The Marlboro democrat. [volume] (Bennettsville, S.C.) 1882-1908, 1906-05-11
salvation, and says he is certainly
doomed to 60 to hell. He believes he

uooh1ou w ~ w hoii' no Uoll6tGb u0
has committed the "unpardonable
SIM" and has appeared to become In.
censed with the spiritual advisers who
during his long incarceration, have
gone to the Jail to minister to him,
and have attempted to disabuse his
mind of the idea that he is doomed to
eternal punishment * he repents Of
his sins. He was once minister OF
the gospel, aud says he has studied
the Bible closely for years, with the
result that he is convinced that NOR
tails sometimes reach q stags whore
they are beyond the pale of Gods for
giveness.
The crime for which Rawlings and
his three sons-Milton, Jesse and
Leonsrd--were convicted was commit
cd on tho light Of June l3, 1905. O.
that night Carrie and Willie Carter,
daughter and aon Of w. L. Carter, a
farmer, living ten miles north Of Val
dosta, were shot down In the yard of
their fathers homo, and an attempt
made by the assassins to kill the rogt
OF the Carter family.
| The girl, aged fourteen, and her
brother, sixteen years old, went out
OF their fathers house soon after the
evening meal to Investigate the In
cessant barking Of their dog, and as
they reached point near the garden
fence, few yards from the house,
| both OF thcm were shot down, the
little girl being killed almost instant
y and the boy living to drag himself
back to the door of his home. For
sometime his parents were afraid to
open the door to take him In for fear
that another volley from the assassins,
who were secreted In the shade of
some trees nearby, would end the lives
OF other members Of the family.
Inc boy fingered until asout sun
rise on the following morning, and
| The girls body lay in tile cotton iold,
where she fell until after Daylight.
In the trial of Rawlings and his
Sons, witnesses swore that the girls
head had been battered into the
ground by the heels of the murderers,
or by the stocks Of their guus, as she
lay dead.
Suspicion at once fell on J G R,w
lings, as he and Carter had been
enemies for a long time. 1t developed
That Rawlings spent the night at Val
dosta, and at the Coronet's Inquest
the next day Carter and his wife and
daughter swOre that they had recog
nized the Rawlings boys as the assaa
sins, as they walked around the Garter
homestead In the moonlight on the
night before.
The boys were arrested that day,
and on the following day, as the elder
Rawlings and his wife drove into town
and to the jail with some clothing for
their soma, the father was taken into
custody and looked up with his boys.
ALI Moore, a negro was arrested at
Siaunton, thirty miles north of there,
6wo days later, charged with cpmpli-
oity In the orime, and made a confea
sion OF the whole affair. He swore
that the elder Rawlings hired him to
30 and kill the Garter family. prom
lsinR him 9100 for the work, and
sending his three sons to see that the
murders were carried out as arranged.
AT the trial Moore claimed that
when they reached the Garter home.
steae, about mile from the home OF
Rawlings, that his nerve failed him
and he refused to take any part in the
murders. He maintained that Milton
and Jesse Rawlings fired the shots
| chat killed the two Garter children,
and that he (Moort) then became
frightened and ran away. His testi-
mony was corroborated in many points
by the testimony of the Garter fam
| lily.
After the conviction of the men,
Rawlings acknowledged that he hired
| iGe negro Moore to kill the Carriers,
but that his boys were not present,
kneW nothing OF the arrangement be-
tween him and the negro, and had ab.
Solutely nothing to do with the muir
ders. He has Btoutly maintained this
| all the time.
Furthermore, Rawlings says he did
not intend TO have any of the Carriers
harmed except the old man, and that
1t was not any part OF his arrange.
mont to kill other members of the
family. On the other hand, Moore
swears that he had positive instruo
lions, as also had the boys, TO kill the
entire Carter family and then burn
the house.
Ii Moore was actuated In turning
States evidence by @ hope of escaping
the full penalty Of the law for his part
In the tragedy, he was doomed to dis
appointments, aB the Jury brought In
verdict Of murder In the first degree,
and he, too, WAS sentenced to death,
along with j. G. Rawlings. Milton and
Jessei Leonard Rawlings was sem
fenced to the penitentiary for life; {;
and Rorved few weeks, later being
brought back tc Ill here on an order
from Governor I0rrell, to await the
result Of the appeal made by their
attorneys to the Supreme COURT.
ALI Moore has also escaped the
death penalty, 40 far, ss his testimo-
ny was considered very essential in
case the Rawlings obtained another
trial
]. G. Rawlings is forty.nine years
old, and In addition to his three sons
l8 the father OF two interesting girls,
who are now budding into woman.
hood. Milton Rawlings Is about
twenty years old, Jesse eighteen and
| Leonard sixteen. The boys are away
above the average In appearance and
intelligence.
BOYS SAY FATHER IS CRAZY.
Rawlings was well-to-do farmer,
and before his numerous troubles with
Garter, and even up to the time Of
che murders, was very popular man
among = great number Of people. In
N haI PxtA ln 10 nat1