The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-12-14
NEGRO GETS 45 YEARS
FRANK SMITH CONVICTED or AS.
 sAULTING WOMAN.
He is Man Who Ran Amuek n Mo9ts gomery--Jury Fixes Punfshment of Walter Barnett nt Life
 Imprisonment

For a criminal assault on Lillian Msrchmand, a negroes, Frank Smith, alias Frank Williams. alias 'lSignt Rock" will spend the next forty-ave years of his life in the Alabaps peni- tentiary. The trial of "Eignt Rock" occupied practically all of yesterdays session of
 the criminal division of the City Court
 of Montgomery and the verdict of the jury was returned after 8 o'clock last night.
 The negro was arrested in October
 in Pensacola on charge of stealing
 goods from freight car of the Kouis-
 vile and Nashville Railroad Combany.
 Railway Detective Paul Rapport of
 Montgomery on going to Pensacoln re- cognized the prisoner as ..Eieht Rock" Ia we'll known Montgomery criminal
 He had reason to believe that the negro was also wanted in Montgomery for two eases of rape one nsErO swo- men and a case of assault to rape on Mrs. William Ledlow. q toll gate keeper near Montgomery. The negro was brought to Mont gomery under a requisitiou and was indicted in two cases of rape. His plea yesterday was that he was insane and in support of this plea. tho mother of the negro. his brother. and cousin were placed on the stand. They testified that the boy had always ac- ted queerly and was subject to fits In
 which he seized one near him.
 Lillian Marchand. the woman whom the negro assaulted went on the stand
 and positively identified him. The state nrebuttal put Paul Rap port on the stand who testified that
 there was no question as to Eight
 Rocks" sanity.
 The case was submitted to the jury at 6:S0 o'clock and verdict finding him guilty and fixing the punishment at forty-five years in the penitentiary was returned at S:30 o'clock. It is understood that at one time. the jury
 stood ten for hanging and tive For forty years imprisonement. The Jury which tried the case was
 as follows: M. W. Smith, c. F. Led-s better. W. s. Thompson. w. B.
 Holmes. 1T. B. Bailey. W. H. Crusius. W. H. Baggett. w. M. Ross. W. L. Stewart. W. T. Johnson. Troy Mur- rell, W. !. Level
 When the negro was taken back to the county jail, he was in eestasiess it
 having been his opinion that he would be hanged for his crime. Another case of Npe against Flight
 Rock" is set for trial today Rarnett Gees sr fes Life. The jury trying the case against
 Walter Barnett. negro. charged with the murder of Hattie White. negroes. at Mount Meigs. reached a verdict yesterday morning.
 1 When the court .~-vened the jury was charged by Judge William n. Thomas and in twelve minutes re- turned verdict of guilty. fixing the punishment at life Imprisonment.
 Barnett pleaded insanity. Tn 1892 he
 was sent to the penitentiary for an
 assault to murder at Mount AFeigs and
 was subsequently, released on a cer- tificate of insanity.
 Cases set for trial today are as foi- lows:
 1 Frank Smith, rape; Sam Lewis. rob
 bery; Teen Richardson, murder; W. O..
 Sanford. murder: Willie Dowdeif. rob-
 bery, Rob Lee wilkerson, robbery. Sanford, whose case is set for trial | today. is white man. He conducted
 store in vesnvius. Last summer he
 shot and killed James A. Achors.
 locomotive engineer whose home was
 in Birmingham.