The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1900-03-27
PURvIS FOUND NOT GUILTY.
so SAID THE JURY BY WHICH HE
WAS TRIED FOR MURDER.

Confessed on the Stand That He
er's Inquest He Had Sworn to
Statements He Knew to BE Untrue.
Said He Had Done This at the In
stigatiOn of Friends or Hutto, the
Negro Whom Purvis KilIed-De-
prived of the Testimony of This
Witness the states Case Was
Weak and the Verdict Was De-
manded.
| A. b. Purvis, white, was tried in the
| Superior Court yesterday for the murder
of Moses Hutto, colored, was found nos
guilty by the jury, after a brief delibera-
ton, and was given his liberty. The evil
dence for the state broke down under the
| cross-examination of counsel for the de-
| tense and the verdict was the only one
expected.
The star witness for the state, or the
one rather that had been billed to appear
/ in that role, failed so completely and adj
mitted that he had lied with so much flu
ency and frequency at the coroner's in
| quest and on other occasions, that Solicit
tor General Osborne became disguised and
refused to argue the case. Leaving out
the evidence that this witness was ex-
| pected to give, that he had given at the
inquest, but which he confessed on the
stand was altogether untrue. the case
/ against Purvis was too weak for discus
sion. BY the brevity of the period re-
| quired to bring in verdict the jury show
| ed that it was of this opinion.
The trouble that ended in the wounding
of Hutto began on the morning of Jan. q,
west of the city. The blow caused the
| death of Hutto week later Purvis deliv
| cred milk about the city and Sam Free
man, little negro of about IA years acted
| as the driver of his wagon and assistant
| in delivering milk. The impudence of this
! little darkey was the cause of the hom-
| eide. He was the witness whose testimony
| failed to come up to the guarantee or 10
| his former efforts in the same line.
| At the trial the defendant was repre-
| sented by Mr. John D. Travis of Atlanta
| and Mr.. Robert J. Travis of this city Mr..
| John D. Travis conducted the examind-
| ton of the witnesses placed on the stand
| by the solicitor general, the defense intro
/ ducing no evidence other than the state
ment of the accused.
For the state several witnesses testified
to facts connected with the difficulty be-
seemed to have been near enough to the
| spot on which the fatal blow was struck
to give intelligent testimony in regard to
the incidents that Immediately preceded 1t.
! They all confessed that the occurrences
| upon which the defense relied as constitute
ing provocation and justification for the
blow inflicted by Purvis might have hap
pened without their seeing them.
| Then, at the afternoon session. came
upon the stand the little negro, Sam Free
man. Freeman rehearsed well-told tale
for the benefit of The solicitor general,
saying that he had not seen a knife in the
| hands of Hutto at the time the latter was
| struck and that the blow or blows infct-
| ed by PurVis had been entirely without
| provocation. He said that the trouble had
been caused by Hutto's attempt to take
upon himself a quarrel that the witness
had had with Purvis.
Under the examination of Mr.. Travis,
the witness told different story. In the
first place he said he had fatty contra
dicted Purvis, during the morning of the
fatal encounter and in the presence of
several witnesses and that he had been
impudent to him at other times and in
other ways during the day. He confessed
to enough to excite the jury's sympathy
for Purvis and to make the jurymen I'M
derstand that it had been under difficult
ties that the defendant had restrained
himself from striking the boy.
After more cross-eXamination Freeman
admitted that Hutto had a knife, and
that he was attempting to open it when
Purvis knocked it out of his hand. Even
after this Hutto had scrambled about on
the ground in an effort to recover the
knife and it was then that Purvis struck
him with the stick. While the boy stuck
to some parts of his original story, he
varied the essentials SO that it conceded
practically with the statement made by
| the defendant He confessed that he had
lied at the coroner's inquest at the insti-
CATION and direction of the friends of
Hutto, whose names, however, he was
unable to remember.
When Purvis went on the stand TO make
his statement he told calm and straight
story of the homicide, that added to the
favorable impression that had been made
upon the jury by his appearance and
manner. There was nothing about tho
prisoner that betokened or indicated the
bully or the tough. On the contrary he
seemed to be an intelligent and amiable
young workingman. He said that Free
man had been annoying him. and prac-
tically insulting him all day, and had at
last reached pitch of inso-
lence that he could not longer
tolerate. He had told him that he
would not tolerate it and threatened to
whip the boy If he did not desist Then
Hutto had put in his oar and in words
and with gestures no less insolent than
those used by Freeman had offered to
take the smaller negro under his pro-
| lection and defied Purvis to do anything
about it. The quarrel continued for some
time, the parties, in the meanwhile,
walking along lane that traversed the
| farm
At last Hutto drew knife from his
pocket and had succeeded In practically
| opening it. when Purvis struck the wea-
pom from the negro's hand and placed his
foot upon it. Hutto endeavored TO push
him from this position and TO secure pos
session of the knife and it was then,
afraid that the knife would be recovered
and that he would be cut, that Purvis
struck Hutto with the stick he held in
his hand. He had not intended to kill
Hutto, but merely to prevent the happen
ing of se.lous harm to himself.
Both of the counsel for the defendant
made short arguments to the jury, but
the solicitor general merely stated that
he did not care to argue the case at all.
With Judge Falligant's charge the jury