The advocate. [volume] (Charleston, W. Va.) 1901-1913, 1907-11-28
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Wlilam ComDH, the cC4ored n1ixEHl
derSr OF Zach DeWitt, BROTHER III
T. Dewitt, Of the BlueRelda BOOK 4ii f
Stationery Company, andy 1<F3was
killed while acting in the T. q fs
deputy sherifr for McD : ~
ty, will not hang on Fridy $ AoaTS
18th, which date wasdy .3axIl;
ecution by GovernorJ s ahSnsI
he was granted repT '. S0Gto
ber't 25th. the formS q S6Jed farss
his death. When SSa9Ye waa5
granted by the exc SE, ,Yartment
1t was for the pY s Gmaking &
thorough investiga> hefcircums.
stances OF the convictl>-, of SCombgss
and Thursday Governor Dawson c6irn,4Ss
mnted his sentence to life imprasonts
.ment in the penttenttary. S$S Ss3 Il s}g$ 5:S
The communication Of thas sentence
OF Combs was made p0ssible thrayak klR
an Investigation conducted hYy 81. F.SRsy
don Attorney Frank Lipely.s VV rk
application was made forRcOnK
@tion of sentence by the attorney ariSis
friends s-of the condemned man dts
was accompanied by afndayits lei Hing
of the peculiar circumstances lIffs der
which the death penalty was infiic icbAtS
ed 49,. .t., - - ~. 4 III gaasSs
Because OF there clrcunnstancesS Gs
rerrieve was granted to Friday, SE)esS
cember 18th, In order TO lISR ffsSS
pardon attorney to make a full iriVessSs
tigation. When the prisoner con 6
fined at the penitentiary,lsa learned
that he had been raprieveds unit f;s
day, December, 1 9Th, sunsrstaa aattiS tsit
he was. he ,gavet UP all hope of softal.a
mutation and said here was 40 ION
er any hope for hin.S E3 u q sa3 3 $50
In his efforts to secure All fha ssax
cumstances, Pardon Att0rne ney Sf
secured the aff1davits of ssS
jurors who convfated Com bss ;sSf ssSs
dar f}in, the thrst degree III "a ss
inal court of Med DIV hi iStsdi,S 81 s
stated that while aiscusgf fnE n
the 43ttff tfh tEt q
OF! giving the p}ffs1 piss npf fs sBff
hut were iflfof fttSd sbf t6fi sTa ;t5f
jury and the foreman thar tff,tS
alone had power t0 fpYsscfibe 7 dassaat ddLssat HF
or, life :fmprisonment for. ha,rdsifs f9iflas5 inafss
the first degree; and So they 'renderadfs n
a verdict without any recon- men tlaa
ton, the: court sertehciss the prisotitiIat
er to be hanged on; October 25th: "a
..>, the foreman OF the fury, wrote toS
the state officials and corroboYatad
the affidavits Of the. six Jurors, taking
all the blame for the verdict upof,
himself, and stating that he, believed
the law which required a recomnlen-
datfon for mercy in murder case.
had been repealed and that IL the
jury had not been led to the belief
that the court alone had this power
to inflict life sentence, they would !
nave returned life sentence. XIII
Combs is a colored man and one
nlght last summer, while in an exu-@
berant spirit, attended q festival Civ,
ca by one Of his race in Mcdowell
county Mr.. Dewitt, who had been
sworn In a deputy sheriff to assist
In quelling a disturbance, was ar4s
preaching the house to place one OF
those present under arrest, when he
was killed by a bullet fired prornis-
cuously by Combs from window OF
the house. Combs has always COM
tended that he did not know the sher-1
III was about at the time and the kill
ing was purely accidental. How
ever, the circumstances of the case
did not enter into the minds of the
officials when the sentence was conf,
muted, the state merely desiring to
carry out the intent of the Jury.
which was made plain by the afiday-
Its received.