Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1909-03-23
cooPERs GET 20 YEARS EACH.
carmaok's sIayers Guilty of Murder In
Second Degree.

SeCond beSiSe'
The jury in the Cooper case on last
Saturday returned verdict Of guilty
of murder in the second degree as to
both of the Coopers, and fixed the sem
tence at twenty years each, in the PEN
itentiary.
The case Of Sharpe was disposed OF
Friday afternoon at 1882 o'clock. The
Jury having appeared in response to
the orders of Judge Hart, was asked as
to whether or not 1t had agreed upon
a verdict. It developed that instead OF
s. ]. Hyde to whom the charge was
given, E. M. Burke, the first man chos-
.en, carried the papers and acted as
foreman. In response to the judges
question, he said:
I'VE are tied up tight as to the Coop
ers, but we find John D. Sharpe not
guilty"
"Is there any reason, Gen. McCarn
why John Sharpe should not be dis
charged?" asked the court.
None, your honor"
"Mr. Sharpe, you are discharged from
custody, acquitted" said the court with
q smile.
Sharpe sat stolid and Indifferent. Not
so with his wife. When she had grasp
ed the significance Of the verdict her
eyes filed up and she caught her hus-
bands left arm with both her hands
and seemed about to break down.
I'VE want the exact words of the
Jury recorded" said Judge Anderson,
of the defense. I'VE understand the
report was hopelessly tied"
II do not recall the exact language,
but am told by the clerk and news
paper man that those were the words.
Let the clerk so record them"
'Is that a verdict, your honor?" said
Anderson.
TT is a verdict as far as John Sharpe
Is concerned, but it certainly is not as
far as D. B. Cooper and Robin Cooper
are concerned. I send the jury back
for further consideration"
The defendants counsel advised to-
gether a while and assented. Then
Judge Hart adjourned court until 2
p. m.
Upon the acquittal of Sharpe and
from what the jury said, the belief be-
came general that mistrial was GER
tainty, and the announcement Of ver-
dict next day was quite a surprise.
Upon the announcement Of the ver-
dict, counsel for the defense promptly
moved to set 1t aside on the ground that
the verdict of the day before acquitting
Sharpe, should have been accepted as
a mistrial in the case Of the Coopers.
Judge Hart stated that he would hear
argument at the convenience Of the at
torneys during this week, and fixed
the bonds Of the Coopers at. $25,o0o
each. The bonds were furnished at
once.
The bond filed totaled nearly a mil
lion and half. There was a rush to
sign it on the part Of Nashville's
wealthy citizens, who swamped the
clerk Of the court, who in vain pro-
tested over and over that more than
enough had already signed. Invariably
the answer was, I'VE want to put our
names on that bond too" When there
was no more room at the foot Of the
document the new bondsmen endorsed
across the face until 1t was difficult to
decipher the signatures.
ort1 no
ers retired to the home Of Judge Brad
ford tonight to discuss the next move
in the case. They removed their per-
sonal effects from the Jail this after
noon, for the present the colonel Will
make his home with Mrs. Burch, and
Robin will resume his old quarters
with his uncle, Judge Bradford.
Concerning the verdict, one Of the
jurors said: "On the first ballot we
acquitted John Sharpe and disregard
ed the conspiracy theory. On the same
ballot in the case Of the Coopers we
stood six for guilty Of murder in the
first degree with mitigating circum-
stances, five for murder in the second
degree with twenty years and one for
acquittal. The ballots all day Wednes-
day and Thursday showed the same.
Yesterday the man who voted for
acquittal went over to murder in the
second degree, but demanded that only
ten years be assessed. The rest Of us
did not deem ten years anything like
adequate and disagreed again. OF
course, all this refers to the Coopers,
not to Sharpe, whom we had acquitted.
Early this morning the man who was
holding out for ten years agreed to
twenty years, and the six who were
voting for first degree verdict agreed
to this verdict"