The Mathews journal. (Mathews C.H. [Court House]) 1903-1937, 1910-06-16
DALLAS WRIGHT
MAY ESCAPE CHAIR
Supreme Court Grants Writ of Error
to Man Convicted of killing
Stewart Brothers.

X { N Nj . y ID, Vas pc ia l.
Fantastic and grewsome is the story
connected with the case of w. Dallas
Wright, OF Buckingham county, ac-
cused murderer, TO whom the Virginia
Court OF Appeals has just granted
writ OF error.
Wright is now under sentence Of
death. but this action OF the appellate
court gives him a fine basis for hope.
1t means that the Supreme Court, at
least, intends looking carefully into
his case before il says whether or not
he shall go TO the electric hair.
Wrights arrest was the sequel of
the tragic end of two parsimOnious old
Confederate veterans, 7. g. Stuart and
w. J. Stuart. who were thought TO
have q great. deal of cash hiNed up.
These men. who were brothers and
bachelors. lived in an isolated section
OF the county. in log cabin.
On the morning OF April II, 1909.
their house was discovered to be in
ruins, having been almost completely
destroyed by fire, and the corpses OF
the two old soldiers were found among
the debris
Both bodies had been charred al
most beyond recognition. A part Of
the skull OF one had escaped the de-
vouring element, however, and from
this dropped several bits of lead,
which led the officials TO believe that
the brothers had been murdered.
There were other suspicious signs,
too, including the head Of an axe and
the barrels of four guns, whose stocks
had been burned away.
SAW IL All I'm a Dream.
G. T.. Bolton, a resident of the
neigh borhood. came to the front short
ly after the discovery of the crime.
with a strange story about a weird
dream he had had on the night of the
fire.
He said that in this dream he,
through the ashen mists Of his fancy
had seen FIVE men enter small house
and attack its two male Occupants
Brisk fighting followed and after the
two inmates Of the building had been
overcome, one Of them was decapi-
itated by a negro.
The dream, in short, offered sug-
gestions as TO the murder of the Stu
art brothers, and as Bolton talked a
good deal about il just after the fire.
1t, Of course, excited much comment
What is more, il called certain peo-
pie into action. for Bolton said that in
his dream he recognized a negro,
Richard Perkins, as the man who
welded the axe.
Negro Had Rope Around Neck.
According to the vOluminous re-
cord, Deputy Sherif Ed. Carter, ac-
companied by his son, Norman Car
ter. went to Richard Perkins house
in June and displaying a bogus war
rant, placed him under arrest
The officers had not proceeded far
with their prisoner when a mob. sup
posed TO have been in cahoots with
the officers, grabbed Perkins, took
him away from the representatives
of the law and threatened to swing
him up IL he didn't confess.
This course, IL is said, was pursued
with the idea OF getting the rewards
that had been offered.
Perkins appears to have been
game. Although the rope was sew
eral times put around his neck and
he was actually swung up, he reveal
ed nothing and finally was freed by
the mob.
Subsequently Perkins, Dallas Wright
and a third negro, Ed. Jones, were
indicted. Then there came upon the
scene two other negroes who testified
at the trial Of Perkins and Wright
that they themselves had been forced
to participate in the crime by the
three accused. These witnesses gave
circumstantial accounts of the killing
and of the struggles of the murders
victims.
Two Were Found Guilty.
The upshot of ii all was that Ed.
Jones. colored. was found guilty of
murder in the first degree. The judge,
however, hearkened unto a motion to
set aside the verdict and finally did
set it aside. He said that the evil
dence of the negroes, Johnson and
Jackson, was utterly unreliable.
In the case of Dallas Wright there
was a hung jury, which necessitated
a second trial. This second trial came
of in March, 1910, and Wright was
found guilty of murder in the first
degree and sentenced to be electro
cuted.
Just before this trial the presiding
judges had been changed and hence
this second verdice was not set aside.
Wright, therefore. was convicted on
the testimony Of negroes who. in the
case of Jones. were pronounced un-
worthy of belief.
The record in the case indicates
that the whole community was much
excited by the double murder and Gre
ates a suspicion that the prisoners, un-
der the circumstances, were the vic
Tins of prejudice.
1t would seem, in view of all that
has since happened, that Wright
stands a good chance of ultimately
gaining his freedom.