The Savannah morning news., 1901-06-13
MITCHELL MUST Die.
GUILTY OF CRIMINAL ASSAULT
WITHOUT RECOMMENDATION.
HIS CRIME A DOUBLE ONE.
1T WAS COMMITTED ON RUTCHIN-
son ISLAND, TWO WEEKS AGO.


Case of Brutal Guilt, Aggravated
by Every Imaginable BestiaIity.
Jury Might Have Spared MitchelI's
Neck if He Could Have Been Pun
ished by imprisonment for Life.
Under the Law Heaviest Punish
ment Short of Denth Is ImprisOn-
ment for Twenty Years-Jury Did
Not Yet Imposed.
George Mitchell, a middle-aged negro,
was tried in the Superior Court yester-
day for criminal assault, alleged to have
been committed upon Patience Maxwell
a negro woman. and the jury returned
against him a verdict of guilty without
any recommendation to mercy. The YER
dict means death
1t is probable that If the laws of .Geor-
gia had permitted or authorized the in
Fiction of a sentence to serve a life
term in the penitentiary, when a verdict
of guilty of the offense with which Mitch
ell was charged. is accompanied by
recommendation to mercy. the mans
neck would have been saved. Ten or ff-
teen minutes after it first retired the
jury returned to the court room with a
request that it be recharged on the sub
ject of the effect of a recommends
to mercy. Judge Falligant instructed II
that in that event he would be author
lied to punish the defendant as for as
sault with intent to commit the crime.
This would have meant Imprisonment In
the penitentiary for from one to twenty
years.
This punishment did not seem adequate
TO the jury, considering the brutal enorm-
nifty of the crime and its aggravating cir
cumstances. and when the verdict was re-
turned some fifteen minutes later, it was
guilty merely, without recommendation.
There was nothing, indeed, upon which
a recommendation could well have been
based. that came out in the evidence.
All the testimoney showed the crime to
have been committed with every attend
ant brutality the mind of a thoroughly
wanton and depraved negro could origin
ate. Before the 2 o'clock recess was taxi
en- all the evidence had been placed be-
fore the jury, the arguments of counsel
had been made, the charge of the court
delivered, the jury had deiberated and
the verdict of guilty been returned Moth
ing was left save to sentence the accused
to pay the penalty of his crime on the
gallows and this Judge Falligant post
poned. Sentence may be imposed to-day.
There were two indictments against
Mitchell. both charging the same crime,
laTh aVf1,a NSoI
occasion, and within a few minutes of
| each other. The victim of the second
crime was Sallie Hamilton
The estimony of Patience Maxwell was
10 the general effect that on May %. 1901
she and SalIie Hamilton were picking
blackberries on Hutchinson Island. The
two women had been on the island for the
same purpose on the two days preceding.
ana on both former occasio had seen
Mitchell stalking about. They saw him
again the day the crime was committed.
but though they observed his presence in
their vacinity they paid little attention to
him.
Suddenly he appeared before them and
with a word or two of introduction suffi-
GENTLY bestial in It's character, struck
both of them in the head with piece of
iron The two blows were administered
in rapid succession and the women fell
I
slightly recovered Mitchell accomplished
his evil purpose.
| This was the testimony of the prosecut-
ing witness and that of Sallie Hamilton
was identical with it in every essential
| particular With their evidence the state
rested its case and the prisoner was
placed on the stand by his counsel, Mr..
| w. n. Clark, to make a statement in his
| own behalf. 1t was a simple denial that
he had been in the vicinity of the crime
! or on Hutchinson Island at all ON the day
| in question. He said he had been in the
! city all day, but he made little attempt
| to describe his movements during the day
and introduced absolutely no evidence 10
support his contentious.
| In rebuttal the state introduced prac-
tically conclusive evidence of his guilt.
William Frederick. a white man, and
| Peter Cioett, a negro, both testified that
on the day in question they had been near
! the spot where the crime is charged to
have been committed and had seen Mitch
! ell running rapidly away, looking back
over his shoulder. Ten minutes after
wards two women had come up and told
the men the story of the outrage that
had been committed upon them. Golett
was particularly positive In his identif-
cation of Mitchell with the man he had
seen running away from the scene.
Arguments were made by MIR. Clarke.
for the accused. and by Mr.. Raiford Fal-
ligant, for the state. Judge Faliigant
| concluded his charge and the jury retired.
In half an hour. after being back in the
court ROOM once to be recharged on the
question of punishment. the jury re-
turned finally with the verdict of guilty.
Mitchell heard 1t read by the clerk with
stoical composure and indifference. man.
ifesting throughout this part of the or
deal the same lack of interest in the
| proceedings that had marked his con-
duct from the beginning of the trial.
Judge Falligant announced he would not
impose sentence Immediately. and the
prisoner was taken back to jail
The case IS remarkable in more ways
than one. 1t has been but two weeks
since Mitchells crime was committed,
and in that time he has been arrested.
indicted by the grand jury, tried and con-
victe1 He is the first. indicted for this
crinIes against whom a jury in this coun-
~ has returned a verdict Of guilty with
out recommendation. for a number OF
years.
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