The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1900-08-18
HAYES LIFE FORFEITED.
FOUND GUILTY OF MURDER or
MoTORMAN VARNADOE.

After IL Left the court Room the
Jury Had Reached Verdict OF
GuiIty-Hayes Sentenced by Judge
FRIligant to BE Hanged sept. -.
He Has Just six Weeks to Live.
Arguments of Counsel, Charge OF
Court and the Sentence All De-
Iivered I'm Less Than Three Hours,
Hayes Lost His Nerve Towards the
End.
To be hanged by the neck until he is
dead. in the Chatham county jail, Sept.
%, is the fate TO which Seaborn Hayes,
the murderer of Motorman I.ucius h.
Vernadoe, has been condemned by the
verdict of the jury, and the sentence of
Judge Falligant.
When the Superior Court convened at
10 O'Clock yesterday morning, the room
was crowded with interested spectators
Every available seat on the floor, as wen
within the bar as without, the steps lead
ing to the judges bench, and even the
railing were occupied by men who had
come 10 witness the closing scenes in this
tragic drama of life and death. The gal
iery was sea OF negro faces, peering
over the rail, and with fear and anxiety,
combined with a morbid curiosity. writ
ten plain on every dusky countenance.
The arguments were at once begun.
Solicitor General Osborne spoke but a
few words in his opening argument to
the jury, declaring he would contend that
the evidence that had been adduced show
ed that the killing had been wanton and
unjustifable, cowardly, brutal, and com
mitted with malice aforethought under
every reasonable hypothesis.
For the prisoner Mr. Raiford Faligant
made clear and lucid exposition Of the
! contentious and theories of the defense
as to The manner in which the shooting
OF the motorman occurred. Under his the
o;y there had been a previous difficulty
between the motorman and the brother of
the defendant and it was this brother,
JASPER Hayes, with whom the motorman
thought the first difficulty, in which Mr..
| I. j. Davis and Conductor Whaley had
participated, had occurred. To support
this contention Jasper Hayes had been
| placed on the stand on the preceding day
and had testified to a previous difficulty
! he had had with Mr.. Narnadoe, in which
the latter had threa ened to kill him in
case he did not cease certain conduct that
tie motorman deemed obnoxious.
The dying declaration of the motorman
! had shown that up to the time of his
! death he had labcred under the impress
ion that Jasper Hayes had fired the ia al
shots. With these facts as a working by
| pothesis, Mr.. Falligant argued the cor
| rectneSS of the theory, supper, ed by the
| evidence of some of the witnesses, thai
the victim of the homicide had fired first
and that the defendant had not returned
the fire until he was thus placed in dan
ger of his life Warned that there would
be trouble it was but natural, counsel
contended. that the motorman should not
wait to he fired on.
The solicitor general, however disposed
| Of this theory of the homicide with
| breath. The evidence of witnesses whose
| character and reputation placed them
above the possibility of suspicion showed
a very simple state of fact contended Mr..
| Osborne. Hayes and his companions. ag-
| grieved and incensed at being put off abe
car, had determined to exact vengeance
| for this fancied indignity. They returned
to the station, announcing their intention
in voices so loud and with a wealth of
| profanity so vile that they had attracted
| the attention of Mr.. Love, who had thus
become aware of what they meant 20 do.
! He had warned the conductor and mo-
| torman of the car AS it rolled into the
| station Hayes had stepped out 10 the
front and right of il. and. calling upon
! the motorman to stop, had fired before
| his unfortunate victim had an opportun-
| ity 40 complete his reply to the COM
mand
But, argued the solicitor general, even
| conceding the correctness of the defend
ants contention that che motorman had
Rrca h0 t,a dor
every other statement of facts than his
own, guilty of deliberate murder. There
| was no evidence to show that when he
stepped Qua in front of the car he had
not both held the weapon in his hand and
! pointed il at the motorman, as he COM
| manded him to stop. On the contrary,
| every witness who had testified to Hayes
| first appearance on the scene of the hon.
| icide had sworn 20 these facts. They
were not disputed. Therefore, said the
| solicitor. H. made no difference whether
| the first shot had actually been fired by
| the accused or his victim. The formers
murderous purpose had been manifested
by his actions and if che motorman had
| fred and killed him the homicide would
have been justifiable, in fact as well as
! in law.
Judge Falligant's charge to the jury did
not differ materially from that usually
| delivered by him i'm murder cases The
! law governing the case on trial was SIM
pie, the facts making the real issue. I'm
der the contention of che solicitor gen.
eral there was not even a real issue of
| fact However, every principle of law
that could properly be applied to the case
| for the benefit of the accused was given
| to the jury in the eloquent and impress
sive charge delivered by Judge Fallgant.
1t was about 1915 o'clock when the
charge was concluded and the jury retired
to make up its verdict. In less than
! quarter of an hour ii was announced that
the verdict had been reached, and the
jurymen filed back into the room. Every
one in the court room, Judge, counsel, the
accused, witnesses, lawyers and specta
tors lent an attentive ear when the YER
diet was handed by Foreman O'Gorman
to Deputy Clerk Murphy.
We The jury, find the defendant, Sea-
born Hayes, guilty of murder. John
| O'Gorman foreman" read the clerk in
the legal monotone. A suppressed wall
went up from the negroes in the gallery.
many of whom were relations or close
friends of the accused. 1t was quieted by
the efforts of the bailiffs. and then Judge
Falligant pronounced sentence.
Dives ed of the legal Technology it was
to the effect hat Hayes be conveyed by
the sheriff TO the common Jail of the coun-
", and there confined until Sept Is.
when. between the legal hours Of 10
o'clock in the morning and in the after