The Batesburg advocate. [volume] (Batesburg, S.C.) 1901-1911, 1903-10-21
GOES FREE.
A Jury of His Peers Declares Him
Not Guilty"
SCENES IN THE COURT ROON
When the Verdict Was Announced
and Col. TilIman Received
the Congratulations OF
His Friends.


His Friends.
The trial at Lexington Is over ant
James III. Tillman is free man. A
jury OF his peers has pronounced hin
Not guilty" OF the charge OF murder
Thus ends one of the greatest an6
most important trials that has occur
red In South Carolina, certainly the
most important and far-reaching with,
Il the last quarter Of century.
1t is perhaps due and proper that
the verdict OF a jury should be final
Under American law this ought tC
end the matter. Whether or not
that verdict OF Not guilty" will be
satisfying 1t is not for me to say. 1t
is for me TO record, as / have under
taken during the progress OF the
entire trial, what actually occurred,
and what was said. and IL is left for
others to draw conclusions.
Il will not, however, be amiss for
me to suggest that this verdict OF
Not guilty" while entirely expected,
will not satisfy very many In this
State. The evidendce In the case has
| U'' cNN' pu'iichSu, hlll d Icduluk pGO-
Pile will form its own conclusions as
did that jury in Lexington Court
| House.
Already l can hear the suggestion
that the trial was simple farce, and
that nothing other than what occur
red was to have been expected from a
| jury composed as was the Tillman
panel. Already one can hear that
such a verdict was the result OF poll
tics, and that the nephew OF Senator
! Tillman had nothing to fear in a
county that had always shown larg-
er proportiOnate vote in support OF
Senator Tillman than any other coun-
ty in the State.
1t is not, judge, violating any
confidence for me to say now that
counsel for the prosecution, soon after
the jury had been drawn, said that
nothing but an acquittal would be the
result OF the trial. And then, as the
trial progressed, they hoped for
miStrial, but never did the counsel for
the prosecution expect conviction.
1t may then be asked why the trial?
There had to he = tr:g, of tso =, -: 80
VI w pS
the world, and 1T WIS thought that 1t
was at least due the memory OF the
dead editor to make the strongest
presentation OF the facts in his defence,
not only to the jury, but to the world.
1t is not for me to Judge James III.
Tillman, nor is it for any one else to
do SO now, as he has been tried and
acquitted according toJhe laws and
forms of this great Statf.
HOW THE JURY STOOD.
When the jury retired to it's room
Wednesday afternoon, shortly before
, o'clock, the first ballot resulted ten
To two in favor OF an acSuittal 1t is
understood that the twt jurors who
insisted upon Ii conviction for man.
slaughter held out for h,urs. While,
OF course, it is not detititely known
what occurred in the jury room, it is
said that the first OF thejurors to in
SiSt upon a verdict OF nanSlaughter,
who Joined the majority, was Mr.. j.
/ B. Jumper.
This then left Milton iharpe as the
only juror who stood beween James
| III. Tlllman an his aouittal. For
hours aud hours the ,Jher jurors
argued with him so as secure his
consent to verdict. 1t breakfast
| time Mr.. Sharpe was ALOE and insist
ent upon ms position. y about half
past 10 o'clock he finally onSented to
a verdict, and the fOremaLof the ury
called for pen and ink witt which To
write the verdict, and knOGed on the
door To announce u the expectant
crowd that Il verdict had ben agreed
upon twenty hours after tn Jury had
retired TO frame It's verdict.
| Early in the morning, whe Ii was
understood that Juror JumpeL who is
a pale-lUOking young mill Operative,
| had acquieSced in the verdict OF ac-
/ quiLtal, the impression gew strong
and fast That il would not b long be-
| fore Not guilty would t written
across the face OF the indictment.
\ TALK WITH THE JURIiEN.
/ | have undertaken to find ut from !
the Jurymen themselves whatvaS the |
| predOmlnatIng reason for the oeiSion. |
/ Several OF the jurors stated thaJhere
was no predominating reason, but
others explained That the ten IrorS
/ had come TO their conclusion for
various reasons, but that the mirrity,
after being convinced that Mr.. ION
ZaleS made demonstration whe he
met Col. TIllman at the transfenor-
ner, acquicSced in the verdict.
Mark you, this Concurrence inthe
view that Mr.. Gonzales did ma. a
demonstration is given as the reon
for the minority Joining the majcty
view, although 1t may have en
simply an excuse for the juror. Wn
| the foreman of the jury knockedln
/ the door TO announce that a "
dict had been agreed upon every ,e
knew as far as such thing could
possible that it was verdict Of N
guilty. because the first report tn
came from the jury room was to t.
effect that ten jurors favored an
/ quittal.
Judge Gary promptly directt
| Caughman To bring the prisoner, Co
James III. Tliman, into Court an,
runners were sent out for Col. Till
mans counsel. 1t was not many min
| uteS before Col Tillman apDpared I'm