The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1908-11-13
NIGHT RIDERS
TO SEEK BAIL
MOVE TO FORCE THE STATE TO
SHOW ITS HAND IN
PROOF.
NEW WRITS OF HABEAS CORPUS
State Will Resist strenuously The
Effort TO Bring Out The
Testimony.

2 UNION CITY, Tenn. Nov. S.-De
! termined to contest every inch o.
, ground in the fight for the lives anC
liberties Of the men charged with the
murder Of Captain Rankin. Rice A
Pierce, the leading attorney for the
defense, announces that he will al
once file petitions for writs of habeas
corpus on the straight question OF
bail
Il have got those fellows right
where want them now" he remarked
today, with a most satisfied and conf
dent air. The question of bail was
purposely left out of the petitions
presented the court two or three days
ago. Now I'm going to force them 10
produce their proof They've got to
show me, and they've got to show
the court and the public the facts they
claim to have as to whether my clients
are guilty of the offenses charged"
Mr.. Pierce laughed Il am not
afraid of any jury they can get here,
and I'm going to free these men they
have charged with the crime he said
The question of bail was not en-
bodied in the petition filed in behalf OF
eleven prisoners last week, the ale
cation in the former petition being as
to the constitutionality of Governor
Patterson's act in calling out compa-
MES of the national guard to suppress |
violence in Obion county. The inten- I
tion of the defense in the former Pc +
titions was to take the prisoners out
of the hands of Colonel Tatom and
place them in the hands of the civil
law, and in the opinion of Judge Jones,
quoted in full in The Tennessean Sun
day, it is emphatically stated that the
question of bail had not been entered
in the petition filed by the defense.
The court plainly intimated that the
question of bail was not considered in
the opinion denying the prisoners the
privilege of habeas corpus, and laid
Itself open to entertain petitions upon
his ground.
No session of the court will be held
omorrow. Judge Jones will convene \
,ourt in Tiptonville in the morning,
Idjourn almost imediately and return '
Iere tomorrow afternoon. When the '
ession of the court is reopened Tues '
ay morning, Mr.. Pierce and Mr.. Fry
viii present to the court the new Pc
ltions. Then another hot legal fight
7ill be presented.
The States attorneys will contend =
nat the new petitions are the second G.
resented to the court for the issuance OF
writs of habeas corpus, and that II
nee the first petitions were filed no -
ew facts have been brought to light 81
hereby the prisoners are entitled to
,lease from custody. The fight to r
: made Tuesday will be purely on the y
suance of writs. In case the writs
e issued and the prisoners ordered to
, brought into court for hearing, the
ate will be under the necessity in
J possession as to the crime for 81
hich the prisoners are held. This is
e identical thing it does not want to
/. 1t will therefore make as strong a
hit as possible against the issuance SIP
the writs in its response to the
W petitions to be filed by Mr.. Pierce. cha
On the contrary it is expected the TIE
tense will claim that since the ques- led
n of bail has not yet been embodied ant
petitions presented to the court, IL:
use to be filed Tuesday should be chf
lsidered the first made. How Judge han
les will decide this contention can PAL
be forecasted now. If he issues Lei
writs as prayed and Capt Capell slig
to appear in court with Cla
prisoners, the labor of the prosecu- the
4 during the past week will have it
1e to naught and they will be forced in
testimony as to the guilt gro
the accused That this will injure the
prosecution greatly is frankly adj G
ted by the states attorney. Their get
Die fight up TO the present has been otht
inst this exigency. let
his