The Savannah morning news., 1903-03-13
MAY FREE POTTERS
MOTION FOR NEW TRIAL FILED
BY DEFENSE DIsCLOSEs.
NEW EVIDENCE DISCOVERED.
TO PROVE MURDER WAS COM
MITTED AFTER POTTER
REACHED CITY.

ter Coming to Savannah on Fate
full Sundny-Subsequent Passed
Scene of Crime and Saw Nothing.
Later Heard Rapid Firing in Di-
rectiOn of Scene of Homicide,
About 800 Yards Distant from
Where Negroes Body Was Found.
Cnse VIII be Argued Tomorrow.
The amended motion for a new trial
in the Potter case, enbodying dis
closure of the newly discovered evil
| dence on which the defense hopes to
obtain new trial and establish the
| innocence of the accused, and reciting
| the exception to the rulings and
charge of the court, has been filed in
the office of the clerk of the Superior
Court.
The newly discovered evidence is
interesting. The exceptions to the
rulings and charge are quite numerous
and in themselves constitute matters
of interest. 1t is alleged that the evil
dence which was not adduced at the
trial Of tie case was not known to
counsel for defense until directly after
the trial. In fact, the witnesses say
that 1t was while counsel was arguing
to the jury that the disclosure was
made.
The newly discovered evidence is In
the form of two affidavits from Mar
| tin V. Chambers and John L. Card,
who swear that on Sunday, Nov. 2, on
the same day that Gugie Bourquin was
killed, they left Savannah on their BIZ
cycles to visit the Sheftall place,
| known as the Horn place, with view
of renting or purchasing it. They say
that they left the Central depot at
11:30 o'clock in the morning. having
ascertained the time because they
wished to find how long it would re-
| quire to make the trip.
They Met Potter.
When they were about to the five
mile post, they say, they met man
on wheel. carrying bunch of greens
and followed by several dogs, coming
| towards the city. This man they aft
erwards ascertained was w. ]. Pot
| ter. They say that afterwards when
| they read the statement of Potter to
| the effect that he had met two gem
| tlemen on wheels. they went to the
| Court House. arriving there while J..
| E. Myrick was making his argument
man being tried was the same one
| they had met in the road. Chambers
identified him at once.
In the affidavits they say further
| that after passing Potter on the wheel
they continued on their journey until
| they reached the Seaboard Air Line
| Railway, where the old Bourquin road
| crosses the railroad where they dis
| mounted and walked across the track
Not knowing that a railroad ran
! through the locality, they stopped on
| the tracks and looked up and down.
| Both men aver that they saw nobody
| on the track.
| Afterwards Heard Shots.
They then went to the Horn place,
| arriving at noon. Between IL and
1890 o'clock they heard five or six
shots in the direction of the Dean For
est road. This firing. they say, sound
ed to them to have been on the road
at least 800 yards from the railroad
| track. On their return home, they
were in a hurry and did not stop to
| look down the track.
They say that they have known
neither Of the Potters and have no in
| te rest in the case, except in the inter
est of justice. Card says that he men,
toned these facts to David L. Christ
ian before the trial, on the day after
| which they had heard was the firing
on Bourquin, but that Mr.. Christian
told him that they were in an entirely
different locality, and that for this rea-
son neither he nor his companion took
any further interest in it.
Made an Experiment..
! Both Opponents state that subsequent
| to the trial they visited the scene of
the crime; that on that occasion Card
| lay down on the railroad track in the
| place where the old negro is said to
| have fallen, Chambers remaining at
| the place where they had crossed on
| the day of the homicide, which was
about six telephones poles distant.
| Chambers says that he could not have
| helped seeing a body had it been there,
| and Card says that he believes had
the body been there he would have
| seen it.
Card is general foreman of the Sa-
vannah Rice Mill and Chambers is
foreman of the erecting department of
| the mill.
The prosecution attaches no impor-
| tance to the evidence. 1t is, accord
ing to the prosecuting attorney, mega
tive testimony, at its best. AS far as
| the shots which the men heard are
concerned it will be contended by the
| state that they not only entanated
| from a place far distance from the
| place where the crime has been posi-
| lively proven to have been committed
| but that Horn himself swore that there
| were hundreds of shots fired that day,
it being the opening day of the bird
| season.
Numerous Grounds of Error.
The defense places great dependence
on the newly discovered evidence, be-
lievfng it in itself to be sufficient to
| warrant new trial. though it presents
many other grounds. These additional
grounds consist in exceptions to the
rulings and the charge of the court.
The judge, it claims. should not have
allowed one witness to have stated
that Mrs. Bodafords former husband
had been killed, since the jury knew
to whom the solicitor had reference as
the man who shot him.
At one point in the trial, when a
boy swore on the stand differently
from what he had previously stated,
giving as his reason for the change
that he had aScertained that he was
wrong in the first instance, he was
commended by the court To this COM
| mendatiou exceptions are taken by
Potter's counsel. The admissability of
the indictment under which Potter was
convicted for Sunday hunting. and in
which Bourquin was the prosecuting
witness, is charged as error.
Candace KeIley's Testimony.
The four exceptions to the charge
of the court are all to the effect that
the court erred in charging the jury
relative to the impeachment of a wit
/ . sf1 1erfa. t..as - a.