The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1902-09-05
COHEN ONLY GRlNNED
WHEN TOLD HE WOULD NOT BE
HUNG TO-DAY.
HIS EXECUTION STAYED
JUDGE BARROW CRITICISED CON-
DEMNED MANS COUNSEL.

Crime without One Mitigating
Feafure-Granted the supersedeas
Because He Was Compelled to.
such Trining With Justice, He
said, Causes the People to Take
the Law in Their own Hands.
Abe Cohen, the convicted murderer
of the negro woman Susie Rogers,
grinned when told yesterday af-
ternoon that he would not be hung
to-day. The news of the supersedeas
and the delay in the date of the exc
cution did not reach Cohen I'M
til late, when his attorney,
Mr.. Slater, went to the jail
with some papers for him to sign.
Cohen said that he had made up his
mind to die, thinking that it was bet
ter to look for the worst than to hope
for life and then have to go.
When you had shot the wo-
man and the policeman arrested you,
you said that you were glad you had
done it; are you glad now?" Cohen
was asked.
That's what he said l said, but 1
never did say that" the negro replied.
II never was glad, and l never said
that 1 was. He said 1 told him that 1
came from Fernandina to kill her. If
1 had come back to kill her 1 could
have gotten her that night. But 1
never said 1 was glad 1 done it,
Cohen says that he will continue to
pray and try to keep up a stout heart
as it is too soon to quit. He talks
about any part of the hanging or the
murder as coolly as the man who has
no concern with either. He does not
ter as an ordinarily constitut-
ed person would be expected to
and displays no shrinking. though
he is reticent when questioned too
closely and grins when talking about
his prospects and ultimate fate as
though 1t were somebody else that was
in danger of being hanged.
Criticized the Lawyer.
In granting a. supersedeas to the SEN
tenoe of murder in the Cohen case,
Judge Barrow took occasion to criti-
else in unmeasured terms the action of
Cohen's counsel in presenting the bill
of exceptions. He characterized such
action as trifling with the sentence of
the court, and gave it as his opinion
that the law should be changed so as
to give the Judge discretionary power
to refuse to grant a supersedeas in a
case like the one at bar, where q
brutal murder had been committed
without one single feature to mitigate
1t or excuse it.
nj he "
case because 1 am compelled to-" Judge
Barrow says in his order. 'In my
| Judgment this Is not a case in which
there ought to be any delay further
than the orderly administration of the
law requires. 1t is just such trifling
with the sentences of courts in such
criminal cases as this, which causes
the people to take the law into their
| own hands and do summary execution
upon criminals of the worst class"
Argument on the Motion.
The argument on the motion for a
| new trial was in chambers Mr.. w. F.
| Slater appeared for the prisoner, and
| Solicitor General w. w. Osborne for
the state. Messrs. Oliver Colding and
| McCuen having Withdrawn from the
| case. The whole hearing did not con-
| sumo an hour. Mr.. Slater based his
| argument on a case which he thought
| similar to the one at bar in the Geor-
| gta reports. The solicitor did not argue
| the case for the state, as he consid-
| cred that the evidence spoke for itself,
and that the presiding judge would rec
ognize the inapplicability of the case
cited to the one at bar.
The grounds upon which a new trial
vas asked. as reviewed in the Morn
ing News, were. in short, that tho
| judge erred in charging the jury that
| they would be justified In recommend
! ing that the prisoner be punished by
| Imprisonment for life. should it find
that there We're circumstances of miti-
| cation, because in so charging he cir
| cumscribed the power and right of the
| jury.
No Error Committed.
In overruling the motion for the new
| trial, Judge Barrow said that he did
not consider that any error of law had
been committed, and that the evidence
| fully supported the verdict of the jury.
AS to the grounds of the motion, he
| said:
1T Is true. as stated In the motion
that the court charged the jury that
where they think there are circum-
| stances of mitigation they can recon-
mend that the punishment be reduced
from death to Imprisonment for life
| but 1T is also true that this is not all
| that was said in that immediate con-
nection with regard to the power of
| the jury to make this recommendations
and their reasons for it. The jury hat
| their attention called three separate
| and distinct times in the charge to the
fact that they had the right to reduce
| the punishment from death to impris-
onment for life, and in each case they
were told that they had the power
without circumscribing them to miti-
| eating circumstances or any other cir
| cumstances."
Had Anticipated Ruling.
Before the argument of the motion
was begun, Mr.. Slater said to the Judge
that he had noticed in the newspapers
that he would not grant a new trial
and asked whether there was any
use to argue the motion. Judge Bar
row replied that he was frank to admit
that if his ruling were made at that
time that he would undoubtedly over
rule the motion, but added that
he was open to conviction. The
argument was begun without further
delay. During the course of the argu-
ment. Mr.. Slater was frequently inter-
rupted by the court, who made in
Quiries as to the attorneys interpreta-
ton of the law.
1T seems to me-" said the court
that you wish to follow about the
same policy with your client that
julius Caesar wished to follow in ref
erence 10 Catalina"
II am not a student of Roman his
tory" replied counsel
Inn nf he