The leader. [volume] (Brookhaven, Miss.) 1895-1905, 1904-07-09

Tie First Case Ii Lincoln County
Ihe Actors MOI Citizens o. Lincoln.
Al Honest Jury and ! Faithful Court,

From the Comet, Brookhaven, oct.
24s 1871
Seldom in our experience has q
trial before Justice of the Peace
excited as much interest as the
trial before Justice Baggett on
Wednesday last, Of Wash NettIes
and Allen WestbrOok, 81 Frank
lin county, on d charge. to use
common phrase SO descriptive 81
the Olfense, buIldozing Matt
Pickins, colored man residing
on the place of Rev. Mr.. King, ID
the southwestern part of the coun-
Ity. On the 2Sth Of September,
about midnight, Nat, who was
spending the night on the place
of Allen Smith, was taken out by
a body of armed men, and severe
II and cruelty whipped, without
50 far as we have ever heard any
pretext even of excuse or iustifi-
cation. He identified Nettles and
Westbrook as being in the party
who whipped him. They also or
dered some of negroes on Allen
Smiths place to leave. The peo-
pie of chat vicinity who are law
abiding and peaceful were justly
indignant at this war like inva-
sion Of their community at so I'M
seasonable an hour. It was the
first bulldozing that had ever oc.
CURED within the peaceful bor-
ders of Lincoln, and her lawabid-
ing people were, with the imme-
date community, justly indignant.
"A few days after, the outraged
Matt Pickins came before Justice
Baggett and made affidavit, charg-
ing the parties named with The
crime of riot, and he promptly is
sued warrant to the sheriff of
Franklin county directing their
immediate arrest. A few days in
tervened and the officer returned
the. warrant unexecuted, with a
note to Judge Baggett that be had
seen the parties. and they prom
ised to come out a rather novel
way of obeying the mandate of a
court directing the arrest of Grim
inals but from what the Natchez
Democrat has to say of this officer
in reference to warrant sent
from Adams county for the arrest
of parties charged with a similar
offense, it seems to be PECULIAR
ty of his to treat these solemn
mandates of the courts as a joke a
popularity we hope confne d sole
IL to Franklin county.
At all events, without official
escort, the parties charged APP
peared for trial, demanded iu-
~, and announced themselves
ready to meet the charges pre-
ferred against them. Hon. A.
[C. McNair, Chas. Cummings,
ESQ.,, and Thos. McGrath, ESQ.,,
appeared for the defense, the
prosecution being represented by
the District Attorney, Hon. II.
Cassidy, Jr.
Everything being ready jury
of good solid men were empanei-
ed, to-wit: S. I'll. Whitworth,
Joe Brown, K. Bowsky, Stokes
Allen, w. a. Smith, and q. w.
Grafton, all young white men at
tached to the principles of law
and order and fully capable Of ap-
preciating the delicate and re-
sponsible duties OF a juror, and
we venture the assertion that few
iuries have ever been called upon
to assume as much responsibility
as was, from the nature of the
crime, and the peculiar circum-
stances Of the case, imposed upon
this jury. But they were not the
men to shirk responsibility, and
those who knew the men were
confident that the verdict would
be responsive to the law and evi-
dence. The trial was an exciting
one and consumed the entire day
and until late in the night, the
Court House being all the while
crowded BY a crowd of spectators
that rendered it manifest that the
best men of the community fully
appreciated the magnitude Of the
issue and were fully alive to the
consequences that might flow from
the verdict of these six men. The
interest was undated until the
final announcement Of the verdict.
The Jury was out about an hour,
when they returned verdict Of
guilty as charged, which seemed
in accord with the universal senti-
ment Of The large and Intelligent
audience who had watched the en-
tire tlial with unceasing interest.
The court Immediately sentenced
the defendants to be fined each IN
the sum of one hundred dollars
and imprisonment in the county
Jail for two months. They gave
bond and appealed to the circuit
court.
Thus ended Che first trial Of 4
|bulldozer III which i Lincoln
county jury and Lincoln county
officers, supported By al awabiding
community, which we are proud
to say is not The exception but the
rule here, proved themselves, able
without military aid, resorting
only to the peaceful and dignified
methods Of The law, to cope with
and punish crime Of this dark
and disgraceful character.
It is the first case of the kind
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