Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1909-03-16
Attorney General Declares De-
PENDANTS Not Only Assas-
sins Bot Cowardly Assas-
sins of Facts.
BULLET WHICH CAME OUT
OF CARMACK'S MOUTH
ENTERED THE BACK
McCarn, in Closing Speech, Says
Coopers Shot Carmack in the Back,
So That He Could Not Return
Fire.
,By Associated Prsas.o

EBy Associated Press.1
NASHVILLE. Tenn, March 15.-Attor-
ney General McCarn resumed his closing
argument today in the Cooper-sharp trial
for the murder of former United States
Senate Carrnack He was in better voice
than he was on Saturday.
AT the time of adjournment had gone
over the immediate facts OF the Tragedy.
had shown you by physical facts that
Senator Carmack had been shot in the
hack. Don't forget that. He was shot IN
the back-he was shot from behind, from
the back They ask US for our theory
Well, gentlemen, my theory is that the
bullet which came out of Carmacks
mouth, entered the back. And it is no
more chivalrous to shoot a dead man in
the back than to shoot a live one. That
bullet is the only one that ranged up.
two bullets ranged downward. Now you
shoot a man as he is falling and the
shots do not range upward. No gentle
men, these defendants are not only assas-
sins of Carmack, but they are cowardlT
assassin of facts.
Range of Bullet
do not take the doctors words. Take
the facts. Doctors can tell you the range
of pills, but they are not experts on the
range of bullets. They tell you CarmacK
couldn't do anything after he was shot
in the back-do you know / think that
why they shot him in the back-that they
had that in mind when they shot him
from behind.
Counsel tell you that you are not try
ing ordinary criminals, that these are men
of distinguished ancestry. Well, when men
in pairs hunt another man, approach MIN
| from behind and kill him, then it's time
for some of the descendants, the tail OF
the ancestors, to be cut off. They have
pleaded justification. Yes, they have.
Judge Anderson, in his splendid speech
the other day, tried to explain away Gen
eral Meek's statement that the unwritten
law should apply. But if General Meeks
didn't mean it, why did he follow IT with
the significant statement, The streets or
our city have run red before with the
blood of men who used other mems names
unjustly in newspapers?
| Judge Anderson explained mighty
/ cleverly, but the facts are against him.
An Overt Act
| General McCarn briefly recounted the
circumstances of the meeting on Seventh
avenue, and declared that the Cooper5
committed an overt act. He doubted If the
defendants told the truth. He asked If
they coul see Carmack 400 feet away, and
didn't see Carey Folk ten feet away.
what construction could be put upon 1t,
except that they were looking for Car
mack. He deplored the length OF the trial
/ and blamed the lawyers.
You could have learned the truth Of
this case, gentlemen, in one day. But
when you get twenty of the cleverest law
yers in the south, they can make blood
look like snow. They muddy the water,
and they search for a doubt That's what
they want, gentlemen, a doubt And they
refer to politics and try to stir up preju-
dice in the hearts Of those of you who
were opposed to Carmack politically"
McCarn complimented the jury for their
attention and honesty, and declared they
would not disgrace their names and their
families by letting prejudice come into the
case. +.
"The law on reasonable doubt is a good
law II you have doubt of their guilt, /
| tell you as the counsel on the other side
have, to turn these men loose. But If
you believe that IL is against the law OF
Tennessee to go up behind man and
kill him because he wrote the bantering
editorials, then / ask you to say so by
your verdict. But they say he didn't
shoot Carmack-the colonel didn't. But he
| took his son along to do it and the son
| was a willing tool. There has been a
| lot of talk about the boy Why, gentle
men, he is a lawyer. n years old and
has earned big fees. He is no child. He
was raised in luxury and is learned in the
| law.
Three bullets in his body-gentlemen.
One in the back, two through the side,
not one from the front. They say these
bullets stopped In CarmAck's body. They
pierced that poor widows heart. They
went into the life of that little boy and
took out of it a generous fathers care.
| at know YOU will not let a crime like
that go unwhipped Of justice. If there is
any truth in the statement that you
| cannot convict a man of means of MUIR
der, who is to blame? Not the judge.
From his charge you cannot tell whether
| the defendants are black or white. II is
the fault of jurors, gentlemen, If they
| permit high protected counsel to obscure
| the issue.
1--WE have in the Office here thousands
of blank murder indictments. We expect
to fill them out, and they will be filled
out much faster, gentlemen, If you de-
| eide that a man can be licensed TO go
out on the street and kill.
| 'sNfy duty is done. 1 hope it is done
well. My conscience is clear. 1 am re-
sponsible for everything 1 have said OF
] done.
/ If it be untrue that a rich man cannot
| be convicted, then stand up and by your
| verdict give it the lie, denounce this IL
1
and all I can say to the spirit that is
gone, again, orator, statesman, Christ
| ian, gentleman and friend, FAREWELL
| Court is Adjourned
Judge Hart then announced:
at is necessary to hear all the argu-
ments before formulating a charge. 1 will
prepaer tile charge as rapidly as I can. }
hone to reach 1t some time tomorrow. The
audience will have to entertain itself I'M
til then. There are picture shows in full
blast and they have been complaining that
have been taking away their trade"
General Garner arose to say that he
did not accuse General Meeks,, of counsel
for defense of wilfully classifying the rec
ord. He said he thought this statement
due the general.
The court then adjourned until a. m.
tomorrow.