again the defense refused
the would-be juryman: prosecution told
more than one to stand aside and nine
teen were dismissed for cause. The
jury. when it was completed. was COM
posed entirely of white men. During
the work of selecting the jury nearly
every colored man who WAS sworn
was asked if he had made up his mind
as to the guilt of Booker. invariably the
negroes answered yes.
The jury as finally selected was one
Of the most intelligent that has tried n
ease in Wake county in years. Those
composing the twelve, which will settle
the fate Of Jim Booker. are: 7. O.
Ross. NJ s. Barbee, Thomas Busbre.
w. III. Hood. w. ii. Caudle. r. III.
Mitchell. w. n. Straughn. Bryant
Smith, G. Il. Bailey. Henry Pace, Joseph
Blake and Il. II. Pace.
Solicitor Pon was assisted in the pros
eeuiion by Mr.. Sam r. Honeycutt. of
Smithfeld. and the defense was repre-
sented by Mr.. J. c. l.. Harris and Mr..
s. G. Ryan.
The first witness was Penny White.
mother of Mehaley White. the woman
Killed by Booker on the morning Of An
gust 29th. 1896. nj her home in House
Creek township. The witness said Boo
ker came 10 her house that morning to
get pepper and left ''Mehaley went
off with Jim and coming back sat on the
door step. Later she called me; coming
out | saw Booker as lie shot Mehaey.
| exclaimed. Lord, Jim has shot my
daughter This was about 9 or 10
O'Clock. The first time Booker came he
had no gun. 1T was about an hour
later when he came back with tho gun.
saw him with the gun and Mehaley
running, bent over. He shot her when
she was behind a water barrel in the
yard. lie was about three or four feet
from her when he shot her. The load
entered the back of the head She never
spoke after being shot" The old mother
pointed to Booker as the slayer of hcr
child and showed a waist worn by Me-
haley. with a shot hole in it on the
shoulder. She said Booker said Moth
ing after shooting, but went away i'm
mediately. and the witness did not SEQ
him until the preliminary trial. She de-
MED that there was any fight or that
she heard her daughter say ANYTHING 10
Booker.
On cross-eXaminatiOn the witness said
Booker shot Mehaley with his own gun;
that there were two guns in her house
'cHaics sun, IoDerl. WIS ont hunting
with one; the other in the house over
the door. The witness said her daueh.
ter stayed over at Bookers on the
Thursday night before the homicide.
Robert White the 14-year-old son of
the dead woman. said he was out hunt
ing and returned home about 10 o'clock
and found his mother dead. He was
hunting with his grandmother's single
barrelled gun; the double5barrelled gun
over the door, he said, was loaded when
he left and when he returned. He
found my mother leaning against the
house, most of her head shot off and
his grandmother told him that Jim Book
or had come there and shot her. He saw
no signs Of a scuffle around the door
He denied that his grandmother told
him that she grabbed Booker when ne
was trying to shoot Mehaley.