The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1904-07-06
THE AIKEN TRIAL.

THE AIKEN TRIAL.
What the Richmond News-Rerald
Says About Green's Acquittal.
1t would be interesting to know,
says the Richmond News-Herald
1heth2r it is possible to prevent ir
a South Carolina court any case which
would be declared murder provided
the defendant could command a few
hundred dollars for the conduct of hi:
defense. At Aiken, S. c., Lee Green
young white farmer, was acquitted
last week of the murder of Abrau
Surasky, a Jewish neig.lborhood ped
dler.
The evidence showed that the ped
dler had called at Green's house II
the course Of his regular rounds ane
was killed there. Three leads OF bucl
shot were fired into his head and bacl
and his skull was battered to piece:
with an axe. After the killing, Greer
went to his nearest neighbor, a negro
named Henry Drayton, carrying his
gun, and b:tween threats and promis.
es induced Drayton and wife to return
with him and help to scour the BLOOD
stains from the floor Of his house. He
also tried hard to induce Drayton tc
help him bury the body, but there the
negro baked. He tesrifes that he re-
piled: Mr.. Green, if i put my hand
on that man, I'll be in as bad fix as
you are, and I wou' dn't do it for a
Thousand dollars" wbereupon Green
upbraided him bitterly for lack Of
friendship and neighborly feeling. The
two negroes gave evidence which bore
the stamp Of truth. They said that
on the walk between their houses and
Green's the murderer told them with
brutal frankness the story OF bis
crime. he said be shot the peddler In
the back and then let him nave" the
other barrel. he failed, however, to
infict an Immediately fatal wound.
The poor, terrified, humble creature
fed into the house, Green following
him reloading his gun. Cornered In
the house, Surasky fell, but lifted
himself to his knees and begged for
his life.
''l'n give you everything I'Ye got. "
Green told the negroes, Surasky said,
"I'll give you the clothes I've got on
me. I've got little children"
He was trying to pull off his coat
and offered it to show how earnest he
was in his promise to surrender every
thing when the beast shot him again,
and that failed to kill him, seized an
axe and crushed his head into frag-
ments. Then he took the body into
the woods near by and hid it there
temporarily, turned the peddler's
horse loose in the road and dragged
his wagon into to bush s, where it
was out of sight. He got in money
from the body SO so In silver coin,
which he showed the negro, who tes-
titled that be exclaimed:
MY God, Mr.. Green, did you kill a
man for three dollars and half?"
Green's defense was corroborated by
his wife. 1t was to the effect that
when he returned home from mill
be found SuraskY in the act Of as
saulting his wife, and that when he
interferred the peddler attacked him
with knife. Certainly more pre-
postercus defense never vas submitted
to the intelligence Of twelve good and
true men. The idea Of an inofensiVe,
middle aged Jewish peddler, with
family of his own, who lived not ff-
teen miles away, had been making his
rounds in the neighborhood for months
and was well known as the mail car
rier, attempting a violent assault on q
yeung woman Of twenty and then
rushing at her husband with a knife,
the husband having a doubled.barrell-
ed gun in his hands, is as lcrude and
wild and impossible as the dullest and
most ignorant mind could devise.
Yet, the jury accepted the defense
and acquitted tie prisoner in the
face of the fact that be had made
no report of the tragedy, had left
the peddler's body lying concealed in
the woods four OF FIVE days, was de-
tected by white men vino found the
horse astray, recognized it and tracked
it back to Green's house, and after
the discovery had fed and remained in
hiding until the sheriff got on his
trail and caught him in his fathers
corn crib. Shavings from the floor OF
Green's house showed stains Of Sur
asky's b'ood' and confirmed the story
told by the negroes as told to them
by Green, that the peddler had field
into the room in the final effort to
pro,oag his life a few seconds.
The Hebrews at Aiken interested
themselves in the case Of their un-
fortunate humble fellow and employ
ed an array Of talented counsel to aid
in the prosecution. The evidence
was overwhelming and appears to
have been well presented, and we
cannot doubt that the arguments
were able; but the prisoners friends
had rallied to him gallantly, and be,
too, was represented by able counsel.
So he went home triumphant, off,
cially stamped as an innoncent and
law abiding citizen. So far as de-.
velops, the only suffers outside OF the
mrrdered mansand his family and
friends are two negro witnesses. In
consequence of their evidence given
at the co1oner's inquest, they found
themselves unsafe and were forced to
leave their home. They are living in
the town of Aiken and hardly dare to
20 beyond the line for fear of the
vengeance Of the friends of the in.
iured Green. One of them found
xa,1o,rant uith loca1 Hebrew