Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1910-04-15
CASE OF THE CooPERS.
New Trial for Son-Free Pardon For
Father.

|
ton euualing that which inflamed Ten
nessee in November 1908, when For
mer United States Senator Edward w.
| Carmack was shot and killed on a
prominent street in Nashville, was
created by the pardoning by Gov. Nj.
r. Patterson today of Col. Duncan b.
Cooper. who with his son, Robin j.
Cooper, was convicted of the murder
of Carmack. The issuance of the par
don, on the governors own initiative
without a formal petition before him,
| followed quickly the reading of the
opinion of tine Tennessee supreme
court affirming the verdict of guilty in
the case of Col. Cooper, under sentence
| of twenty years in tine penitentiary and
reversing the lower court in the case OF
| Robin Cooper, who was sentenced To "a
like period for the Carmack murder.
| The news of the courts action and
that of the governor in pardoninS Coz.
Cooper spread quickly through the city,
causing intense excitement and heated
discussion by numerous groups of par
| tisans.
Gov. Patterson wrote the full pardon
for Col. Cooper and filed it with the
| secretary of state while Chief Justice
Beard was yet reading a dissenting
| opinion in the case of Col. Cooper. In
| a statement given to the press almost
| Immediately the governor said:
In my opinion neither of the defen-
dants is guilty and they have not had
fair and impartial trial. but We're
convicted contrary to the law ana the
| evidence"
| The conviction and sentence of Col.
| Cooper were affirmed by a divided
court In an entirely different lineup
of the justices, the court split as to
the guilt of Robin Cooper, by vote OF
| 3 to 2, the lower court being reversed
| and the case remanded for new trial.
The reversal in the case of Robin
Cooper is based on assignments of er-
! rOr in the trial judges failure TO
| charge separately as to Robin Cooper
theory of self-defense linking the de-
| fense of the two defendants together,
| excluding testimony of Gov. Patterson
as to talks with Robin Cooper, and ad-
vice given by MIN to Col. Cooper be-
| fore the tragedy and the admission on
| cross examination Of Robin Cooper as
] to the intent of certain states Witness
es in testifying as to certain incl
dents.
The opinions were read before a
court room packed to suffocation, the
corridors being crowded with those un-
able to gain entrance. Every Word was
| heard with breathless interest and the
|
| ed an epoch in not only the legal annals
of the state, but the political as well.
| The Democratic party of Tennessee has
been split in two by bitter factions on
the prohibition question, and as Wneel
with a wheel the Cooper case has play
ed a conspicuous part Cooper is the
close friend and alleged political ad-
wiser of Patterson, who is the leader OF
| the prohibition forces in Tennes-
see. Carmack was the chief of the pro-
hibition movement. Patterson was a
| most important witness for the defense
at the trial of the Coopers for the kill
| ing of Carmack, whose death, his
| friends alice. was the outcome of po-
litical machination. Now, on the verge
of an election of the judiciary, the SUI
preme court was called on to pass
| finally upon the case over Whlch II
seems the party factions have actually
aligned themselves on one side or the
other For siXty-nine days the court
has been on the case and the state has
| been on the tip-toe of expectancy as
| opinion days came and went without a
| decision.
| The announcement at last shows an
| interesting status to those familiar
with the intricacies of the political
situation. Chief Justice Beard and
Justices McAlistcr and Bell reverS" the
case as to Robin Cooper, Justices Nell
and Shields dissenting. Justices Shields,
| McAliSter and Neil confirm as to Coz.
Cooper, Chief Justice Beard and JUS
| tice Bell dissenting.
| The supreme court was more widely
divided than it ever was before. TWO
of the most elaborate opinions ever
rendered were handed down and nelth-
| er one of them, strange to say actual
| ly accomplished the result intended by
| the opinion itself or the justice who
wrote it. Justice John X. Shields read
an opinion covering Seventy-tWo type
written pages affirming the judgment
of the court below in all things. In this
Justice NJ. NJ. Neil concurred.
Chief Justice w. d. Beard read an
opinion covering siXty-fivc typewriter
pages. This opinion reversed tn"
Judgment of the court below as to both
| defendants. In il Justice Il. ID. Bell
concurred.
| Upon the shoulders of Justice w.
| X. McAlister rested the responsibility
of actually deciding the case. He con-
CURED with neither opinion in toto.
| Upon the twenty-five assignments OF
error, he cOncurred with Justices
| Shields and Neil in the majority of
of those affecting Robin Cooper "Nclu-
| SiVely.
AS result Of this wide division of
| the court on this case. the opinion of
| the court was not handed down for the
first time in the history Of tn" julis-
prudence of the state. The opinion of
Justice Shields is not the opinion of
| the court, nor is the opinion of Chief
Justice Beard the opinion of the court
but a part of each taken together forms
the actual decision that goes into eff
feet.
| Coming in the middle of the day,
when many hundreds of men were on
the streets, the news created more en-
citement and more widespread discus
sion probably than any other event in
the history of the city. The telegraph
and telephone offices We're beSieged not
only by representatives of out-of-town
newspapers but by hundreds Of private
messages to friends all over the state
and in adjoining states.
The pardon was not unexpected
| From Gov. PatterSOn'S testimony in
the court below there could remain no
doubt as to his personal conviction of
the innocence of the defendants. Such
being the case there was never any
doubt in the public mind that he would
| grant pardon to both defendants
should the supreme court affirm the
sentence. But while this action did not
|
interest and all of the wild excitement
that Il totally unexpected denOucmrnt
to the whole series of events could
have done.
| As to tn" result politically i'm Ten
neSSec of the state supreme courts de-
ciSiOn i'm the Cooper cas-" and the par
don of Col. ID. &. Cooper by Coy. Pat
terSOn, opinion seems general that the
old factiOnal lineS-Patt"rSon and anti
Patterson. the latter representing the
! prohibition or statewide element of
! the stat" DemOCraCy-are unchanged.
In fact they are more taut if that be
| possible. The governors friends claim
| that his action has served to Cemen(
more closely than ever his following
| that il has given them a rallyinS cry
| to battle. ON the Otncr hand il has
embittercd to an even intenSCr degree
the hostility to him on tn" part of his
| political enemies.
| Carmack was the leader and idol of
! the state widerS. His friends, Charg-
ing that his killing was the outcome
| of political scheme. made ii tn" chief
| issue in Il bitter war that has sine"
| been relentleSSly wagcd against Pat
tcrSon, and the Cooper "aS" has Cnlur"d