The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-06-09
JURY SHORT ON FACTS.
A STRANGE VERDICT RETURNED IN
THE INQUEST OVER GREEN.

THE INQUEST OVER GREEN.
Men Under Arrest said That They
struck Green in Self Defense and
TO save Their own Lives. But the
verdict Ascribes His Death to
Parties UnknOwn-Sidney Green,
the Father of the Dead Man and
Fray, the Only Witness That Knew
Anything About the Crime-Cnse
Against the Men Arrested VIII BE
Pushed.
An inquest upon the body of Moses
Green, the colored man who was fatally
wounded by a party of rowdies at his
home near Montieth May q, was held at
the office of the coroner yesterday morn
ing The verdict of the jury is vague in
it's terms, and somewhat surprising in its
general meaning and intent.
Three witnesses were examined, Sidney
Green the father of the dead man, and
VINO was himself seriously beaten and
wounded in the same row. Layton Coaker
and Laurence Steele. The last named is
the brother of Emmett and Horace Steele.
two of the negroes who have been ar
rested and are charged with the crime.
Sidney Green said that upon the night
of the assault he was in his house and
asleep, when some one came and told him
that his son, Moses, had been shot by The
people who had congregated at the dime
party, He picked up a double-barreled
gun, only one barrel of which was loaded,
and started for the scene of the trouble
When he reached the spot he found that
his son had not been shot but that he
was involved i'm a wordy row, and that
the other negroes were accusing him of
having cheated at a game of skin. When
he came up they turned upon him, and
one Of Them Emmett Steele, caught hold
of The end of the gun that he was carry
ing and attempted TO pull it from his
hands. Green pulled also, and the gun
broke at the breech.
This precipitated a general row, Sidney
and Moses Green being arraYed on one
side and the rest of the crowd on the
other Green said that one of the ne
groes struck him with an ak and another
with a stick While still another jealous
foeman slashed MIN with a knife. Stag
gering under so many wounds, he was
borne to the ground and did not see what
happened 10 his son. Afterwards he was
picked up and the next day brought 10 Sa-
vannah and, with his son, placed in the
Georgia. Intirmary. Moses Green died on
Monday. May 49, two days after he was
wounded
The testimony of the two other wit
nesses, Layton Coakley and Laurence
Steele had no direct relation to the homi-
cide and referred only TO what was done
after the two Greens had been so severely
wounded Both of the men had helped
10 pick up the Greens and aid in bring
Ing them to the infrmary.
The jury, after some de.iberation
bought in the following remarkable YER
dict; we, the jury, find from The evidence
that Moses Green came to his death from
wounds received in a general row, and
that the said wounds were administered
by parties unknown to the jury" So far
as is known none of the men arrested,
Eddie Hazel, Emmett Steele, Horace
Steele, Prince, Henry and George Irv-
ing makes any attempt to deny his par
ucipauon in the row that caused the
death of Sidney Green, or that he struck
either him or his father Sidney with some
weapon. Their contention is, not that
they did not infict the fatal wounds, but
that they were attacked by the Greens
and found it necessary to acl, and act
vigorously and at once in order to save
their own lives. In the matter of knowl-
edge of how the wounds were received
the jury would seem to be considerably
dstanced even by the statements that
the prisoners themselves have chosen 10
make to their captors and the public.
MIR. Gordon Saussy has been retained
to assist the solicitor general in the trial
of the case, and if the negroes now under
arrest are released by the coroner it is
practically certain that they viii be rear
rested on a warrant and again taken to
jail While of course it is not at all GER
tain of just what grade of homicide, if
any, the negroes are guilty, there seems
TO be no doubt that they killed Moses
Green and nearly killed his father, and
they will doubtless be given an opportu-
nifty to prove that they acted in self de-
tense.