Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1905-05-06
Fate of Paul Clifford Decided By
Jury of Twelve Men.
SENTENCE is NOT YET PASSED
Arguments Were Concluded on Thursday
AfternOOn===VediCt Was Murder
In Second Degree.

The case of the state against Paul
Clifford, colored. indicted for murder
in the first degree for killing Jacob
Turner. also colored, was taken up
Tuesday morning in the Circuit court
before packed room. The prisoner
had previously pleaded guilty to the
charge, and the work Of selecting a
jury was Immediately begnn. A panel
of 20 men had been called and before
this was exhausted the IL men necess-
airy were selected as follows:
w. r. Lewis. John Richard. W. 7.
Durham, W. d. Mcmillan, @. G.
Timmons. Jonas Wolfoid, A. II. A.
Gardner, W. A. Thatcher. Benjamin
Cook. A. W. Billmyer, ]. 7. Hopper.
]. w. Thompson.
The list of witnesses was then call
ed, and it was found that 81 persons
had been summoned bv the state and
IL bv the defense. The state is repre-
sented by Prosecuting Attorney Noll.
Assistant Attorney Downey, Attorney
Ward B. Lindsay and Attorney Fl.
H. Emmert The defense is being
handled by Attorney Stuart W. Walk
er and Attorney j. M. Woods. OF the
firm of Faulkner. Walker & Woods.
After the preliminary matters had
been disposed of States Attorney Noll
made his opening statement to the
jury, saying that the prosecution
would show that a fight had occurred
between the Cook brothers Cd the one
side and Paul Clifford on the other ;
that Paul Clifford drew revolver
and fred three shots during the scuffie
for the possession of the weapon: that
one of these shots wounded Charles
Cook in the hand, another wounded
Cook in the thigh, and that third
shot, fired after the Cook brothers had
run away, struck Jacob Turner in the
head, killing him that the dead man
was a bystander and had no part in
the fight between the Cooks and Clitf-
ord. and that the latter deliberately
shot Turner without provocation.
Attorney Woods. for the defense,
outlined his side of the case in his
opening statement. saving that there
was an agreement between the Cook
brothers and Jacob Turner on the one
side to catch Clifford and heat him
for an insult he had offered to Mrs.
Joseph Cook that Clifford had heard
of threats made against him by the
Cooks aud armed himself to be pre-
pared for defense that the three men
attacked Clifford and that during the
struggle the gun was discharged with
the above result. He maintained tina
the revolver had been fired as much
bv the agency of the dead man as by
Paul Clifford; that the shot which
killed Turner was stray bullet. aud
that Clifford was not to be held re-
sponsible for it.
Charles Cook, one of the men engag-
ed ia the alteration was the first
witness for the state. He said he had
Dtcu YUM Ny b'OthoA Va tA'N
affair between his sister.in-law and
Paul Clifford. and that after he went
home he and his brother started to
visit the ir sister: thar while on the
way there they met Clifford; that a
Quarrel started and Clifford tried to
draw revolver; that both Cooks grap-
pied with him to take the gun awav.
and that during the struggle the revol-
yer was discharged twice; he then ran
away, when he heard some one say the
elder Clifford " as coming. and heard
q couple Of shots afterward and the
cry, "they have killed Jake Turner -
On cross examination by Attorney
Walker. Uook became entangied. and
was tripped up two or three times.
telling story somewhat at variance
with the first one he told. making ad-
missions he was reluctant to make and
contrad;oting one or two previous
statements
Hammond Hunter. civil engineer and