The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-02-17
KATIE JOHNSON SET FREE: J
 SISTERS FATE WITH JUR,;s

| struck the blow with the. board or scantling. Their testimony was given in monosyllables and with difficulty | Giving testimony from the stand ap- peared a severe ordeal for each of the three.
 l In tlse acquittal of Katie Johnson the State sustained a failure of the l first part of it's case which was to prove that without the help of either of the two girls, Johnson could not have fired the shots. The second phase of its case rests upon the charge that the shot could not havt been fired if Maggie Johnson had not struck George Bryan with the board i, or scantling.
 The trial of the case attracted to- | day a number of Greenville ladies to the court room.
 It is understood that the jury had gone to bed without reaching ver- I dict in the case of Katie Johnson.
 The court had completed the seiec- | tion of the jury for the trial of Mag | gie Johnson Wednesday evening pre- vious to adjournment.
 | The hearing of the evidence in the case was gone into as soon as court l convened.
 The prosecution followed the same line of evidence that 1t pursued in the
 
 | tion put forward the same witnesses and the same testimony was brought | out as was adduced in the trial of | the elder. sister. This evidence, of | course, was brought out before an en- | tirely new jury.
 The jury which tried the younger sister was of the following Butler County citizens: Tom Sims, Jim Ad- I ans. Tom Newton, Jim Steiner, l.. D. hoF TnAr D.. Carpenter, J. L. Henderson, l.. J. Bowden, J. K. Black and Dan Goodwin.
 As soon as court convened the State | called Dr. John Kendrick to the stand to again bring out the dying statement of George Bryan, to whom the witness rendered medical service after he was | fatally wounded in the fight at the Johnson home. pr. Kendrick stated | that Bryan was fully aware that he was wounded to death. that he was hurt beyond all hope of recovery. The wounded man told the physician of the | struggle at the Johnson gate. He told the physician that he was holding the left. arm of John Johnson when he was struck down by a blow with a plank from behind The blow, so he | told the physician, was struck by Mag gie Johnson, "the red-headed one" As soon as he was knocked down. John Johnson pulled a pistol from inside his vest and shot him down. The Part of Katie Johnson. Sheriff Hill Hartley on the stand gave the same testimony as he did on yesterday. He recounted the trip of the officers to the Johnson home. He told in detail of the fatal struggle at the gate. While George Bryan and Oliver Bryan were struggling wi Johnson at the gate. the sheriff saw | Maggie Johnson run up with piece of plank or scantlfng and knock George Bryan to the ground The sheritf said he had attempted to seize the scant- lings but had been driven back by a leXelied shotgun in the hands of Katie Johnson. While he was struggling with Katie Johnson for the gun the ! shots were fired and George Bryan had I received his fatal wounds. As soon as | he secured the gun he struck John 1 Johnson several times. breaking the arm that held the knife, and felling him to the ground.
 1 Joe Kern, a nephew of George Bry- an by marriage, gave evidence of his dying declaration. He swore that the wounded deputy had told him that he had been struck and knocked away | from the struggle by Maggie John- son, the red-headed one" He had said that If it had not been for that blow Johnson would never have been | able to nave nred the shots. The defense attempted to weaken the I testimony of MT. Kern by showing that l George Bryan still entertained hope of | recovery when he made the statement, | but tho witness insisted that Bryan knew that he was dying.
 Oliver Bryan. the brother of the dead officer. made the statement he did on the trial of Katie Johnson. He 1 gave the same uncolored and unimpas- | afn avfrrf | mony of his and his brothers struggle with Johnson. He told how he had | held the wrist of the right hand in wich was clasped the dangerous dirk of Johnson while his brother held | Johnson by the left arm. He missed his brother from the struggle and noted that he had released Johnson's s 1 compact of the last bullet on the body | of his brother.
 The LeveIIed Shotgun.
 He did not see the blow with the 1 scantllng or plank, but he saw Katie 1 Johnson run up and level a shotgun at him. He saw Sheriff Hartley wrest the gun from her. And he told how Hartley had taken the gun and beaten | Johnson down with it. He said that l George Bry an. after he had been shot. knocked the pistol from Johnson's hand and knocked down Mrs. Johnson and the girls who had run up and at- tackled him.
 As he sat with his back to the tree after the shooting George Bryan had
 said, He has given me my death wound. Let me kill him."
 To which the witness replied, NO, we've got him. Let the law take it's course"
 With the completion of Mir. Bryan's ! testimony the State rested its case.
 New Tack for Defense.
 The defense departed from the course it had followed in the first trial and new testimony was brought out. The defense first called up its charac- ter witnesses to testify to the charac- ter of the younger sister as they did on the trial of the older sister. The list of those who swore that Katie Johnson's character In the community in which she lived was good or
 ''very good" was a formidable one.
 Those who paid tribute to the high standing of Katie Johnson were Jacob A. Smith, J. NJ. Sparrow, J. NJ.
 Reeves. J. s. Williams, E. J. Joyner
 J. C. Herring. George Craig. A. J. Noll. D. A. Craig, Andrew Till. W.
 H. Fuller, J. W. Mills. J. S. Me-
 Graw. T. A. J. Majors W. Cooper. E.
 M. Mct5raw, W. H. Mills. J. 1T.
 Pouncey. J. T. Mills and Marvin Will
 Hams.
 A touch of unusual interest was
 brought out by the attempt of the
 State to show that two of the charac-
 ter witnesses were sweethearts of the 1