Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1904-10-19
HAYES SENTENCE COMMITTED
Continued from Page H.

ifendants guilt may, in the future
be explained away. | cannot bring
myself to authorize the inlliction
OF the death sentence, which would
now and forever prevent any cor
rection of the mistake, should these cir
cumstauces be explained.
The exercise OF the pardOuing power
can be governed by no inileAible rule. |
have been governed by Il sense of grave
responsibility in this matter to both the
state and myself
Gov. Hayward stated last night that he
had received Il petition signed ly about
1000 people asking for executive Gle
mency and another petition signed by
about half that number urging him to
let the verdict and the sentence stand.
Great pressure had been brought 70 bear
20 have the man hanged and on account
ot the prevalence of lawlcSsncSS in the
State one writer urged him to let the
accused be hanged even if he were not
guilty.
Resume OF the Case.
Before quoting the letter of the e pert,
David y. CarvsIho, brief resume oi the
facts in the case will throw some light
on its bearing to the situation. Lula
Hayes, formerly Lula Crane, was found
dead in her bed at o'clock on the morn
ing of Sunday, April 10Th, of last year.
A single barrclled shotgun lying on the
bed beside her was evidently the instru-
ment of death, The first that was
known of the tragedy was when H0yt
Hayes awokc his brother, Chester Hayes,
who was Il near neighbour and told him
that Lula had killed herself
At the COroncrs inquest lloyt Hayes
gave as his version of the affair that
Lula Hayes was Respondent on account
of an approaching ordeal and that she
had been restless during the night. She
UNly. hi II, A ,oa t,Nll u;
there was something wrong in the barn.
He went out to investigate, but found
everything all right. While there he fed
the stock as he had to plow some land
tor cotton planting. AS he was putting
some fodder into the feeding rack he
heard mutiied report at the house. Tie
went back and lighting lamp, which
went out at first and had to be relightcd,
he found that his wife was lying dead
with her head shot away. He then went
to his brothers. to give notice of the
tragedy The accused lived near Oak
way, five miles from Seneca, in Oconec
county, and he and Lula Hayes had been
married three years. The deceased was
81 years old at the time of her death and
Hayes was just little older.
There were three main points in the
evidence-the statement of Hoyt Hayes
on trial, the position cf the gun and tho
finding of note. The note purportS to
have been written by Lula Hayes, but
the prosecution endcavOred to show that
1T was a forgery on the part of Hoyt
Hayes to cover up Ills greater crime
When lIoyt Hayes and his brother ChcS,
ter were coming back to the place of the
homicide, they stopped and told neigh
Dor named Blair. His evidence rs TO the
manner in which the note was discovered
was damaging against the accused. BY
the time Blair had dressed Hayes had
preceded him to the house. Blair and
Chester Hayes were asked to come into
the sitting room and take seats He
moved the chair aS persons sometimes
40 before they seat themselves and
Blair'S testimony says; 81 heard IIOyt
speak and say, What is that book doing
there and then looked down on the
chair and saw little paper backed book
lying in the chair and it slipped OF and
in picking ny that book paper dropped
20 the floor and noyt said There is
note. What is it?' The evidence of
Chester Hayes disputed that of Blair on
this point. Chester Hayes claims that
he is the first to see the note Tho note
in question is the paper on which Mr.
Carvalho was asked To express an
opinion Was il written by Lula Hayes
Just before taking her own life. or was it
s.ltten by IIoyt Hayes, wife murderer.
to save himself from the gallows?
Position OF the Body
The position Of the body was another
circumstance which madc the case look
ugly against the accused. The body was
YIN .hc middle OF tho bed with the
hca0 tween the pillows. The gun was
on tho side of the bed away from the wall
and the side wall on the right OF the bed
seemed to have received the fun effect of
the shot, for at point about six feet up
was a mass of brain and other matter
Rot In Il - 1,
poker with which it would have been
possible for the deceased to have caused
the gun to be fired. The prosecution
made II difficult to see how the woman
could have fired the shot and have caused
such results, for her left arm was under
cover aud part of right arm, although
the right hand WAS not under cover. The
defense argued that the gun was close
to the head, that it CanSGd ali explosion
and that the natural course of the range
might have been dctlccted. The pillow
nearest the wall had not been occupied
and from this it was alleged that Hayes
killed his wife and had not been to bed
ut all.
The prosecution did not show any mo
tive for the killing, if Hayes were guilty
and the evidence which led to the con
VIII ion was the position of the body and
the note. AS stated the affair occurred
on the 2Gth of April. The coroner cm-
pancled no jury at that time, but Mt.
Crane, the father of the deceased, was
not satisfied and an inquest was held
later. The jury did not incriminatc
Hoyt Hayes subsequently warrant
was swo,n cut and Hayes was airostod.
He was released on bail and in July of
last year his case was tried Aftcr being
out 20 hours the jury announced its IN
ability to agree. At the second trial last
November the proceedings occupied five
days and attracted widespread attention.
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