The Savannah morning news., 1901-02-03
HAYS NECK SAVED
Jury ACCOMPANIED VERDICT
WITH A RECOMMENDATION.
IMPRISONMENT FOR LIFE
PENALTY HE WILL PAY FOR THE
MURDER OF VARNEDOE.

dlAIGiy Passed
ance With Its Findings-Hays Had
Not Expected the Verdict Amy
More Than Had Others, and Re
ceived IL With a Gasp of Relief.
Juryuen Said They Had Added
the Recommendation because
They Were in Doubt as 10 the
First SHOT.
The verdict OF the jury that tried the
case against Seaborn Hays saved his
guilty neck from the gallows, but con-
demned him to Imprisonment in the pen
stentiary for life for the murder Of Motor
man l. B. Varnedoe. The verdict was
surprise to most of those VINO had watched
the progress of the case, and most
wonderful relief to Hays. They and he
had expected a verdict without a recon-
mendation.
Tho trial was resumed at 10 O'Clock
Yesterday morning. the defense contin-
l1ing the introduction Of its testimony.
Hays was placed on the stand TO make
his statement to the jury. He told his
story with the same dramatic fervor that
DISTINGUISHED his effort on the last trial
of the case, the same attention to detail
the same wandering from the point and
attention to trivialities, the same hnger-
ing upon the profane and obscene portions
of his testimony During the trial he has
assumed something of the state that
used TO enshrine Abe Small, the murder
er of Policeman Jansen Neve, in the es-
TEEN OF his race, and the crowd Of ne
groes that thronged the gallery Of the
court room hung upon his words with
absorbed interest.
Hays told Of the trip he had made to
Sandfiy with Joe Lloyd and James Blige,
the two negroes indicted jointly with
him for the murder They went out to
get a dog, shat belonged to the defendant,
from his brother. They got the dog and
boarded the car to return TO the clty.
Like Lloyd, Hays placed all the blame
for the cursing and oDsUenity on BIige,
that one OF the defendants who succeed
ed In making good his escape after the
commission of the crime, and VINO mas
never been captured. Hays said Mr.. Da-
Wis had put him off the car unjustly and
that he had been greatly outraged by this
conduct MIR. Davis had kicked him off
ehe car.
HAYS told how he had complained 20
his companion of the injustice with which
he had been treated and how he had told
them that ne was going to the conductor
10 ask him for the money, even If the
conductor blew off his head. Blige Of
fered him a revolver and he look it, in
case, he said, there should be any trou-
bic.
The defendant told of the encounter at
the station. He said he had approached
the motorman because he knew him and
thought Mr.. Varnedoe would intercede for
him with the conductor. and get back
for him the fare he had paid, which
had not been returned to him when he
was elected from the car.
Hays claimed he had preferred his re-
quest in a mild and respectful fashion.
and that instead of answering in the SAME
way the nlotorman had first cursed and
threatened him, and then began to fire.
He did not return the fire, according to
his story, until Mr.. Varnedoe had shot
twice. Then, he claimed. he fired ia order
to save his own life. These were the
material parts of the defendants state
ment.
In the rebuttal the solicitor general in
troduced a number OF witnesses, who
completely smashed and disproved the
contentious Of fact made by the defense.
These witnesses included Mr.. H. l..
Richmond, MIR. S. S. Furguson, Mr.. l..
C. Langben and a number Of others,
reputable and respectable men who Ges-
titled that Hays had approached the Ger
I'm a threatening manner, ordered the
motorman TO stop the car and then be-
gun TO fire. These witnesses said Hays
carried his weapon in his hand when he
1sTst appeared and had menaced the mo-
torman with it until he began to shoot.
So far as the witnesses were concern
ed. the case reduced itself to two points,
that were left for the jurys determina-
tion-the manner, whether threatening or
peaceable. in which Hays had approached
the car, and who had fired the first shot
On the first point there was no diversi-
ty of evidence, save that introduced by
Hays own statement Otherwise the I'M
contradcted evidence was that he had
his pistol in his hand when he first step
ped into the ignt, had been insolent and
menacing in word and action and hat
constantly threatened the motorman with
his revolver. On the second point there
was the evidence of six or seven respec-
table white men on the one hand and that
of like number of Hays relatives AMI
close friends on the other.
The arguments to the jury were begur
about O'Clock. The solicitor genera
consumed only a few minutes in his open.
ing speech to the jury reading the simple
principles OF law upon which he relied
and stating that he would confidently ex
pect verdict of guilty.
Mr. Falligant spoke about two hours
concluding his argument which was in
terrupted by the recess FOR dinner, at
o'clock in the Afternoon. 1t was his con
tention that the evidence showed tha
the motorman was the aggressor and thai
Hays had acted In self-defense. He sup
ported this by some theories of his own
the principal one being derived from tn,
testimony Of Jasper Hays that he haC
had difficulty with Mr.. Varnedoe anC
that the motorman had threatened his life
From the dying statement of Varnedoe +
appeared he had been under the impress
sion that Jasper Hays was the man WHIT
had shot him. Mr. Falligant contendet
that having threatened to kill Hays. tn
motorman would have been anxious L
carry out his threat.
The solicitor general argued with grea
force that there was not one single, re-
deeming element IN the case-that it wa
rs deliberate a murder as had ever beer
committed In this county Mr. Osborn,
said Il made not the slightest differenc,
whether Hays or Varnedoe had actual,
fired the first shot. as the undisputed evl
dence was that Hays had approached tn.
car in such a manner as 10 excite tn,
fears of brave man. even. that his III
was In danger. Had Vauedoe fired an,
killed Hays said the solicitor, and Hay
never have had chance to fire. the HON
icide would have been UNSUITABLE