The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1910-09-18
ESCAPES DEATHBY
NARROW MARGIN.
Supreme Cort Prevents Electro
cution Of Ed. Jones on
Tuesday.
EVIDENCE E is AT3TA.C K ED
Lawyers Say Legislature Caused
Conviction by Change Of
Judges.

hours of life, Ed. Jones, sentenced tt
be electrocuted next Tuesday for tn,
| murder Of w. j. Stuart and r. C. STU
art, In Buckingham county. was yes
terday granted writ of error by TIL,
Supreme Court of Appeals. The cas-,
| will be placed on the Commonw ealti
docket and will therefore be among
the first to be heard at the Novembc,
| term Of the court.
Clerk FL. Stewart Jones at once GER
tilted the appeal to the clerk OF the
Circuit Court of Buckingham county
THIS acting as stay of execution un-
til the case is argued and decided.
Should Jones not be granted new
trial. the Judge of the court will fix
new date for the execution.
Judge Changed.
"A. S. Hall and Aubrey e. Strobe, the
attorneys appointed by the court to
defend Jones, present as the major por-
ton of their argument for a writ of
error the opinion rendered by Judge
- y. Gordon. then of the Circuit Court.
In setting aside the verdict in the first
trlal. Peculiar circumstances surround
this. While Judge Gordon was consid-
ering the motion for the second trial.
the Virginia Legislature changed Buck
lngham county from the Twenty ninth
to the Fifth Judicial Circuit, and made
the act an emergency measure. The
Governor appointed Judge Gordon,
then no longer Judge OF the Bucking-
nam court. to sit in the Jones case on
the motion. and he rendered his judg-
ment granting the second trial.
In setting aside the verdict. Judge
Gordon said that the evidence O.,
which Jones was convicted was "un.
satisfactory and untrustworthy," ana
challenging human belief" at the
second trial Jones was again convict
ed and sentenced to death.
Denth Per Legislature.
The novel argument Is therefore
made by the attorneys that Jones finds
himself in the strange predicameut OF
being under sentence of death because
OF an emergency change in the person
of the presiding judge. The argument
is that had Judge Gordon still held
office at the second trial. he would
have not have permitted the conviction
of the prisoner on the evidence pre-
scented.
Whether credible or not, the evidence
which resulted in the conviction of Id
Jones. ". Dallas Wright and Ricnafu
Perkins. was most remarkable. 1t was
given by two negroes, Willie Jackson
and Aylett Johnson, who claimed. tina:
they had been intimidated into accom-
panying the three criminals 20 the
scene of the murder.
The murder of the Stuart brothers
occurred on the night of April II. i909.
They had the reputation of being ms
ers and of having much money In tne!f
home. They lived alone In dllapl-
dated log cabin, which was burned on
the night mentioned Two skeletons
we're found in the ruins, very badly
charred and mutiIated. Leaden shots
we're found in one of the skulls.
Negroes Confessed.
Two months later Jackson and j Ohm
son came forward with their confess
sion. jackson said he went to meet
johnson at the latter's home TO go
fishing. While in the house Jones and
Perkins, both colored. came there, 1ol-
lowed soon afterward by Wrlsht,
white man. These three first asked
and then forced Jackson and Johnson.
according to their evidence, to 40
COMPANY them. johnson was posted at
some distance from the stuart house,
at point, 1t is said. where he could
have guarded nothing except the ap-
proach to his own home. Jackson was
stationed under tree short dia-
tance from the house. He said that
he looked through the door and saw
w. j. Stuart lying on the floor dead,
and then saw the three men peck y.
c. Stuarts head with an axe Until ho
revealed the hiding place of the money.
From this receptacle was taken $3.50.
Then the murderers. according to
jackson. set fire to the house.
Johnson in the meantime had FED
when he heard shot fired, 5ut re.
turned and met the other four, where
upon the money was divided.
The feeling in the county. it Is al
legged, was such that change Ct
venue should have been granted.
1'he petition sets forth that the
prisoner had no money to pay for a
stenographic report of the evidence.
and asks that the record In shs Wright
and Perkins cases be read in oonneu
ton with his appeal.
Both the others have already Sc
cured writs OF error. and the three
cases will be argued in November.