The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-12-13
THWARTING
 OF JUSTICE Frank Talk on Drake
 Murder. COL. l. B. CAREER SPEAKS OUT verifies Indignation of Hale County at Jury's Verdict. Brother of Attorney General and Long . Neighbor of Murdered Man Declares Mob, Law Has
 Been Promoted.
COL. l. B. CAREER SPEAKS OUT

Tn an interview Saturday morning Col. Joseph B. Garber, brother of the Attorney General. who is on a visit from Laneville, Hale county. without reserve or qualification. declared that should the appeal to the Supreme Court in the case of the negro murders of K. W. Drake near his home result in de- lay of justice to the conspiratcrs or communication of their death sentences by the Board of Pardons he would guarantee that no longer would 1uries be impanelled to deal with similar cases. He added that no less than hundred citizens in Hale county stand ready on the instant to make good this opinion of the law which they ieclar- Cd has been thwarted in the instance 6f Shed Williams, the chief perpetra- Cor Of the atrocious murder of few nights ago.
 Col. earber does not hesitate to con demn the action of the hastily drawn Jury in the Williams case
 "The action of the jury in giving this negro only life Imprisonment has, ! fear. implanted in the hearts and heads of otherwise law-abiding citizens the mob spirit which time may not re- move. 4 Shed Williams hands reeked with the blood of the direct murder of MT. Drake, my neighbor of thirty
 
 acccmplices, I mean Joe McDaniels, Ed Howard and Charlie Taylor yet two of these get the death sentence while the leader the man who conceiv- ed and executed the crime escapes the scanold. It is a most deplorable afrair and when the jury returned it's verdict in the Williams case recommending life Imprisonment scores of men solici- tous of the peace of the community fil- el.7 a "a E. tears"
 It will be recalled that R. W Drake, Q respected merchant and lifelong resident of Hale eountw, was the vic- tim of one of the most dastardly mur- ders that blot the States criminal re- cords. While asleep in his room near his store at Laneville the negroes mentioned, some watching, others help ing, crept into his bed-r and knock ed the sleeping citizen in the head with an iron bar. Death resulted in- atantly. It was confessed by Charlie Taylor that the four negroes were guilty of the crime, he naming Will Hams as the chief conspirator and the man who actually wielded the fatal blow to Mir. Drake.
 With all this testimony and circurn- stantial evidence of coroEorative na- ture, the first jury drawn in the special term of the circuit court called by Judge Miller returned verdict of guilty and fixed the punishment at life Imprisonment of Shed Williams. Indignation swept Nthe community but by persistent preachIngg of peace and forbearance by such sta1warts as Col Garber and others the lives of the murderers were saved.
 However. other Juries were impanel- led in the cases of the other negroes and Howard and McDanieIs each re- ceived the death sentence penalty while Charlie Taylor. justly, it was considered, got of with only life im- prisonment for the very good reason that he turned states evidence. He gave complete confession oS his and the others guilt which was not shaken by the other related facts of the case.