The county record. [volume] (Kingstree, S.C.) 1885-1975, 1903-04-23

CONVICTED OF MURDER
AND RECOMMENDED TO THE
MERCY OF THE COURT,
Connie c Myers Sentenced to Life
lmprisonment-end of Sensa-
tional Case.

| Im1FlSOnment-Cn no OI ScnSd-
tionaI Case.
The case of the State VS. Lonnie c
Myers, charged with the murder OF
his brother-in-law, Samuel W James
on June 20, 1902, came to an end
Friday afternoon, when the jury,
after remaining out over seven hours,
returned verdict of guilty, with a
recommendation TO mercy. The
trial of this case consumed the
whole of Thursday and Friday,
there being about 80 witnesses all
told and the jury did not retire un-.
til Saturday morning.
This case excited more than pass
ing interest and the court room was
crowded with spectators at almost
every stage of the trial. The homi-
eide occurred in the neightorhood Of
Scranton and as both the Myers and
James families are prominent in that
section, the liveliest concern was
manifested in the outcome of the
trial. During the trial Mrs S W
James, the widow of the dead man,
wearing deep mourning, sat beside
her husbands mother, Mrs James,
ST., only a short distance from the
defendant and his wife, who stood
by him faithfully throughout the
trying ordeal. The details of the
tragedy were narrowing in the ex-
treme and as witness after witness
touched up the canvas in more lurid
colors, the picture with its dark
background of human passion and
violence so wrought upon the jurors
that several of them were moved to
tears.
The pathos of the story was
accentuated by the presence of the
children of the dead man and
Myers little ones soon to be deprived
of their natural protector.
1t is impracticable to give even a
synopsis of all the testimony.
There were only three eye-witnesses
to the killing-James' two little
children Zone of whom was too young
to testify and a negro who was at
work in Myers field some distance
away.
DR. W S Lynch, who had been
summoned to attend James, said
that he found him barely alive when
he arrived. His wounds were load
of small shot in the arm and five
wounds on the head, four of which
were fractures of the skull bones.
Through these fractures the brains
could be seen protruding.
The little girl, 10 years old, testi-
fed that on the fatal morning her
father was at work putting rails on
his fence when Myers approached
and while the former was lifting a
rail Myers fired at him. Father
dashed at Myers and pushed gun
aside when Myers hit him on head
with gun barrel knocking him down.
Myers then got on his breast and
beat him on head with gun-barrel.
When her father ran at Myers he
was putting another shell in gun.
Toney Dantzler, the other eye
witness, said that he was in Myers
field cutting oats that morning when
he saw Myers get over fence and
walk toward James. He had his
gun in hand. Heard gun fire and
saw Myers run back in direction he
came from with James after him.
Myers wheeled and hit his pursuer
two licks with gun knocking him
down. After knocking James down
Myers ran back to his house.
There were several witnesses who
testified as to Myers threats to kill
James and Myers himself admitted
on the stand that he had threatened
to kill James if he put another rail
~, his fance non onneotino with Myers'