The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1909-11-18
BAMBERG, S. c., THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 1s,
HUGHES FOUND GUILTY.

HUGHES FOUND GUILTY.
Negro Slayer of w. B. Causey Gets
Life Sentence.
The most interesting criminal case
tried at the term Of court here was
that of William Hughes, a mulatto,
| for the killing of w. B. Causey, clerk
of court Of Hampton county, this case
being transferred to Bamberg county
on a change of venue. There were a
number of people from Hampton
county here attending the trial, most
of them as witnesses. The case was
commenced last Thursday, and was
| ended Friday night a little after
dark. The jury did not deliberate
| very long-in fact upon taking the
first ballot on going into the room
the jury practically all agreed.
Solicitor Jas. F. Byrnes, of Aiken,
and Hon. S. G. Mayfeld, OF the local
bar, represented the State, and Form
er Solicitor Jas. E. Davis, of Barn
we'll, and R. C. Hardwick, Esq, of
Denmark, conducted the defense.
Some difficulty was experienced in
getting jury, each man being close
! ly questioned by Mr.. Davis as to his
| feelings for negroes and whether he
| would find a verdict of not guilty in
case a negro proved himself inno-
cent-the apparent object of the
questions being to get men on the
jury who had no prejudice against a
negro. The jury was a good one,
| being composed of some of the best
men in the county. The jury was:
H. B. Grimes, foreman, Jno. NJ. Eel
der, j. c. Mcmillan, J. B. Brickle, S.
S. Williams, ]. E. Tant, ]. Gordon
Brabham. H. Bessinger, Y. R. High
tower, J. L. Smoak, J. o. Kearse, and
Jesse j. Copeland.
Most of the witnesses in the case
were white, some of them being
among the leading citizens of Hamp-
ton. Briefly, the case of the State
was that Hughes had made threats
against Causey because Mr.. Causey
had run into him. on the street and
threw him down-Hughes having a
wooden leg-and also because Mr..
Causey had gotten after him about
interfering with his hands. That
Causey had loaned Hughes five dol
lars and had gone to his house the
night of the killing to collect the
money, Hughes having told him that
he had the money at home and would
pay him if he came after it. Mr..
SHEPPARD, white man. who was with
Causey when he was shot, and who
was also shot in the arm by Hughes,
testified that there was no fight
that Causey and himself walked up
to the negro's gate and called him
out and Causey said to Hughes that
he had come for the money and
Hughes at once shot him without fur
ther words. Upon being examined
by the judge, Shepard stuck to his
version of the killing.
Lizzie Hughes, the step-daughter
of the defendant, testified for the
State and against her step-father.
She was not at home when the shoot
ing took place, but was down the
street a little way, at the gate of
Senator w. S. Smith, talking to an
old negro man, that her father had
told her Mr.. Causey helped to con-
vict him when he was tried some
years before and that he intended
to kill Causey.
Several white witnesses also tes-
titled that Hughes had said he
intended to kill a man who had help
ed to convict him, but the negro
would not say who it was he intend
ed to kill.
The defense endeavored to prove
that the shooting was in self de-
fense, the killing taking place In
Hughes's yard or on the street In
front of his house. The physician
from the penitentiary terrified as to
finding bruises on Hughes's body
when he was brought to the peniten-
tiary just after the shooting, but
there was other testimony from
physicians that these marks were old
scars caused from a di lease. Sew
eral white witnesses also testified
that Causey said after he was shot
that he was to blame and not to both
er Hughes. That Causey was drink
ing the day of the killing.
Hughes's story was that Causey
with two other white men came to
his house drunk and asked if he had
any women there, that when he told
them that there were no women
there they at once dragged him into
the yard and commenced to beat
him, when he shot. That he had
never borrowed any money from
! Causey.
The jury found Hughes guilty Of
murder with recommendation to
mercy, and the judge sentenced him
to life imprisonment, in the peni-
tentiary. He was carried to Co
lumbia the same night to begin his
sentence.