The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1904-10-09
FORMER SHERIFF
is OUT OF PRISON
Decision on Lusk Bill Released
Green Etheredge
CASE WAS VERY PECULIAR
During the Long Legal Battle His Rel
atives Chung to Him, Determined
to Free Him From the
Stigma.
CASE WAS VERY PECULIAR

| the county jail of Lawrence county and
breathes free air for the first time since
about the last of July. Etheredges case
| is a peculiar one.
About twelve years ago he was nomi-
mated and elected sheriff by the republi-
| can party of this county. For four years
! he exercised the functions of his office
and no man had aught of complaint at
the manner in which he conducted the
affairs of the county During the four
years of his official life many were the
violators of the law whom he ran down
and many We're they who were checked
in their career of crime by the vigilence
and watchfulness of this official.
His term of office expired in 1896, and
1 having lived a life of indulgence and al
most luxury during his term of Office,
he found himself in the end almost with
out means and totally without a profess
| sion. Generous to a fault and a high
| liver, he had accumulated nothing and
was thrown upon his own resources w
no occupation or profession and a large
family to support. Then he began va
/ ried career. Very soon it began to be
/ whispered around that Etheredge was
not combining himself to the straight and
narrow path and the grand jury of the
county gave more than color to the ru-
mors by returning various and sundry
indictments against him for violating
the revenue law, by selling whiskey
without the necessary sanction Of the
| officers. These same indictments brought
about the downfall of the man, who had
been honored by his party with the best
paying office in the gift of the county
and man who had been liked by all. ir-
respective of party creed.
Court House Was Burgarized.
CONSERVATION reigned in the old and
classic town of Moulton when it was
learned one morning that the courthouse
had been burglarlzed during the prior
night and all indictments contained In
the clerks office had been stolen. Clerk
Crosthwait had been notified a few
days before that 1t was the intention of
Etheredge to do the job. He did not re-
ly very strongly on this information, but
as precautionary measure, he took all
indictments against Etheredge from the
files OF the court, and these alone were
saved Etheredge was accused of the
crime and arrested. Circumstantial ev-
idence was strong against him. His
friends, and they were many believed
that he was innocent of the crime but
the officers of the law thought otherwise
The latter got busy and link by link was
riveted together until chain of cir
cumstantial evidence was welded which
almost completely weighted down the
defendant
Maintained HIS innocence.
Etheredge was game. He asserted his
innocence 20 the last. His many friends
believed that he was victim of circum-
stances and that time would disclose the
real criminal, but the state or Alabama
| was unrelenting in its prosecution. A
| witness was found who swore that Eth
| eredge told him Of his contemplated
crime and another came forward and tes-
titled that Etheridge had offered for a
| consideration to destroy lot of indict-
ments against the witness for similar
| offenses. Finally negro came into the
sheriffs office with two Of the missing
indictments and stated that a farmer
! Of the neighborhood had given them to
| him. This farmer was known to be a
| man of wild and reckless habits, but
he was further known to be truthful
man, and then only the state believed
that it saw the beginning of the end.
This farmer was hunted up and the tale
that he told the officers made things be-
gin to look blue for Etheredge.
An indictment was returned, but con-
viction did not Immediately follow, as
was anticipated by the officers of the
State. Etheredge was not at the end of
his rope by any means. A petition was
filed In the United States court, alleging
that Etherldge was employed in the SER
vice of the United States government and
that the prosecution against him was a
conspiracy, and asked that the cause
be removed to the federal court for trial
Judge Jones heard the petition and dis
missed it, remanding the cause back to
the state court for trial. From this order
Etheredge appealed to the United States
supreme court and his appeal was there
dismissed for want of prosecution and
the cause again remanded to the star
courts for trial.
Record Book Was Gone.
Then began the final scene in the
drama of Etheredges life insofar as
this case is concerned. When the case
was called for trial at the July term Of
the circuit court of Lawrence county 1t
was found that the indictment against
Etheredge for burglary, together with
the record book of indictments a book
Of more than 300 pages was gone from the
vault of the clerks office. The grand Jury
was in session and another Indictment
was quickly returned. The defendant was
placed on trial against his protest, his
attorneys holding that the indictment and
all action under 1t was void on account
of the unconstitutionality of the Lusk
bill. Represented by some of the best
lawyers In the land, the defendant was
convicted and sentenced to the peniten-
tiary for term of two years.
Here 1t was thought that 1.-The end of
the trair' had been reached. but the fight
Ing blood OF the Eetheredge race had not
yet turned cold. An appeal was prayed
and granted to the supreme court of Ala
bama, and while pending there the famous
decision on the Lusk bill was rendered.
As the defendants last Indictment and
trial were had under this law, Just as
soon as the same was declared void and
of no force a writ of habeas corpus was
sued out. and upon a hearing of the same
today, Circuit Judge Speake ordered the
defendant discharged upon giving a bond
in the sum of $3.50, which he promptly
gave, and will sleep tonight beneath his
own roof for the first time In more than
three months.
Probably Ends the Case.
The statute of limitations appears to be
complete, and 1t is doubtful II the de-
PENDANT will ever again be placed on trial
for this offense. If guilty, his punishment
seems to have been full. If innocent, he
has suffered more than enough No mat
ter what one may believe about the
guilt or innocence of the defendant, the
fighting blood of the Etheredge family
family commands his attention. Through
all of the trials and fluctuations of this
man his kindred and none Of them de-
serted him once. Wife, children, father
and brothers were with him to the end,
and the motto of the Corsican brother.
zone for all and all for one." might well
have been theirs.
Reasons Plenty as BlackberrIes.
From Town Topics.
There are at least 1000 good reasons
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