The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1909-03-03
CAZALAS
MAY Be IMPEACHED
Attorney CARRIER VIII Begin
Proceedings At Once
GOVERNOR COMER'S LETTER
Reviews Recent Lynchina of Negro In
Mobile and Calls on States Attor-
ney to Go Into the Mat
ter Officially.

Montgomery. March S.-(speeial)-
In a statement given out today At
torney General A. NJ. CARRIER an
nounces he will begin Impeachment
proceedings against Sheriff Casalas of
Mobile county shortly. Information
coming from citizens of Mobile to
Governor Conner and filed with the
attorney general is the basis of the
action. It is held that the sheriff, be
cause of lack Of diligence, allowed
a negro to be lynched some weeks
ago. The grand jury made an inYes-
tigation and the whole matter was
laid before Governor Conner Saturday
last Among other things are num-
Der of citizens petitions suggesting
that such action be taken. The pa
pers are to be filed with the supreme
court.
Not First Case.
The movement for Impeachment of
Sheriff Cazalas of Mobile county will
mark the second effort of like kind
in the state within recent years, and
strange to say, both are for the same
cause. allowing negro prisoners in
their charge to be lynched Four
years ago an attempt was made to
throw out the sheriff of Madison coun-
ty because a negro was taken out
of the jail and hung by a mob. Now
comes the case of the Mobile officer
growing out of an identical offense
When it came to a hearing in the
Huntsville trial the fact developed
that though the constitution says that
sheriffs and officers of this class are
impeachable before the supreme court,
the legislature had made no statute
to put the section into execution, so
1t was declared off, there being actually
no law, according to the supreme
court, by which a sheriff could be i'm
peached. The legislature of 1907, how
ever. cured the difficulty and the Mo-
bile officer will be the first to be
hailed before the greatest legal tri-
bunal of the state to give an account
of the doings of his office
Richard Robertson, negro, sent to
Jail for the murder of deputy sher-
iff. who was a very popular officer,
was taken out on the night of jan
uary % and hanged within a short
distance of the jail. 1t was reported
at the time and since that rumors
of the intentions of the mob were rife
even before they went into action and
that newspaper, informed in advance,
was quickly on the street with an extra
after the hanging. 1t is also said that
the sheriff went home early and did
not take note of the dangers that
were evident early in the evening.
These reports are said to have in
censed a number of citizens to the
point of asking that the officer be de-
prived of his office.
The action of the governor followed
the fling with him of a petition,
said to contain more than 100 as,
setting forth the belief of the signers
that the sheriff had not observed due
diligence in the discharge of his duty.
Last Saturday Solicitor Nick STALL
worth and Attorney Palmer Pillans
saw the governor and later Attorney
General CARRIER about the matter and
line of action was mapped out. How
ever, no action was taken until Tues
day when, acting under instructions
Der said that he would proceed
against the Mobile sheriff at the April
term OF the supreme court.
The Governors Letter.
The letter of Gov. B. B. Conner fol-
lows:
Montgomery, March l, 1909.
Hon. Alex M CARRIER Attorney Cen
eral, State of Alabama, Montgomery,
Ala.
Dear Sir: In the early morning of
January %, 1909, Richard Robertson, a
prisoner. was taken from the Mobile
county Jail by unauthorized persons and
was shot and hanged within very short
distance of the jail 1t appears from the
report of the grand jury of Mobile coun-
ty, empaneled on February l, 1909, that
'rumors were commonly current the
streets for hours before the taking of the
prisoner from The Jail that such action