The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-11-23
Jury Practically Agreed on VeT- dict Saturday Night but
 Waited Until Yesterday
ACQUITTED MAN LOSES
 NO TIME GETTING HOME
Juryman Caffey Sheds Tears When Told of the Misfortune That Had BefalIen His Family, and Hur-
 ried to His New Home.

The jury in the case of William Wise returned a veridct of not guilty yesterday morning, at 10 o'clock Mir. Wise was re- leased at once and spent the remainder of the day with his family, at his resi- dence on Fourth avenue, where scores of people called to extend congratulations. It is understood that there was little dssension among the jurymen, and that they practically agreed upon the verdict of not guilty Saturday night, but decided not to formally present it to the court until yesterday morning.
 The jury was taken to the court house by the bailiffs at s:3O o'clock, and almost immediately asked that Judge D. A. Greene be sent for.
 When Judge Greene arrived and took his seat at the bench, the defendant had been brought over to the court room and John T. Shugart and A. Leo Oberdorffer, counsel for the defendant. and Solicitor II. P Hefiin were present. The court sent word to the jury to know If they had reached a verdict, or simply wanted further instructions. The answer was returned that a verdict had been reach l ed
 The jurymen filed into the court room at 10:2S
 A Verdict Reached.
 "Gentlemen, have you reached yer dict?" asked the court.
 we have" answered the foreman.
 Pass it to the clerk" said Judge Greene.
 Deputy Clerk Collins then read as fol- lows:
 we, the jury, find the defendant not guilty. Signed. W. G. Woods, foreman. l As the verdict was announced, slight rapping of applause began which was inn mediately silenced by the court. There were probably thirty spectators in the room, who crowded around MT. Wise to congratulate him. None of the immedi- ate relatives of the defendant were pres ent, except William Delheim and MT. Oberdorffer. as 1t was hardly expected that a verdict would be brought in so early.
 Went to Jail to Get Hat.
 Mir Wise left the court room surround ed by his friends and crossed over to the jail to get his hat which had been left there and went from there to his home on Fourth avenue, where friends called throughout the day to offer their con gratulations. Numerous flowers were re- ceived during the afternoon and many telegrams came from friends and rela- lives outside of the city. The porch of the Wise residence was made place for holding a sort of informal congratula- ton party when he first reached home and there was a crowd of rejoicing friends about the house for some time. 1 A. Wise, the father of William Wise, was on his way to the court house when the verdict was announced and he met the jurymen on the stairway in the court house. He spoke to Juryman B. F. Caf- fey and told him he was sorry that he | had met with such a misfortune while he had been engaged in the case.
 Tears in caffey's Eyes.
 This was the first information MT. Calf l fey had had that his home had been burned while he was away and tears l stood in his eyes as he went on down the street to seek his family In their new home.
 The jurymen in the case were discharg- ed immediately after the verdict was an nounced and all of them were jubilant to know that the case was finished and that they once more had their liberty. l The jury was made up of the follow ing:
 | Fenton Burns, miner. l H. J. Weiss, architectural contractor.
 J. A. Rollins, rolling mill employe. l S. E. Jones, motorman. l N. A. Pool, miner. l James P. Lally, miner. l J. l.. Bullock, farmer J. c. McWilliams, farmer. l w. G. Woods, miner. J. H. Parsons, carpenter. l Norman Adams, carpenter.
 B. F. Caffey, pattern maker. An Interesting Trial.
 The trial of William Wise has been among the most interesting ever held in Jefferson county. He was jointly indicted with Glen Havis for the killing of Elias M. Lathem in the lobby of the Morris l hotel on April r of this year Hays was l tried during the summer and given twelve and one-half years in the penitentiary. | Wise has been confined in the county | jail exactly 219 days, which is little over seven months.
 The circumstances surrounding the kill l ing of Lathem and the prominence of the ] participants in the affair have caused the unusual public interest that has been l manifested.