The Savannah morning news., 1903-05-01
INDICATED BY JURY
sAssER NOT GUILTY OF MURDER
Gus ASSAULT.
SHOOTING WAS JUSTIFIABLE.
ExHONERATED MAN THANKED
JURORS AND COUNSEL WARMLY.

verdict Was Reached Last Night,
After an Hours DelfberatiOn.
sasscr Awaited the Finding Anx-
iOusIy-MOrningsta the PrOsecu-
tor of the White Man, VIII Be-
come Defendant To-day, While
Sasser Will BE the Prosecuting
Witness-HOw Solicitor General
Obviated an Embarrassing Posi-
ton.
After a hard fought trial which last
ed all day, the jury in the case of 8. S.
Sasser returned their verdict last night
at o'clock, in which they found the
defendant not guilty. Sasser, who is
a white man. was charged with muir
derously assaulting General Morning
star, a negro fisherman, on Ossabaw
Island several months ago.
Sasser remained in the court room
while the jury was celebrating, and
when the twelve men who held his fate
in their hands filed into the court
room, after being out for more than
an hour, an expression of anxious eX-
pectancy was plainly depicted on his
face. This was surplaced by evident
gratitude when the finding of the jury
was read. The exonerated man TURNED
to the jurors and thanked them all,
and then grasped the hands of his
counsel warmly.
A Change of Front.
An unusual status of affairs presents
itself in the trial of Morningstar,
which will take place to-day. Both the
indictment against Sasser and the one
against Morningstar were the outcome
of the same affair. Sasser had the ne
gro indicted for hog-stealng, and the
negro. in turn, had Sasser indicted for
Inurderous assault. The position as
sumed by the state in its prosecution
of the negro will necessarily nave 10
be exactly opposite from the one as
sumo in the trial OF Sasser, since IL
was the states contention in the trldl
yesterday that Morningstar was not
stealing hogs When shot by Sasser.
In order to obviate the difficulty aris-
ing from the unusual situation, the so
licitors general pro tenn, Dan j. Charl-
ton, did not take any part in the IN
Vestigation of the case or in the argu-
ment, combining his services to its legal
aspect while the examination and ar
gument was conducted by F. I. Saus-
sy, who was employed by Morningstar
TO prosecute Sasser. The same dttor-
neys who defended Sasser, Raiford
Falligant and James f, Evans, Will
prosecute the negro to-day with the
assistance of the solicitor.
interesting Testimony.
Some Of the testimony in the case
was very interesting. The question
presented to the jury for determine
ton was whether or not the provo
cation for the shooting was hog
stealing, the negro maintaining stout
ly that he had no intention Of killing
one of the white mans hogs, but
rather, had come upon the island FOR
the purpose of building a fire and
warming himself. Sasser! on the other
hand swore that the hog had been
butchered and placed in the boat His
testimony was substantiated by the
evidence of a Mr.. Larrissey, and a
young white man who lives on the
island
Though the young man had lived at
OsSanaN all of his life, and was at
least 25 years old, he knew nothing of
Savannah. When, in endeavoring TO
ascertain the witness idea of distance,
Mr. Saussy asked him how far he
considered it was to BroughtOn street,
the witness was forced to confess he
didn't know a street in Savannah.
Exhibited His wounds.
Morningstar exhibited his wounds to
the jury. One f'then was through
the left shoulder and the other through
the stomach. He testified that after
he had been shot in the shoulder ne
was forced to skull with one arm, and
that while he was endeavoring to get
away in this fashion, Sasser went to
his house and procured horse and
heading him off as he issued from
creek, shot him again, though ne
pleaded for mercy. The manner In
which Sasser followed the negro up.
after he had shot him, was the only
damaging bit of testimony against him.
Sasser contended that the negro would
not surrender
Bob Williams. who was with Morn
ingstar at the time of the Shooting, and
who escaped in the marshes and es-
tuaries of the island where he remain
ed for two days without food will be
tried with his euphoniously named
companion. 1t is probable that the
prosecution of the two negroes Will be
even more vigorous than was the pros
ecution of Sasser. whose innocence has
been established by the fury