The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1903-07-01
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tied that the jurors must be returned
by mpartial and disinterestcd officers
and that one of the officers whose
duty it was to return the panel was
relative Of the deceased. and impartial
and as some time would clapse before
his term of Office would expire and The
defendant being entitled 10 a SPEEDY
trial, a change OF venue was ordered.
Attention was called to the fact
there were no cases reported in South
Carolina Courts in reference TO news
paper publications. In New 1orH
several cases were cited where changes
of venue were given on account Oh
newspaper prejudice:
! The atliQavitS Of Nr. y. E. and MI
| W. f.. Gonzales do not deny that on
the day after the notice for change OF
venue that there was published an
editorial entitled Only Criminals
Fear a Fair Trial" This was done
only to affect the minds Of the people
The prosecution says thai the minis
ters did not refer to the case from their
| pulplts. Mr.. Nelson then read sew
cral extracts from the prayers that
were offered on the Sunday after the
shooting. Every single affidavit pre-
sented by the defence shows that Col.
Tillman cannot get fair trial anu
they also state the reason why he can
not get fair trial.
Washington \. Clark has called
Gonzales Il martyr and Tillman an as
sassin. The same is true OF John j.
McMahan. The newspapers have pre-
JUDGED the minds OF these people By
publishing numerous facts in regard TO
this case The defence has not only
made reference TO these articles. but
has presented these clippings to the
| Courts.
Mr.. Justice Mccall Of New York, in
the case of People VS. Buffet, granted
Il change of venue on the ground that
the newspapers had prejudlccd the
minds of the people so much against
the prisoner.
These cases are cited to show how
similar cases have been treated in
other States Col. Nelson then read
several similar cases to the Court,
showing that changes OF venue have
been granted on the ground that news
papers are sufficient to prejudice the
minds of pecple so much Us to prevent
fair trial.
In closing Col. Nelson said that it
had given him no pleasure to make
the criticism OF those with whom
he had formerly been friends. He was
always willing to give the deceased edi-
tor the credit of believing that he was
right and did not now want to change
his course.
MR.. BELLINGER's ARGUMENT.
The next argument was that Of EX-
ATTORNEY Geueral G.. Duncan Bellln-
ger. \ thorough review OF the case
was made by this distinguished attor-
nev, who began by refuting the argu-
ment presented Wednesday by Col.
George Johnstone for the defence. He
said:
Has there been any fact presented
by which you can form an opinion tnaI
the defendant cannot get Il falr trial
in this county?
The same legal principle which pre-
walls in a jury trial, that the State
must prove its case beyond reason
able doubt, does not prevail at all IN
this judicial investigation. The qucS-
tion is: Can James H. Tillman re-
ceiye a fair trial in Richland County?
1t is a well-known principle, of law
that Il defendant must be tried at the
place in which the crime was COM
mittcd. In olden times it was the
custom fol the witnesses OF q crime TO
decide on the case. The idea OF change
of venue is Il comparatively new thing
in law. Col. Johnstone said in his
argument that two-thirds OF the alfi-
davits made by the defence were those
Of Well-known citizens Of Rlchiand
County. This argument is illogical
and Circuit Judge knows one man
like another and supposes them all to
be fair-minded.
When the defence says that Mr.. W.
A. Clark, J. J. McMahan and W. H..
Lyles affirm that the defendant is a
murderer this does not debar themfrom
saving he can receive fair trial here.
They do not allege that these gentle
men would lie: that their prejudice
has carried them so far that they can
not tell the truth. The prosecution
does not make the allegation that the
three hundred and fifty men who
made aftidayits for the defence would
give jim Tillman anything but a fair
trial. The four hundred and fifty af-
fiants for the defence, who swore that
Ti1lman could get fair trial, certain
" would give him justice.
The Gonzales brothers and James y.
Hoyt, who were so much attached TO
the dead editor, would not sit on the
jury.
Sen. Bellinger made reference to
the case OF the State against Williams.
A. that time both sides could object
to twenty men and the State could
stand aside the entire Henire. Since
then every change in the criminal
trials has been made in favor OF the
defendant.
Gen. Be1linger said that in his long
experience he had never seen certified
extracts of Circuit Judges opinions
referred to. They should have no
weight whatever in this case. The
aflidayit made by Mr.. John p.
Thomas, in the case of Crawford, who
killed Mrs. Isabella Stuart, for change
of venue, was read out in full by Gen.
Bellinger. He brought out the fact:
not read by Mr. Nelson, that at the
time Of the killing there was great
uproar in Columbia: people had as
sembled on the street to lynch Craw-
ford and it was only by being protect
ed by two military companies that his
life was spared. He contrastcd this to
the state that existed when Mr.. Con-
zales was killed.
In answering the reference brought
out by Mr.. Nelson concerning the
conversation which occurred with
Mr.. w. II. GibbeS, he sal d
that the cases decided by the Court
were not for change of venue, but
were those inwhich motions haze been
made to quash the Indictment and
challenge the array of jurors on ac-
count of the illegal drawing of jurors.
In the case of Sullivan, where the
sheriff was just elected it would have
4 I, l,,, Il 1.,, NJ