The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-06-06
CRIMINALS ON TRIAL
SUPERIOR COURT BEGINS NETTING
OUT JUSTICE TO OFFENDERS.
OFF DAY FOR THE STATE.
EVERY MAN TRIED WAS GIVEN HIS
LIBERTY By THE JURY.

One, Who Entered n Plea of Guilty,
Sentenced to Serve Year on the
Gang-Jury Found Excuses for
Sailor who Cursed the Master OF
His VesseI-Deignan to he Tried
TO-day-Other Cases Assigned I'm
til June 2O-Three Youthful Crimi-
nails TO Face a jury on Tuesday
Next-TwO Murder Trials Are Last
on the List of Assignments.
The trial of criminal cases in the Su-
perior Court was begun for the June term
yesterday morning. and will be continued,
almost without interruption, until June
DO Several cases were tried during the
day, but every one resulted in an ac-
Quittal
The only sentence imposed by the court
was in the case of Charles Watts, whom
the grand jury indicted for burglary.
Watts acknowledged that he broke into
and entered the store house of E. B.
Hunting & Co., with intent to steal, and
III consideration of this frank confession
of guilt, Judge Falligant imposed SEN
tence as for a misdemeanor, directing
that he pay fine of 500 and the cost of
the prosecution or serve twelve months
on the chain-gang of the county.
Charles Hendrickson, a white sailor
was found not guilty by jury of using
opprobrious words and expressions to M
l.. Gilbert, master OF the vessel to which
he belonged. The indictment was founded
on the section of the code which makes ii
criminal for one to use to another lam
suage that tends to provoke or promote
a breach of the peace, and the language
imputed to Hendrickson by the master
almost certainly would have produced this
effect.
There didn't seem to be much doubt that
the sailor had used the language COM
planned of, but he said the master of the
vessel had talked to him first in Just the
same way. The guilt of the accused did
not impress the jury as being sufficiently
heinous to warrant verdict that would
result in the defendant being sent to the
chain-gang for term of months and they
refused, therefore, to render it,
George Sledge after a trial that con-
sumed four or five hours of the time of
the court, was found not guilty by the
jury in not many more than the same
number of minutes. Sledge is a negro
who was charged with burglary, the Of
Tense alleged being the felonious break
ing and entering of the storehouse of
Mark Apple. The evidence against the de-
PENDANT was not clear and conclusive and
while it indicated his guilt, did not serve
to free the minds of the jury of that rea-
sonable doubt the law says must not be
present when a verdict of guilty of any
criminal offense is returned.
j. w. Virgins was found not guilty of
the offense of larceny after trust. wig
gins was said to have converted to his
own use the proceeds of an order for
money entrusted to him by another, but
he succeeded in convincing the jury that
this charge did him an injustice. 1t was
an off day for the state.
To-day there will be placed on trial
the case of the state against John j.
Dedgnan. charged with assault and bat
terry, alleged to have been committed
upon ex-Aderman James Mcclure. The
defendant who is a member of the police
force of the city, was suspended by the
Mayor, pending the decision of this case
in the Superior Court. He has steadfast-
1y contended from the first that he was
without fault in the matter, and that in
the melee in which the ex-alderman was
injured. he was acting the part of the
peacernaker. The ex-alderman, however,
exhibited at the time number of Abra-
sions, and at least one dislocated or
fractured rib, which he said were evil
dences of the policeman's physical PROV
ess.
Both men are popular in Savannah, and
have plenty of friends. and the case to-
day will probably be productive OF inter-
esting incidents and developments.
Other criminal cases have been as
signed for almost every day the court will
sit for the next two weeks and longer
The trial of the case of burglary against
three young white boys, Jim Smith Stod-
dard, Henry Jones and Augustus Melcher,
has been assigned for Tuesday of next
week and unless something occurs in the
meantime to prevent, the young Grim
inals will face jury on that day. They
are all very young, but exhibit an ac-
quaitance with vice that in boys of their
youth Is almost as disgusting as 1t is pitt
full and pitiable. The offense for which
the grand jury indicted them was the
burglary of liquor store, which they
entered to supply themselves with the
whisky from the effects os which all of
them subsequently became intoxicated.
Their case is one of the many that so fire.
quently attract public attention. which
emphasize in strong terms the vital need
of a reformatory, or some place where a
system for the reclamation of young
CRIMINALS is IN operation, In this county.
Wednesday, June 10, William w.
johnson will be tried for murder. john
son is the young white man who cut and
stabbed to death his father-in-law, John
H. Scott. The cutting occurred in the
streets of Yamacraw, while Scott was In
a drunken condition and, according to
the evidence of all the witnesses who up
TO this time have told what they knew
of the circumstances, was not able to
make an effort even TO defend himself
The day following, Thursday, win be de-
voted to the trial of Frank Jones' alias
Frank Pitts. the negro who killed Will
lam Newsome, with a pistol, in a drunk
en- broil in Frogtown.