The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1902-02-14
BATCH
OF MURDERERs
Fourteen From the Southwest
Arrived Yesterday.
TERMS ONE TO EIGHTEEN
Whisky Drinking said 10 Have Caused
Tier DownIaII-Thirteen From
Russell aud One From
W,the.
TERMS ONE TO EIGHTEEN

Fourteen white prisoners were received
at the pen!eentiarv from Southwest Viz.
Sinia yesterday. Thirteen of them were
implicated in one murder in Russell
county last Christmas, and tha othe,
one, who was sentenced in Wythe, was
also convicted of murder and givef
eighteen years. Liquor appears to hays
been a t TIE bottom of outh cases All thu
prisoners are macs. Most of them aTs
young men. The oldest is forty-tive ana
the youngest seventeen. They are gooG
locking, and some of them are well con-
nected.
The terms of all the prisoners aggre>
gate one hundre ed and seventv-nine years
This is the largest batch tLat ever cam.
from the SOUTHWEST at any one time iri
the history of the State. 1t is next to thu
largest that ever came from any on<
place. Danrille furnished sixteen at ous
time some years ago.
NAMES OF TIE PRISONERS
Tie names of the prisoners and theh
terms are as follows:
From Russell county-Kius Ray, Will
son Ray, Jonah Ray, Thomas Ray.
Charles Ball and Bauzy Ball, eighteen
years each; Thomas Ball, Green Ball,
| James Bail and James Pickett, five years.
| each; Walter Hess and Joseph Hess, six,
teen years each, and John Henry Hess
for one year. The Wythe county pris-
| cner Is in for eighteen years for murder,
| and his name is Henry L. Ratcliff.
The prisoners arrived here over thu
| Norfolk and Western at S:S5 yesterday
MOI ming in charge of Guards john Z
| Moss and J. w. Write and Deputy Sher.
| iff c. W. Hunt, of Russell They gays
| little or no trouble on the way. ana
showed no signs of regret until they
were y. thin the p.is n gltes, en- it wat
evident that they fully real I'd tie awful
! plight they were in. When nearing the
| city on the train one of them asked
| where the penitentiary was. When
| shown the big white building on the hill
| they all leaned out OF the car to set
! their new place of abode.
WE'RE LOCKED TOGETHER.
The four Ray brothers were tandcuf'
| fed together The others were fastened
to each other in a similar manner The
thirteen Russell county men were con-
victed of the murder Of Jack Osborne ar
CLr.stmas dance in the mountain section
of the county.
Their terms range from one to eighteen
years. Henry RatclIff. of Wyths. was
given eighteen for the killing OF Mrs.
Louisa c., Huddle about the middle OF
last December.
The Russell county tragedy is said tG
have BEEN one of the saddest ever re-
corded in tie history of that section OF
the State, and was the result OF a Christ
mas frolic, at which there had been
drinking It is sad that some of the
Young men drank moonshiue wL-iskey.
| and ensag ed in a pi ched battle on Little
River b tween the Ta.y.or TugSles and
Ospornes Mr.. Osborne was Instantly
Killed and his companions were danger
otLsiy wounded.
RATCLIFF"S CRIME.
Ifenry L. Ratcliff, the Wythe county
murderer, who was brought here yes
tertlay to serve eighteen years tor the
murder of his mother-in-law, Mrs
Louisa c. Huddle, committed the crime
while in an intoxicated condition. II
was generally known among his neish-
bors that he had quarreled with ms
mott erin law because she had decided
the property on which G.ey Lived to bis
wife and retained a life interest there
in. RatcIilf wanted the property put
in his own name. On the day of the
murder he went home in an intoxicated
condition and threatened TO Kill h:i
wife, mother-in-law and children Ills
wife and children fed, but Mrs Hud-
die was caught by Ratclif, VINO Die"
out her brains with a shot gun
After the murder Ratcliff went TO ths
home Of Stuart buckley, TIE dSspd "o
mans SON. where he fell asleep, IN winch
condition he was found and arrested
Ratcliff's wife escaped with her NJ
FAINT baby in her arms
A part of Mrs. Huddies skuil was TORI
away by the load of shot which killed
her.
II required three days TO get the prts-
oners hire. Henry Ratc!iff was brought
| from ChristiansbIrg where he had been
| taken for safekeepinS.
Ths pri~one-s were placed in temporary
| cells Yesterday. To-day they will De put
| in strires signed duty and given une
| cells which in future they Will occupy.