Evening star., 1909-02-04
WH|TWORTH OFF JURY
Not Competent to Serve. Judge
Hart Decides.
TEN ARE LEFT IN THE BOX
Names of Talesmen Drawn by Ten
Year-Old Child, Announces Court.
NOT TAMPERED WITH SINCE
Sealed and Placed in Custody OK
Clerk-No Official Has Anything
to Do With 1t.

Special Dispatch 10 The Star
NASHVILLE. February 4.-The fact
that eleven jurors have been selected
in the case of Col. ID. B. Cooper Robin
J. Cooper and John ID. Sharp. charged
with the murder Of former Senator r..
w. Carmack. and that the investigation
as TO the competency Of Juror James
Whitforth to continue service would !e
decided today, attracted another large
crowd to the criminal court building
this morning.
Judge Hart. after examining Whit
worth. and after the record Of the orig
inal examination of Whitworth had
been read. decided that the juror was
not competent. This left ten jurors i'll
the box.
The entire afternoon yesterday VAS
taken up with the Whitworth invest:
cation. A number of witnesses were
examined by the state.
Whitworth. put on the stand. fatty
denied the statement attributed TO MIN
by {. w. Mitchell as to having eN-
pressed an opinion before being taken
on the jury. The defense on the other
hand introduced witnesses who gave
Mitchell a high character
Judge Hart's Summary.
l.
summed up the point at issue and de-
clared that as Mitchell and Whitworth.
both men of high character. fatty con-
tradicted each other as to the statement
alleged to have been made. these, in
his opinion, practically counterbalanced.
He disregarded the testimony of two wit
nesscs, rs far as corroboration went. In
tnat both We're busily occupied at ths
! alleged
occurred.
This left the question largely hineing
! upon the statement attributed to Whit
| worth by two other witnesses as to Coy.
Patterson's connection with the tragedy.
1t was upon that point that the court
examined the juror this morning.
Before taking up the examination OF
! Whitworth Judge Hart ordered the box
! containing the names of citizens subject
| to jury duty TO he brought from the
office of the circuit court clerk. The
! names in the box, the judge explained,
We're drawn by child under ten years
of age The box was then sealed and
placed in the custody of the circuit clerk
No official connected with the criminal
court, he said. had anything to do with
! the box.
Whitworth Admits Talking.
Whitworth was asked by Judge Hart in
regard to the conversation said by Archer
| to have occurred. in which Whitworth
| WAS reported to have made a remark
concerning the case to the effect that
| since the killing many Of Gov. Patterson's
| friends had withdrawn their support from
| him, and that he Whitworth) was one.
DIR. Weakley had said that Whitwortll
had remarked that he thought the gov
ernor had had something TO do with it,
or had had a hand in it,
! Whitworth said. as to the expression
regarding the governor and the killing
I of Carmack, that he had said something
Of the kind. but could not recoilect just
what he had said He said he had no
| bias or prejudice and could, as a juror.
| render a verdict in accordance with the
| law and the evidence presented.
The examination being concluded. coun-
sci for the state reviewed the evidence OF
Whitworth and the witnesses heard in
| the matter The defense preferred not to
make any argument