The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-08-25
LIFE SENTENCE FOR MURDERER Faulkner Plead Guilty
 to Charge. FIRED FROM DARKNESS An Alleged Rapist Was Fined
 $50. City Court Was Busy on rts First Day of the Trial of Capital Cases. I've Women win Be on
 Trial Today.
 

But two cases on the capital docket occupied the attention of the criminal division of the City Court now in sas- sion. Both of the cases were for mur- der. and both of the prisoners pleaded guilty ot the charge. In the one case the jury returned verdict of life im- prtsonment, while in the. other a fine Of $50 was imposed.
 John Faulkner, a negro. was the first case called by the judge. The indict- fnent set forth the fact that Faulkner had killed a negro woman. Abbie Tol- liver. with a revolver. on the Baldwin place, seven miles from Montgomery to the north of the city.
 The case was 8 most peculiar one. Falkner souabbled with his wife. be- cause she would not stay on the planta- tion, the city lights and commotion proving too much for her rowing dispo- sition. On the day of the killing. Faulkner told his wife that she must not so to town. adding that if she did there would be killing. The wife's courage went up 100 per cent. She would show John who was boss in the little shack on the Baldwin place.
 A party left the next morning altar John had gone to the fields to do his regular days work. and the wife went along in the wagon. At lunch time John came home and found that his wife had skipped out. so he armed himself with a razor and a revolver and awaited her return by the side of the road.
 merry party returned from the city late at night. with the delinquent wife sitting in the rear of the wagon. There was no moon on the night in question but the stars gave sufficient light. so John thought. He opened the affair with hts revolver at woman sitting in the middle of the wagon. whom ha took to be his wife. The wife in dues- tion lodged behind her neighbor. and after the shooting, was unhurt
 The Tolliver woman was. however shot in the hip, and died about week later from the effects of the wound
 At the hearing of the case yesterday. Faulkner at first pleaded not guilty. but almost immediately plead guilty to murder in the second degree. The jury in the case retired and quickly brought in a verdict of life Imprisonment.
 The second ease was that of John Sanders, charged with assault. By ad- vice he plead guilty to assault and bat terc From the evidence taken, 1t ap- peared that the woman's first story was not true. so the Jury returned verdict of guilty. fixing a fine of $50.
 The cases against Moss Harrison, charged with murder, and Frank Green, also charged with murder. were contin- ued by the court.
 Al the session of the court beginning at 0:a0 o'clock this morning, evidence in the case of Hattie Morgan and Sue Morgan. charged with the murder Of negro man, will be taken. It Will De remembered that a negro, Thomas Rob- erts. was found near the railroad tracks in the southern part of the county. dead from q wound inflicted upon the head by an instrument unknown,
 Suspicion immediately pointed to the two women and their arrest followed If ia expected that the evidence to be taken this morning will prove interest," ing,