The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1906-08-08
Sentences Altered in the Case Of
Murderers by
GOVERNOR HE.Y WARD
For Good and Sufficient Reasons. Lake
Gray Rsprieved Until Last Day of
Month and William Gibbs Sen.
tnce COMMITTED Refused
to Respite Marcus.


to Respite Marcus.
Within the borders Of South Caro-
lima, says The State, three men were
30 have been hanged Friday, three
men to have paid the penalty OF the,
old Mosaic law an eye for an eye, .
tooth for TOOTH Or these three,
only one was swung Into eternity, for
che Others have had their sentences
altered, one temporarily, it is true.
The strangest part OF the incident
is that the two men whose deaths
nave been deferred are negroes, while
ne who was hang ed was q white man.
This is tribute to the State and =
refutation Of the slurs so often cast
by alien lips upon the justice Of the
courts OF the Palmetto Common wealth.
Thursday The governor on the ad-
vice Of the board Of pardons, reprieved
until August 81, Luke Gray, negro
murderer Of Aiken county, and com-
nuted to life imprisonment tha GEN.
5ence Of William. Gibbs, also q mur,
derer, who.s crime was committed In
Georgetown county. In both tustan-
ces, ohe chief executive was guided By
strong recommendations and the ur-
GENT ADVICE Of the board OF pardons.
He declined to interfere with the
course Of the Law in regard to William
Marcus the Charleston murderer.
The change In the sentence OF Gray
vas made because his attorneys claim
30 have mitigating circumstances
Shich will, they are confident, induce
ahe pardon board to recommend q def
mite alteration In bis sentence. Tne
governor has reprieyed this man, only
su the instance OF the pardon boards
ADVICE and the solicitation Of various
oisizsIs CT Aiken, among whom are
numbered many prominent names.
Two weeks time will be given In
which these mitigating circumstances,
If there are any, are to be shown, or
Else the man Will be hanged On the
asst day OF the month. The governor
Will write the petitions that this 1un.
ing must be complied with and that
anile he feels tna1 Gray is q murder 9
er, he grants the repfteye because the
man is a friendless negro and because
che pardon board 80 recommended.
Tne attorneys who assisted the so /,
dcitor are fghttng any commuta-
tion. Their version Of the killing Is
chat Gray asked Clifford Woodward, .
white man OF Monrenorenci, what he
aad said to Gray's wife during the
morning hours. Gray, according 70
their story, said noGn.og and sdvAnc-
ed toward the negro Vito his hands in
che 'front.' pockets OF MS trousers, when
lne negro, backing Away. killed the
white man with a Shotgun which he
carried. O; course ah1s statement is
necessarily biased, On acc1ua5 OF the
position OF those who maAs It. The
killing occurred on FsOruasy 2. 1905,
ana Gray was tried az t;ie summer
term Of court. The nssro nAd no at
uorneys, and B. F. Wyman ard W. NJ.
Snoak were appointed oy tne court.
Son Oliver, the brother -ln-laW Of
Gray, and who was tried with him,
vas given q LIE sentence in the State
prison.
1t will be remembered that Gray is
the negro who walked into Governor
Heyward's 8 cn:e and surrendered, sag.
ing he had killed white man down
IN Aiken.
William Gibbs, who, it seems, hll-
cd Ned Anderson by s5abbing htm on
Apcil 2 OF this year, has been given q
good recommendation as an no1est,
nard working negro, and al entlfely
reverse character was given to Ned
Anderson, colored, the man whom ne
killed. Many prominent citiz sns OF
GEORGETOWN, among them Mr.. S. IA.
Ward, testified and wrote that Ander.
son was bully and-a desperate Of
the worst type. Judge Watts recon-
mended the alteration Of the sentence
20 life imprisonment. Mr.. Lewis
O'Bryan, Gibbs attorney, has been
uncsasing in his efforts to secure a
change In the sentence.
But Marcus had to die. This mur.
dersr who so brutally slew with an Ice
pick a trusting woman who lived
With him and who believed that be
had no other wife, paid tor the awful
deed committed on the sands oy
the seashore. The gov;rnor re-
cei7ed another telegram Thursday,
purporti1g to be from Marcus vile IN
Cincinnati, OF rather written In her
interest. Ii the telegram De bona
|fde it Is only another indication OF
the ruling passion" !" The dispatch
read:
Governor D. @. Heyward, Columbia,
Is. Q.
I. Lizzie Marcus has known two days
| only awful plight OF her husband, Ia
| thsr OF her i've tots. Penniless, friend.
lass: she could not 60 Immediately.
Have pity, Governor. Don't deny her
chance to say LAST good. bye.
Rev. Joseph Jasin,
325 Clinton.
AS all South Caroiinans know,
there was never more humane OF
feeling executive than Governor Hey
ward, but in this instance, although
| ne arf tT7e nar6O,, hnar6 hava piverl