The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-05-04
HARVEY SMITH WILL EXPIATE
 HIS CRIME ON THE GALLONS


 earnestly.
 The jury which declared for the death of Harvey Smith for the horrible murder of Miss Bloodworth reached an agree ment this morning at S:30. having been out for more than twenty-seven hours The major portion of this time, now ever, was spent in sleep.
 When the jury retired the rumor had been told about that the jury stood nine to three for conviction and death. Early in the morning it was an- nounced that a verdict had been reach ed. Judge Speake directed that the jury be brought In and the twelve men filed into the court room. Smith was nervous and anxious, but hardly more so than he had been during the earlier hours of the trial.
 we, the jury, find the defendant guilty of murder and fix his punish ment at death," read the clerk. When Judge Speake fixes the day and formally sentences the prisoner to hang the Circuit Court of Morgan County will have completed its duty in the case against Harvey Smith.
 The evidence was circumstantial which brought Harry Smith to the chair, but there was sufficient of 1t to convict him in the mind of reason able man. Some attacks were made, however, upon the quality of parts of | this evidence. Four of the young ne- groes who testified against Smith re- | counting telling circumstances that | connected him with the murder, were arrested on the charge of rape and | were in jail two or three weeks. The defendants attorneys argued that this | had in no little degree influenced their testimony against Smith. The attor- ney's arguments in the early stages of their deliberation had their weight with some of the jurors.
 The case against John Collier, an as sociate of Smith, and indicted with him for the same crime was immediately called. The evidence upon which the State expects to convict Collier is prac- | tically the same upon which Smith was
 sent to the gallows.
 If the theory of the State be true, | the two negroes are two of the most inhuman brutes that ever perpetrated a dastardly crime The State hopes to | outline its case to show that both | Smith and Collier were in the store of
 Mrs. Wilkinson in New Decatur, when Miss Belle Bloodworth, their gentle
 and refined victim, telephoned to her mother that she was coming home d. rectIy. The State expects to show that | the girl was staIked by the two brutes | as an animal would stalk its prey. The ! prosecutions attorneys would picture | one of the negroes walking ahead of | the young lady, while another trailed I Aer in thegdarkness. At the mouth of | dark alley, the State has 1t, the un- | suspecting victim was set upon. her | cries stified with her own clothing, and | she was dragged into the fearsome l alley. There the brutes who did the | crime beat in her head with a heavy l piece of stovewood. And when murder 1 and worse than murder had been com
 mitted the two slunk away in darkness with the mangled remains of the young
 woman stretched upon the ground. The entire morning at the Court | House was spent III, arranging the pre- | limin lries for Golfers trial Some
 difficulty was experienced fin securing attorneys to defend Collier. There was | q sus Sicious absence of attorneys from | the court room when 1t was learned l that Collier would have to have coun-
 sel appointed for him by Judge Speake. 1 Competent counsel was secured. how
 ever, and two hours was spent while l Collier and his attorneys were confer
 ring with the witnesses. The dinner ad-
 journment came before jury had been
 secured.
 The jury having been selected the
 court went into the trial of Collier inn
 mediately after dinner. The jury which
 will decide the fate of Collier is as
 follows:
 c. c. Frost, c. T. Densmore, T. w.
 Griffin, C. H. Adams. Tom Johnson, R.
 c. Swan. Tom Johnson, J. W. Kennedy,
 Coy Sopscoth, A. J. Thompson, w. P.
 Moore, Rufus Summerford.
 Collier is a tall negro with heavy
 and shambling figure. His evil, animal l looking face shows less intelligence
 than does the brighter face of his as-
 sociate and supposed accomplice. To
 the duty of defending Collier, who was
 unable to employ counsel. w. W. Calla-
 han and Coleman Beck were appointed
 by Judge Speake,
 | C. J. Curry, a well dressed young
 man of New Decatur, testified to the
 finding of the dead body of Miss Blood
 worth in the alley on the night of
 January 2Ist. The witness was &C.,
 companying MT. Bloodworth, the father
 of the murdered girl. in searching for
 the young lady, after she had been
 missed.
 The body of Miss Bloodworth was
 lying in a pool of blood and another
 pool was a few feet away. Her head
 was crushed in. Blood was spattered
 on the fence nearby. A piece of stove
 wood was lying by the side of the
 body At this juncture the blood
 stained piece of wood was brought in
 and presented as evidence.
 pr. B. W. Watson. physician who
 was summoned when the body was
 found described on the stand the five
 wounds on Miss Bloodworth's head.
 The blow that caused her death was
 struck just above her left eye. Her lip was cut and there were finger
 prints on her throat. She had been
 assaulted, the witness testified.
 Fred Hunt. an employe of the oil
 mill. told of seeing John Collins leaving
 the mill little after o'clock in the
 evening on the day of the murder. He
 was dressed in overails.
 1 Dock Gilbert. a negro, told of leav-
 ing the oil mill the evening of the mur-
 der with John Collier. He left Collier
 at Wilkinson's store. The next day l Golfer told the witness that a lady had
 been killed and suggested that they go
 down to the place where she was killed.
 John had on a pair of ragged overalls
 on Saturday. When he came back to
 the mill Monday he wore a new pair of
 overalls.
 Mattie Clarke. a nurse girl said she
 was in Mrs. Wilkinson's store when
 Miss Bloodworth went to the phone
 and told her mother that she was com
 ing straight home. Harvey Smith and
 John Collier were in the store. As
 Miss Bloodworth came out she patted
 the baby with the nurse on the head