The Paducah sun. [volume] (Paducah, Ky.) 1898-1906, 1904-12-12
LIGHTFOOT CASE
UP AT MEMPHIS
Lively Time When Motion for
New Trial Was Made.
Prisoners Attorney Fined $50 For
Contempt-Salty Charges
Made I'm AFFIDAVIT.
LEFT OPEN UNTIL WEDNESDAY.

A vigorous effort is being made to
save the neck OF William Lghtfoot'
the Paducah negro twice sentenced
to hang at Memphis for the murder
of Roy Sloan, a white flagman OF the
Illinois Central. found dead beside
the track near Woodstock. Tenn
last January.
Lightfoot's attorneys and friends
seem to have confidence in his inno-
cence, and when the motion for
new trial was made Saturday at Mem
phis a hot time ensued. The Com
mercial-Appeal of yesterday said;
"A sensation was sprung in the
criminal court yesterday when the
motion for a new trial on behalf OF
William Aghtfoot, the negro who
was recently convicted for the second
time OF numbering Roy NJ. Sloan,
white man, was called.
1.-THE result of the sensation was
a fine Of $50 imposed upon b. F. Ber-
~, one of counsel for the negro and
the taking OF testimony from the
deputy sheriffs who had charge OF
the jury during the trial in Novem-
Der and of the jurors themselves.
All of this evidence was not heard
Yesterday but next Wednesday morn
ing the matter will be called again
and 1t is likely that some fprther ac-
ton will be taken by Judge Moss at
that time.
1.-THE cause of the fine was an allie
cation made in an afiidavit filed in
the case by Berry. This was sworn
to by Lightfoot but a few minutes
before it was presented to the court
as reason why the new trial should
be granted. The section to which
The court took offense. was in the
lrst paragraph Of the affidavit and
reads as follows:
William Lightfoot. being first
duly sworn. upon his oath states thai
he is the defendant herein and was
deprived of a fair and impartial trial
on the last trial Of his said case and
that 1t is impossible for him 20 get
fair and impartial trial in the crimi-
nal court Of Shelby county Of Ten
uessee for the reason that he is
colored man charged with the muir
der of a white man, and that the In
terest which is brought to bear up
on the court and the jury by the Hi
nois Central Railroad company, its
detectives, agents and employees. in
the prosecution of his case,
The Judge then became wroth, and
demanded that the offensive para
graph be stricken. or a retraorion
made. but the attorney insisted that
he simply presented the affidavit of
the defendant. and had no authority
to alter 1t. He was kept in custody
until he wrote a check for the fine.
Lightfoot's affidavit goes on to al
lege that jurymen had been permit
ted TO talk with outside persons While
they had the case under considera-
ton. and that one of the jurors. Pat
McCarty, knew about the evidence
in advance, being a bosom friend OF
one Of the jurors in the first rial
and had himself been presented as a
Juror for the first trial. but was ex-
cused.
The affidavit further recites that
Attorney Eugene Graves, Of Padu-
cab, who assisted in the prosecution.
was allowed and permitted b. the
court to give testimony before the
Jury in his argument in justification
of the railroad company's action aid
his own in the prosecution Of the
case, over the objections Of the DE-
PENDANT and his counsel, and which
was overruled by the court"
The affidavit also alleges that the
states attorney declared OF certain
dispositions that they were incompe-
tent and that they were rothing
more than trash and could not be
considered as anything, because they
came out of the slums and low dives
Of Paducah, KY. The defendant oh
jected to such argument at tbe time
and the court overruled said objec-