The Rice belt journal. (Welsh, Calcasieu Parish, La.) 1900-19??, 1902-06-27
BATSON GETS NEW TRIAL
Supreme Court Reverses Lower Courts'
Decision on Technical Grounds.

After much anxiety and suspense by
the attorneys and others interested, a
verdict in the case of A f. Batson, con-
victed of the murder of the Earl family
near this city last February, was handed
down by the Supreme Court Saturday
and the condemned man will have a new
trial. The grounds on which the lower
courts ruling was reversed are purely
technical.
The following from the Times Demo-
crat reviews the case and gives the legal
points in question as pointed out by
Judge Monroe, the organ of the court:
In the first place the defense contend
ed that the Indictment was defective in
that it charged the defendant with the
murder of six persons and did not allege
the the otfenses We're committed at once
or at different times. The defense set
up what is technically known as duplic-
ity, and this the court sustains, holding
that the state, when it was shown that
the murders occurred at different times,
should have elected upon which murder
1T would try the defendant. The court
holds that had the six persons been all
murdered at the same time the Indictment
would have been good, but as the proof
adduced upon the trial shows that the
theory of the state was that they were
committed at different times the state
should have elected to try the defendant
upon one of the charges and confined it
self to that charge.
"As to the claim by the defense that !
the venlre was not properly drawn the
Supreme Courts holds that this will not
stand.
AS to the admission of the vest found
in the buggy and supposed to be the prop /
srty OF Batson, the court holds that this !
was testimony which should have gone to
'how the connection of the accused with
he crime.
"As to the admission of the evidence
lbout the leaving of the mules in Lake
Charles, and the disappearance of the
defendant, the court says that this also
vas admissible as tending to show the
onnectlon OF the accused with the crime.
but when the documents which had
lot been admitted in evidence the letters
# the accused and other writings of his
we're admitted for the purpose of identi-.
ylng his handwriting by comparison !
he court holds that this was an injustice
the defendant and contrary to the
aw The court calls attention to the fact
ne rules IN the Code of Practice govern
ng TINS phase of the case are applicable
My to civil cases.
he case is reversed upon mere tech
lcailtles because the Supreme Court can
OF pass on the evidence and is limited Z
the law points raised. The result is
nat the case goes back to the Parish of
alcasleu, and Batson will be again
led. Justice Breaux dissented from the
plnion of the majority. II
The murders for which Batson was in. !
cted, tried and sentenced to be hanoed !
ere committed near Welsh in Fehruarv ,
ne entire Earl family numbering six
ersons were found murdered and the
ules which belonged to the family were =
und in Lake Charles where they had
ZEN taken by Batson who was an en-
oyee OF the Earls. The livery stable !
'eeper and all the rest of the peonIe :
ound the stable, and some of the people \
tne road from the Earl farm to Lake
iarles swore that they saw Batson with
e mules on the day when the murders
e supposed to have occurred The eyi.
nee against the prisoner was convinc z
:. he did not introduce a single wit s
IS IN his own behalf but contented him Z
II with making a brief statement that z
ala not murder the Earls and that he &
q nothing to do with the murder. and Y
not know who did it. The trial of E
case consumed nearly two weeks and z
ough the defendant had no money Z
court appointed two young men. e
essrs. Paul Sompayrac and Winston 2
erLon, who conducted the case with =
lrked ability and did not overlook n z
ance 10 register an objection and an ex- z
'' e' Ihey nave won in the sense that &
supreme court, which cannot pass on &
evidence, concludes that the trial z
not proceed according to law
y