The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1899-02-02
THE JURY HAS THE CASE
CONCLUSION or EVIDENCE IN THE
FLORIDA PHILLIPS TRIAL.
Sensational scene i'm Court During
Progress of Argument-Neyvs of
the County Courts.

Late last evening the trial of Florida
Phillips, the colored woman accused Of the
murder of Morris Stroder. was completed
and the case went to the jury. 1t was
about $50 O'Clock when Judge Afford fin
ished his charge and the twelve men filed
out Of the courtroom. The colored woman
was taken back to the Jail to await the
verdict. At midnight the jury was still
out, apparently without any likelihood Of it's
reaching a decision before morning. Many
Of those who have watched the progress
Of the trial predicted that the jury would
disagree although the attorneys for the
State seemed to think a good case had been
made and that a judgment would be
reached
Several sensational incidents marked the
close Of the trial While her attorney. j.
b. Lewis colored. was making his argument
to the jury the accused woman became very
hysterical and had to be assisted from the
room. Later her mother also caused a good
deal of commotion by fainting away. Lewis
became rather tragical in his plea to the
jurors at one moment throwing himself on
his knees before them and praying them to
be merciful. In the forenoon an effort was
made to introduce what purported to be
Stroder's dying statement, made at the
City Hospital, but it was not admitted in
evidence the attorneys for the State MAX
ing a vigorous protest against it. Lewis
was on the stand He testified that the
statement was in his own handwriting. This
was contradicted by his stenographer, Miss
Belle Archer. who said she first took the
statement in pencil and then copied it in
Ink herself Lewis testified that Miss
IN writ bp tate
ment, but that the odor of medicine made
her sick and she retired, after which he
borrowed pen and ink from the clerk at the
hospital and wrote the statement himself.
The clerk denied this. Miss Archer said
that she did not retire and let Lewis write
the statement, but took it herself. She de-
clared that the statement presented to the
court was not the anne nor in her hand
writing. She thought the points it contained
We're about the same, although her recol-
lection was that there was no reference in
it to Henry Thompson having tried to use
a knife. When testifying in rebuttal, Lewis
said there had been two statements made to
him by Stroder, the second on day when
MISS Archer was not present
Following was the alleged dying state
ment: This is to certify that I, Morris
Stroder, on Thursday Nov 10, '9S make
the following statement of my own
free VIII and IN my right mind, know
ing that | am going to die. Say that
the said Florida Phillips did not in
tend to shoot me, that l was shot by the
said Florida Phillips accidentally while de-
Tending herself against an assault by Henry
thompson. The weapon used by Henry
Thompson was knife.
Seeing that her life was in danger she
did shoot the pistol end did hit me, and as
soon as she found that l was shot she said,
Morris Stroder, / did not mean to shoot
any one, L only fired the gun TO brighten
Henry Thompson to keep him from killing
me-
Il, Norris Stroder. have never had any
trouble of any kind with Florida Phillips"
The court sustained the attorneys for the
state in the contention that Morris Stroder
had never thought he would die physicians
from the hospital testifying that he hoped
to recover almost ND TO the hour of his
death. and that a statement not made in
fear of death was inadmissable. During the
afternoon more spectators We're present
than at any time in the trial.