The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-02-15
ION TRIAL AT
 GREENVILLE The John Henry Johnson
 Murder Case. A DRAMATIC INCIDENT Prisoner Demands His Own Lawyers Be Jailed. Severance of Indictment Against Fath- CT and Two Daughters secured and Trial of the Former is
 Postponed.
BY WILL T. STEPHAN.

l respondence.)-.T demand that my case | De tried. If you continue it, I insist | thatSyou make these two men who are responsible for the continuance, take my place in jail and set me at liberty"
 John Henry Johnson. one time a : prominent farmer of Butler County. but now prisoner charged with the murder of Special Deputy George Bry< | an, made this sensational declaration before Judge J. c. Richardson, in the Circuit Court of Butler County, before which he was arraigned to answer the | charge of murder. The men to whom 1 he pointed and whom he demanded should be made to take his place in jail were his own attorneys. Judge Terry Richardson of Montgomery and R. B. Smythe of Greenville.
 In the jury room out of sight of the old man and the court room of spec tators. were his two daughters, Katie Johnson and Maggie Johnson, young women 22 and 24 years of age. And like the violent old man, they. too, were charged with the murder of George Bryan, a popular citizen of Greenville. and a Special Deputy named for the special service in as- sisting his brother, Oliver Bryan, in the arrest of John Henry Johnson for murder. And like their father. they had been in jail since last June for killing the deputy sheriff, as he, with his brother, attempted to place the old man under arrest for burning Mt Olivet Church. ten miles from Green YilIe
 severance of the indictment had been secured. The father was to be tried first and the two daughters later The time had come for the old man to answer for the death of George Bryan He had been Insane. He had spent twenty three months in the asylum at Tuscaloosa. It is claimed by his at torneys that he was released from the asylum only on q probative period of six months and that during that six months, moved by some violent relig- ious mania. he burned the neighbor- l hood church, a church which he him. self had built and given to the Bap- | tist denomination. They claim, the att torneys of Johnson. that impelled by this violent religious mania Johnson killed one of the deputies who came to arrest him for the crime of burning | the church.
 Plea of Defense.
 This insanity. this violent religious mania was the basis of the defense l that Johnson's attorneys have erected l to prevent him from paying on the gallows the penalty the laws of Ala bama provide for murder. This morn ! ing the case was called for trial the attorneys claimed that there waa unfortunately a technical lapse in the defense they had provided and because of which they asged a continuance. . Speaking for the defense Judge Rich- ardson pointed out tAat the commiss- toner who had been named to take the deposition of Dr. Partlow, a member of the medical board of the Alabama Hos pital for the Insane at Tuscaloosa had failed to sign the paper. This ne submitted for himself and associate counsel was most important. It might seriously effect the rights of their client in his trial for his life.
 Solicitor Charles R. Bricken. for the prosecution, protested against a post ponement. The prosecution he declared was willing to admit the depc sition of Would the prosecution admit all tho statements contained in the deposi- tioas as tn Iohncon's sanity or in- sanity?" the defense asked
 Speaking for the prosecution Solicitor Bricken declared that it vas unwill- ing to make any such admission, a statement which indicated that these same depostions would be the subject of an attack la:er on.
 JOnn 1tGnTS JbnnSOn, t1'l QeISnuanI sat ncrvously and impatiently through the legal sparring. As 1t progressed he jumped to his feet to address the court. His eyes were fiery and ex- cited They roved the court room a: he balanced himself upon his OnC sound leg with the other foot maimcC and drawn, to where it scarcely touched the floor.
 T protest against this postpone ment," he exclaimed excitedly
 He was persuaded with difficulty tc take his seat.
 Judge J. c. Richardson, after con sidering the matter ruled that the ease should he postponed until the next term Of the circuit court of But Ter County in order that the deposition of Dr. Partlow might be completed according to the forms of law. The defense regards that statement as ot the highest importance in that it Is made by physician who was in charge of John Henry Johnson when he was committed to the state Insane Asylum by the authori- ties of Butler County as an insane per son.
 \ nAIIeged PyrOmRninc.
 Ii is said that this deposition con taine the statement that Johnson was a pyromaniac, man with a passion for fire, and suffering from most danger ! ouS form of insanity.
 But hardly had Judge Richardson an-