The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-03-18
JURY FREES
 OSCAR BISHOP Verdict Returned After Eight Hours. CROWD CHEER ANNOUNCEMENT
 .---&e.--- Strong Arguments Made by the Opposing Attorneys.
 .e Defense Disappointed over Failure to Get In Evidence Of Alleged In- timaey of Reddoch and Mrs.
 Bishop.
By win T. sheehan.


 Luverne. March 17.--tStaH Sorreo pondence. )-"Not Guilty" said the Jury .os twelve good men and true who tired aenar Hishop for his life. Not guilty 7 ff,Av said and the crowded court rooii hrole into applause in spite Of the warming of the judge. s
 For eight hours they had been de liberating The crewd had reeoneiieu ,. ~, the eonrt house was about to strike the hour If nlfdnfght The knock on the 6aor of the iury room was heard. Lne i,srv fIIod out The clerk read the werds. Not guilty and the pleased crowd applauded in Its aproyal. The tInwritten law had gained a triumph. oarar Righop's face flushed with 4oy. He walked to the jury box anc shook the hands of each juror and m a low voice spoke his thanks to them' IAlverness great trial was over
 verdict AnxiousTy Awaited. The town of Luverne and mueh ol inc citizenship of the surrounding country for eight hours eagerly await cd news from the little room that held twelve men and the fate of Oscar Blsh- op. but no news came fortn. The jirymen were plainly divided Tho scene of the strife between the un- written and the written law had been IfAnEIGfEGQ 4f1e fury room. And tonight was one yrirht that on which Luverne did not xo to sieep in the early hours of dark ness. The town. st least the male DOT tion of it, was wide awake until Iata hour The court room was throng- cd throughcut the night and they wno made up the crowd We're not there 10 witness the trial Of Hardy Tyson, ii negro charged with the savage murder of woman of his own race. case which was taken up when the bishop jury retired. They were there to hear at first hand the fate of Oscar Bish- op.
 And of all the crowd there IS none so large and so anxious to hear the knock On the door, the signal of an agree rent as the young man whose fate hangs in the balance. Now and then he is in the crowded court room and again he is outside Tn the darkness smoking incassantly and beyond doubt hoping necessarily.
 Disappointment of Defense.
 1t was keen disappointment to tho defense that they were forbidden from presentine squarelv to the jury evf- dence of tho alleged intimacy of Mrs. Bishop and Gordon Reddoch. That they could not do. try as hard as theE might So the outside world knows more of the evidence bearing upon the undue friendship between the dead man and the prisoner at the bar, than did the twelve jurymen who retired to decide the case. For this evidence was held back from the jury.
 Judge Richardson in his rulings and in his charge held thaS the unwritten law did not exist. Framed and keen attorneys on the other side jealousIy
 red the progress of the case and were on their feet in an instant to object<to anything that was without tiesiaw of Alabama, In the free ma soflry and good nature that lawyers are noted for an attorney Tor the State re- marked to an opposing friend on the other side We certainly held your feet to the fire this time" And so the jury heard nothing of the letters. the one to her husband, the other, to Cor don Reddoch: The jury heard noth- ing of what any of members the Knight household knew of the acquain- tance of Gordon Reddoch and Mrs. did not permit 1t any the jury could not have it.
 Defense at DisadvantaEe,
 Face to face with the distressing situation for the. defense, that no iota of evidence could be brought before the jury, as to the alleged, too friendly relations of Gordon Reddoch and Mrs Bishop. The arguments were begun this morning The defense in the close
 
 blow that. was little short of stag ReFing. The relations between Mrs Bishop and Gordon Reddoch, the court held consistently, was thing apart from the trial of Oscar Bishop for murder. Nothing that touched upon 1t or related to 1t in any way was all lowed to come before the court
 In only one way. in this respect did the defense score a point. The de- fensc proved that when the double flash of tho gun lit up the darkness of the back yard, Mrs. Bishop was standing upon the steps, and that was all. The defendants attorneys con. tinually sought to prove the crimina acquaintance between the wife of Os. car Bishop and the man who is dead and in his grave, but each attempt wa. blocked. The defense put their faitf In the Gafford case as decided by ,tht Supreme Court, but the court held that it could not apply to the points raised in the Bishop case.
 Upon each of the numerous objection: PaIsed by the state as to this class oi testimony, the court ruled with tho 6 state. And to the protests and argu. ments of the opposing lawyers Judge Richardson said:
 T can not permit evidence to gC before the jury which the law declares shall not be permitted,
 
 knight on the stand to identify let ter which was found upon the body oi Gordon Reddoch, the night he wal Killed But the evidence and the let ter was objected to by the State anC the objection> was sustained.
 The letter was upon note paper ir pencil and without date.
 Note to Gordon ReddOch.
 'tGordon. You could never hurt my feelings worse than you have today bS writing me the short note you did anC n seems almost more than I can bear | begged him to let me go today bu he refused, and I thought perhaps | was on your account. but don't know why. and I'm sure it wasn't anything for you to get mad about because
 "I can't for nay life, imagine wh! he decided all at once not to let mi 10. but he did and left me crying a Sinner. because he wouldn't let me so or ten me why. I told several good by' vastAFaay. and he heard me- but sait