The Grenada sentinel. [volume] (Grenada, Miss.) 1868-1955, 1910-12-23
FEARFUL TRAGEDY RECALLED.
Governor Asked to Extend Clemency
to Whit Owens.

10 WIN OWCEo.
Jackson.-One of the darkest TRACE.
dies in the annals of North Missis-
sippi was revived in the public mind
by the petition for the pardon of Whit
Owens, which was presented to Gov.
Noel, n~umerously signed, and by the
fact that a young man named Mont
gomery. a resident of Sardis, Pamela
county, is here opposing the granting
of clemency. Mr.. Montgomery is a
son of one of Owens alleged victims.
The facts were that Whit Owens
was indicted jointly In 1910 in the cir
cult court of Lafayette county, with
Orlandus Lester, William Mathis and
William Jackson, Lester and jackson
being negroes, for the murder of John
A. Montgomery and Hugh Montgom-
cry, his son.
two Montgomerys were depu-
~ + IF the United States court, and
Z lie day OF their death were given a
ant for the arrest of William Mat
!, based upon an indictment OF the
TIED States court at oxford, on the
lSG vi IL WlulAs ulclillh5 "lliSnSy
demonstrating" They arrived at
residence of Mathis, in a remote
ktion of Lafayette county, late In
evening. and found him engaged in
bme domestic duties which it was in
bnvenient for him to leave. He beg
sed earnestly to be allowed to finish it
and would go to Oxford as a prisoner
the next morning. The ~Montgomerys
kindly consented.
Orlandus Lester, a negro, was en-
ployed by Mathis, and vas working
with him on the affair, the suspension
of which for the accommodation OF
Mathis the officers did not insist.
On the trial of the case it appeared
from the testimony that after the Of
ficers had retired for the night, Mat
this, Jackson and Lester went into
the room, found them asleep in bed
and killed them with guns, after which
Mathis moved their bodies to a point
near the center of the building and set
fire to the house, burning it down over
the bodies of the victims, believing
that thereby he could destroy all evil
dence Of guilt.
1t was shown by evidence that Whit
Owens, for whom pardon is sought,
was the father-in-law of Mathis, and
resided a mile and a half or two miles
distant. Orlandus Lester, one of the
convicted defendants, testified that az
ter the officers consented to remain
during the night at the home Of Mat
this, the latter sent him (Lester) to
Whit Owens house to ask Owens, as
directed by Mathis, to come over and
bring his gun and help kill the revenue
officers. Lester testified that he deliv.
cred the message to Whit Owens, who
declined to go, giving as his reason
that eff he left home his wife would
raise a racket and disturb the neigh
borhood " that Whit Owens sent his
CUR and some buckshot back to Mat
this by Lester with a message to the
effect that Mathis, Jackson and Les
ter could do the work well, and the,
must not let the revenue officers es
cape.
Mathis and Lester were hanged a
Oxford in the autumn OF 1902. Jack
son was sent to the penitentiary TO
life. Owens, on reversal of his case
got a change of venue to Marshal
county and was tried at Holly Spring
in August, 1902. Also In the Septen
Der, 1902. term of the circuit court il
Lafayette county, at Oxford, he wa
convicted of the previous murder G
Hampton Williams, a witness agains
Mathis and himself for moonshinins
and was sentenced to be hanged fo
that also. This case was also re-ver,
ed, and after his conviction in Ma,
shall county for the Montgomery mu
der and sentence to penitentiary fc
life seems to have been lost sight o
sA-tIr q, - NNtD IA AttAn