The Semi-weekly leader. (Brookhaven, Miss.) 1905-1941, 1909-05-29
THE GREER TRIAL THE CHIEF FEA.
TURE THURSDAY AND FRIDAY.
A FORMIDABLE ARRAY OF ClRCUM.
STANTIAL EVIDENCE SUBMITTED
BY THE STATE.
Case Given to the Jury at 10 O'Clock
Yesterday.-It Was Unable to Agree
and MistriaI Was Entered.

| uuU u VAhSeA luh WuJ R~heVbOus
The entire time of the Circuit
Court Thursday was consumed in
the trial Of ]. F. Greer, present
sheriff of Lincoln county, and En-
ma Johnson, the mulatto woman,
jointly indicted with him on the
charge of unlawful cohabitation.
From the hour court opened until
adjournment at $3.50 PM, when the
argument of counsel was in progress,
the court room was packed almost
to suffocation by curious crowd,
mostly white farmers who had
come in town to take day off to wit
ness the court proceedings, because
the late rains had temporarily put
a stop to farm work.
When the State announced ready
for trial the first move made by the
defense was the filing of demur-
rer, containing seven objections to
the indictment. chief of which was
that the indictment was vague, in
definite and that the crime charged
was not in accord with the Ian
guage or provisions of any State
law.
When this was overruled by the
court an application was made for
a bill of particulars and a motion
for continuance because it was
alleged the defendants had not been
sufficiently apprised of the nature
of the charge and specifications
against them and were therefore
not ready to go to trial, these being
likewise overruled by the court,
and the trial was ordered to pro-
ceed.
The whole forenoon was consum-
ed in impaneling the jury and
swearing the witnesses. The jury
as finally accepted by both sides
was composed of farmers with one
exception, and was as follows:
H. M. Herringtn, j. M. Paxton,
j. M. Adams, H. e. Jourdan. John
Linton. Led Paxton. w. J.. Embry,
W. w. Hobbs, Samuel Wootin, A.
w. Horton, Henry Williams, j. C.
Allen.
Sheriff Greer has large family
connection in Lincoln county and
while the jury was being impaneled
four members of the two regular
weekly panels were excused for
cause because of being related to
the sheriff either by blood or mar
riage. Only one taIisman had to
be called outside of the regular
juries to complete the panel.
Thirteen witnesses were intro,
duced for the State and four for
the defense, including the chief de-
fendant who took the lead in testi-
flying in his own behalf.
All of the testimony introduced
by the State was circumstantial,
the circumstances being numerous
and varied as to times and places,
and not single one, of itself, con-
elusive of guilt, but all pointing in
the same direction. The alleged
illicit relationship, according to
the States testimony, extended
over period of five to six months
The sheriff was the first witness
to take the stand in his own de.
fense. His explanation of his re-
Iations with the woman was that
she had been a faithful family SER
want and that both he and his wife
had visited her openly while she
was sick and that on a few other
occasions he had called by himself
to look after her welfare because of
the interest he had felt in her as a
family servant. He fatty contra
dicted the testimony of some of the
States most credible and import
ant witnesses.
DIR. Conner, the negro physician,
was introduced by the defense to
prove that the woman had been
sick about the time of his first al
legged visits and had undergone
delicate operation.
Deputy Sheriff Charles Hardy
was introduced to impeach the tes-
timony of Mile Dixon, an aged
negro woman. neighbor to the de-
fendant woman, who had testified
that Sheriff Greer and Emma john
son had been at her house together
five or six times at night.
When the State rested, a motion
by counsel for the defense FOR a
peremptory instruction to return
a verdict for the defendant on the
ground that the testimony was in
sufficient to sustain the indictment,
was promptly overruled by the
court, and an instruction for ac-
quittal asked for by the defense
after all the testimony was closed,
and before the arguments began,
was also refused.
After the opening speech by Dis
trict Attorney Wall, and argument
for the defense by "a. G. McNair,
LOT the Brookhaven bar. Judge Will
kinson ordered the courtroom clear
Led and adjourned court until $50
Friday morning
The court room was again crowd
led Friday morning when court met
for resuming the argument in this
case. Ex-District Attorney Webb