The people's journal. (Pickens, S.C.) 1891-1903, 1901-03-07
AN EXTRAORDI NARY CASE
A White Man Illegally Kept in
the Penitentiary for Eight

Years.
The Raleigh On. c. correspondent OF
the Atlanta Constitution says an cX
traordlnary case Of mistaken identity
has just been developed before Justice
montgomery, Of the supreme court. in
the case Of George tombstone, white
man, who has been unlawfully confined
in the penitentiary for the past eight
years.
Fifteen years ago young white man
by the name Of Christopher Bctchlcr
was convicted in Shelby, N. c., Of an
aggravated case Of stealing, and was
sentenced to ten years in the penitcn-
tiary near this city Bctchlcr was the
son OF German parents who had resided
for many years in the town Of Ruthcr-
fordton His fathcr-Augustus Bctchlcr
was q jcwccr. Aftcr gold was dis
covered in Rutherford, Burke and Nc.
Dowcl( counties, in 1919, old man
Bctchler was authorized by act of Con-
grcss to coin gold dollars, and he bought
the dust from the miners and coined it
into dollars as high as the fifty dollar
piece "a. Bctchlcr was stamped on
each coin and they were worth five cents
more in the dollar than the coins Of the
United States mintagc These coins to
dollars" and arc now preserved by
those who have them as rare coins.
After the war the Bctchler family
moved to Spartanburg, s. G. There
were several sons and daughters, all
handsome and well educated. "Chris -
as he was called, turned out to be the
black sheep" Of the flock. After hc
was sent to the pcnitcntiary he remain
cd there two years and then made his
escape
In 1893 Captain j. Nj. Fleming, who
was warden of the pcnitentiary when
Chris Bctchlcr was received there,
and who held this position until 1898,
was in attendance on the superior court
Of Randolph Counry, at AshcborO, as a
witness. While there a man known as
George Johnstono was the plaintiil in q
case which involved the title to 700
acres Of land On which gold in consider
able quantity had been found. Fleming
corning him, and found that he had
located in Randolph County some time
during 1888. 1t was in 1887 that Bctchlcr
cscapclt from the pcnitcntiary. Fleming
was positive that JOhnstOne was "Chris."
Bctchlcr and SO stated. On tho trial Of
the land case JOhnstonc was asked If he
was not "Chris." Bctchlcr, and if he had
not been convicted of stealing in Shelby
in 1886 and sentenced to the pcniten-
tiary for. ten years, and had escaped
thcrcfrCm in 1887? OF course John
stone denied bitterly all this and said he
was an entirely different man from
Bctchlcr The defendants in the land
case had J0hnstone arrested as an
escaped prisoner. Johnstone sued ont
q writ Of habcas corpus, but could not
produce any witness beside himself to
disprove the positive assertion Of Elem
ing that he was Chris Bctchlcr, and
the Judge refused to discharge him and
ordered that he be returned to the pcni
Tertiary. The arrcst and decision Of the
Judge caused Johnstone to lose tho land
suit. AS soon as Johnstone reached the
pcnitcntiary be sent for lawyer, but
had no money to pay him. lie gave the
lawyer the address of a number of peo
plc in Montgomery County and that Of
a man in Atlanta, whom he said knew
him and would swear he was not Bctch.
lcr. The lawyer wrote twice to each of
these parties and did not receive an an
swer to single letter that he wrote.
The failure to have his letters returned
or to receive an answer from either Of
the parties to whom he had written did
not impress the lawyer in favor of John.
stone and he gave no more attention to
the case.
-Four woeks ago Colonel Ccbcrn l..