The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-06-25
AGE SAVED HIS NECK
ELIJAH SHAW SENTENCED TO I'M
PRISoNMENT FOR LIFE.
IS A BOY OF EIGHTEEN.
KILLED MATTHEW JOHNSON IN A
QUARREL NEAR WATER WORKS.

Evidence for the State Made Ont
What Seemed TO Most of the Jury
men Clear Case of Murder, but
Youth of the Prisoner Induced
Them to Accompany the Verdict
of Guilty with "a Recomm enda on.
Shaw Broke Down and Wept When
He Made HIS Statement, but Lis
| tened to the Imposition of Sem
tence without a Culver and in
Apparent Indifference.
Elijah Shaw, a negro boy certainly not
more than IS years old and who claims
to be considerably less, was tried in the
| Superior Court yesterday for murder,
| found guilty, but given recommendation
by the jury and sentenced by Judge Fall
| ligant to Imprisonment in the penitentiary
| for life
! The crime for which the boy has been
| condemned to spend the remainder of his
| life behind prison bars was the homicide
of Matthew johnson, negro man. whom
Shaw shot and killed upon what seemed
to the jury yesterday the very mildest
provocajtion. The killing was done on
Stiles avenue near the city water works,
on the morning of Sunday, May 26.
The boy turned up in court dressed af-
ter fashion evidently designed to i'm
press upon the jury that was to try him
| his extreme youth. He was weaiing shott
| trousers end was bare-legged and bare
| footed. He has a hard face, that shows
the imprint of premature vice and de-
| hatchery, and that served to explain to
the jury how a boy of his age could have
| ,e,0s%N 81 hot hn nL-
idence of the states witnesses showed his
| to have been.
| The case was called shortly after II
| o'clock and but very little time was con-
sumed in the selection of jury. In two
| hours all the evidence was in, the argu-
| ments of counsel had been made, the
| charge of the court delivered and the fate
of the defendant committed to the hands
of the jury. The jury deliberated for near
| ly four hours before it's verdict was re-
| turned.
Mr.. c. H. Spple, Judson Gaillard
| George Curry and William Robinson, the
last three all colored men, furnished the
| evidence for the state upon which the
conviction was secured. In its entirety
! the evidence made out a clear case of
guilt, that satisfied the minds of the ma
jority of the jurymen that the crime was
| murder, pure and simple, to them the
| recommendation that served to save the
| neck of the prisoner was inspired by his
youth and not by any belief in his story
or the alleged circumstances of justih-
cation that he related.
The story of the Crime.
1t was about o'clock that Sunday
morning that the crime was committed.
| There had been a row between son of
Johnson, the man who was killed and
| other small negro boy and johnson had
come out of his house and carried his
boy back into the yard. AS the man walk
| ed away, Shaw leaning up against the
| fence, had called after him that she had
| better keep away or the crowd would
do something to him." Then Johnson
walked back into the road and asked
| Shaw what he had said. The boy retort-
ed with question as to what Johnson
would do If he told him. and when John
| son told him that he would slap him If
he were impudent, repeated the insoent
remark, with some profane and vulgar
additions, and picked up a rock and thew
1t at the man.
johnson came up close to the boy and
caught hold of him and the two struggled
around for a little while in the road the
boy either succeeding finally in pulling
loose or was released by johnson at ths
request of the latters wife. Shaw cele-
brated his liberty by renewing his pro-
fame abuse of Johnson and picked up an
after him again. AS he did so, the boy
stopped, turned took deliberate aim with
a revolver he drew from his pocket and
fired. The first shot went wide, but the
second, true to it's intended mark lodged
itself in Johnson's heart and he fell to
the ground dead.
/ Mr.. Sipple saw the shots fired and said
that at the time there was nothing to in
dictate that Johnson intended to do Shaw
any serious bodily injury or commit
felony upon him. The boy was cool and
collected, said Mr.. Sipple, and fired with
every appearance of elaboration and of
taking careful aim. That his aim was ac.
curate, the event proved
Shaw made his escape from the scene of
the homicide and was pursued by a large
number of those who had witnessed this
killing and other people of the neighbor-
hood. The crowd finally got him lodged
i'll a house, after he had fired several
times upon it, and telephone message
was sent to the police barracks Supern-
tendent Reilly responded in person and
made the arrest.
This was the evidence which the solicit
tor general placed before the jury to sup
port the contentious of the state, that the
crime was brutal and cowardly murder
and that Shaw had first provoked quar-
rel with johnson and then killed him be-
cause he made use of the ordinary and
hloueIdte MelnOuS OF reSentlng such an
injury that are authorized by the law.
The Defendant in Tears.
The only thing offered by the defense
to rebuff the states case was the state
ment of the accused himself. The boy
broke down and wept almost as soon as
he got on the stand. and 1t was some
minutes before he could control his emo
ton sufficiently to go on with his story.
las to the preliminary facts this state
ment lid not differ materially
from the story told by the wit
nesses for the state. Shaw said
however. that he had been choked and
beaten by johnson and had finally man
aged toNpnll himself from the mans
clutches. Afterwards johnson, picking up
brick. had started for him again. Shaw
said he had warned johnson not to come
close to him, and when the man contin-
ued to advance, with the brick in his
hand he had fired
Brief arguments we're made by Solicitor
General Osborne for the state and by Mr.
r. L. Colding for the defense and Judge
Falligant charged the jury shortly after
l o'clock.
In the jury room, II is said the Jurors
were divided between manslaughter ana