The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1903-10-10

| established by these men that the prOSecu
ton held up as models of perfection in
this court.
As to Mr.. Simms, Mr.. Pou read the list
| of witnesses who had testified to his good
character AS to Mr.. Schmitz, who hal
been villified in this court as no thief had
ever been villified in the court of Wake
county. To save his reputation some OF
the most prominent citizens of Baltimore
had come here of their own accord to
prevent Mr. Schmitzs character from be-
ing blackened by thieves and where's AS
to Mr. Hocutt, many of the noblest men
in the humber walks of life, and son.e
more prominent ones had testified to his
good character. Ned Barnes had a char
acter that would be a heritage to his
children.
Mr. Pou then went on to pay a splendid
tribute to Mr. Simms, tracing his even
action in the case, and explaining every
move, how he sacrificed his professional
ambitions to be "a witness in this case
No lawyer ever wants to be witness in
case, as it puts him where he can only
make dollar a day. to say nothing OF
sacrificing his professional ambition. Mr.
Srmms spoke as soon as he saw by the
papers that he seemed to be the only wit
ness.
But Ned Barnes had spoken of what he
saw before he slept that night, and if h.
did not have character, then could d
colored man have character?
They sid Mr.. Simms spoke too late,
but when their beauty, Mr.. Sauls, spoke
three weeks after the shooting, he is not
too late.
Then fortunately the . Tense had little
Isorl L
but they even tried to show by their
questions that this little boy had not
been even in Raleigh that day Was that
pleasantly? 1t did not sound pleasant.
Nobody had testified that the boys char
acter was bad, and his neighbors had said
| it was good, and they looked like sub
stantlal. good men.
The States theory was that man of
good. common sense had committed muir
der in broad open daylight, in front o.
the court house, with no reason or motive
and had made no attempt to get away.
When they see there is not a bit of evil
dence to hang him, they say they will be
willing to have him put in stripes.
The defense says that one man had
armed himself, gone after the other, pick
ed a quarrel, struck the other. reached for
was shot by the other man And Bob
Simms, Charlie Hocutt, Bernard n.
Schmtz, Mack Fuller, George Burst, Ned
Barnes, and Miss Mattye Pace had seen
it. Yet the prosecution thought they
could get Jones Fuller's evidence without
Miss PAGES, and when Colonel Argo ask
ed what Miss Pace had said. they object
ed, but the Supreme Court had recently
decided that EXPLANATIONS made by by
ISLANDERS in such cases as this should be
admitted as evidence before the jury
But they had tried to keep back Jones
Fuller's evidence until after the defense
| had nut on all its witnesses. But the court
forced them to show their full hand MI
! Pou hoped that every member of this
! jury when he went home after this trial
would join him in praying to God that
never again should man or dog in the
State of North Carolina be prosecuted as
unfairly as this defendant had been prose
cuted
| Mr.. Pou called for the clothes, saying
the State could not accuse these clothes
| OF lying or stealing tobacco or pistols,
even though they dared not put them III
evidence But they could not deny them.
| Then Mr.. Pou showed how the bullet
holes were in the lapel of the overcoat
showing that the hand was in the hip
pocket, thus throwing the lapel nearly
under the arm. No case had been founo
| for the pistol. 1t was fortunate that the
sworn officers of the law had been the
| first ones to take charge of the clothes.
Taking up the pistol Mr.. Pou placed il
in his own pocket, and said that the wit
nesses had testified that no part of the
pistol was out of the pocket. What did
that mean? 1t meant that Mr.. Skinner
wasn't in the habit of carrying a pistol
and had allowed it to slip down wholly
| into his pocket. so that when he reached
for it it hung in the lining of the pocket
Then to help get it out he had put hi,
right hand back of him. That was WHY
those on the right hand side of Mr. Skin
ner had testified he had his right hanG
back of him. The truth was he had boil
hands behind him.
The bulk of the evidence had shown that
the two shots were fired in quick success
sion. one while Mr.. Skinner was on the
sidewalk, and the other while he was or
the curb or near there. Mr. Jones Full
er's testimony he would not attack: foI
it really bore out this part of the theory
of the defense. Mr.. Fuller was called
suddenly, and as he looked he saw two
curbings, the one at the edge of the SLATE
pavement and the one at the edge of the
sidewalk. Mr.. Fuller saw Mr.. Skinner
stepping on to the grass plot and thought
he was stepping out into the street. The
attention OF the other witnesses was called
at once and they spoke of it at once. He
did not speak of it for six months, and
did not want to be witness, and had
tried to forget everything about it, Then
1t was very difficult for even the best OF
men to keep separate what they had seen
from what they had heard, especially
Ewhen for six months they had not spoken
and had heard constantly different ac-
counts. They had thrown no stink pots
at honest men. They left that for the
other side.
The defense was that Ernest Haywood
was simply exercising tho God-given
right of self-defense. the right to defend
himself at time when the law Of the
land could not protect him. Ernest Hay
wood was transacting his business. He
met this gentleman who was coming t.
meet him. What they talked about no
one knew. Then Miss Pace says that
Mr.. Haywood seemed to be impressing
something upon him. Then came the
blow. and Mr.. Skinner stepped back.