The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-08-11
FOUND GUILTY OF ASSAULT.
JAMES KING, TRIED FOR RAPE,
AND SENT UP FOR TEN YEARS.

Prisoner Guilty of Assault With
Intent and Recommending Him TO
Mercy, a Surprise to the Specta-
tors-It Was Compromise Be
tween the Two Elements on the
Jury, Which Was Divided Between
Straight AcquittaI and "a Straight
Conviction.
James King, colored, on trial in the SUI
perior Court yesterday for criminal assault
on Rebecca Mclean, also colored, was
found guilty by the jury of an assault
with intent TO commit rape, with a recon-
mendation to the mercy of the court, and
was sentenced by Judge Falligant to ten
years in the penltenhary.
The crime was alleged to have been COM
mitted on the night Of July l and early
| in The succeeding morning. 1t was charged
that it had been several times repeated
and the circumstances of the crime, as
| described by the Witnesses for the state,
| showed, if the testimony was true, what
was indeed and in truth an abandoned
and malignant heart"
The woman testified that she was re-
| turning 70 her home on the night of the
| crime with her young son and her brother,
! the latter driving the wagon in which they
all were. Some hundred yards from her
| home she left the wagon and started in
that direction going through a swamp on
| the way. This was on the Louisville road
and about seven miles from the city She
| stated that as she was going through the
| swamp she met King, whom she brushed
| against in the dark and whom she at that
| time thought she recognized as one of her
| neighbors, whom she knew well. She
| thought no more about the occurrence
until she had penetrated further
! into the swamp when she again met
| King. He had gone on ahead and inter
cepted her and they met sprang upon
his intended victim, and, thrusting a re-
Volver into her face, compelled her to sub
nit to his evil purpose. He drove her son
| from her side and for several hours kept
her with him in the woods The woman,
terrorized by fear and the threat of more
deadly, though not more criminal, violence,
remained in his clutches, unable TO give
the alarm or TO make effectual resistance.
Finally he released her, and with mind
and brain atire with indignation and
shame, she went 10 her home and told her
husband of the outrage. The old man,
/ Dan Mclean, was almost crazy with rage
| and providing himself with a shotgun
started out in search of the vioiator.
Mclean found King in the swamp
near where the crime is said
TO have been committed, and
! fired in his direction The shot went
wild and King was captured and carried to
| McLeans home, where he was kept during
the night, and in the morning was brought
/ into the city and carried in a wagon to the
| police station house. Here he was locked
up Until he had been given a hearing be
| fore the Recorder and was committed to
! jail.
| Mclean testified that while the prisoner
| was at his home he had beaten him Sc
verely with club and the mans cond-
| ton when he was brought into the city
attested the truth of this statement. The
| husband of the outraged woman sWore
further that he had intended to kill King,
| but that upon calmer and more mature
| consideration had determined to deliver
| him over to the officers of justice and al
| low the law to take its course. He stated
! that there was no disposition on the part
| OF King 10 deny the truth of the story
on the night the crime was committed,
| though on the following morning, when
| the man began to feel that he was COM
| parauvely safe, he nd strenuousiy deny
| his guilt.
There was evidence of several other wit
| nesses 70 corroborate that of Mclean and
| his wife, the state making out a strong
| case against the accused. The other evil
| deuce was circumstantial but it built up
| aruund King wall of discriminating and
| damaging facts, through which il was
. difficult for his attorneys to break
In his own behalf the defendant offered
a queer sort of narrative in which ne de-
| MED absolutely that he had ever seen the
| woman, on the night and at the place
| in question, that he had committed any
| assault upon her, or that he knew any
thing about it. His statement to the jury,
not under OATH was an absolute and I'M
! qualified denial of the testimony Of the
| states witnesses. He stated that on the
| night in question Mclean and his friends
| had beaten him, without cause, and
| through spite had charged him with rape
Recorder Hartridge testified 10 some Of
| the evidence of the woman and her hus-
| band that had been delivered before him
! q the preliminary hearing in the Police
! Court which in some imma teral instances
| seemed To contradict the evidence given
| on the trial There were other witnesses,
| both for the state and for the defense
but their evidence was not productive OF
| any further facts and was merely cumu-
! lauVe or conhrmatory of what
| had already been adduced. There
| was evidence to show that Mclean
| and his wife had lived in the neighbor-
hood of their present home for the past
! quarter of century and that they were
! honest, upright and respectable negroes
With This evidence the case went to the
! jury. Mr.. David c. Barrow, who acted as
! solicitor general, made no opening argu-
| ment merely quoting the few and simple
| points Of law upon which he expected to
| rely. About the law of the case there was
| little or no dispute, the controversy be-
| tween counsel being upon the facts entirely
| as they fitted or fai,ed to fit the varying
! contentious of the state and the accused.
The principal argument for the defend
| ant was made by Mr. Robert j. Travis
| and was a Wei conceived, wen connected
and altogether creditable presenta ton of
| the rather slim case upon which he had
to rely. Mr., Travis brought out about
| everything that could have been said in
| favor Of his client, and conducted his case
with q wisdom that was evidenced in the
result Of the verdict of the jury He spoke
fer about tWo hours. Mr., Raiford FslI-
! CANT associated with Mr.. Travis for the
| defense made the concluding argument
for the accused speaking for only few
| minutes
! EhA snannh of tha e-,linit.,- 49,. 49,. l..