The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1911-02-08
GIRL MAY ESCAPE THE ROPE
THIRD WOMAN EVER SENTENC-
ED TO HANG IN GEORGIA.
Recalls Susan Eberhardt's Case

Young White Woman of Webster
County One of Only Two Females
Ever Executed in This State. DIR,
Kendrick of Dawson Was Attend
ing Physician. =
Rosalie Small, a negro girl. SEN
fenced 70 be hanged in Waynesboi0
today. Feb. 8, for completely in the
murder of white man by the name
OF Jones i'll a store in Burke counry.
has been respited by Gov. Brown
until Feb. "a in order that the pris.
on commission may have an oppor-
tunity to investigate her application
for clemency. The girl is but 16
years Old Calvin Johnston, who
was convicted and sentenced to be
hanged on the same day with the
Small girl, has confessed that he
found her in the store after he did
the killing.
The Famous Eberhardt Case.
The case of the Burke county me-
gress, who is in the shadow of the
gaIlows, recalls wildly to the minds
OF the people of this section the
public execution of Miss Susan Eber-
hardt, the first and one of only twea
women ever hanged in Georgia.
The execution of the young girl.
for she was unmarried and only is
years of age, occurred over in Web
ster county in August 1873. and
there was also hanged for the same
crime for which the Eberhardt girl
Spann, who belonged to one of the
most prominent families of the coun-
ty They were hanged for the MUIR
der of Spann's wife.
Spann, it is said, actually commit
ted the atrocious crime of wife muir
der, killing his wife because of his
infatuation for Miss Eberhardt, a
comelier young woman.
Efforts to Save the Woman.
Spann was hung about three
months before Miss Eberhardt, the
latter being respited for a short
while pending efforts, which were
without avail, to save her from such
an ignominious fate
The execution, which was public.
was witnessed by thousands of peo-
pie, and DR.. w. G.. Kendrick of Daw-
son, who was one of the attending
physicians, is the only person now
alive who had anything to do with
the legal tragedy. The Judge and
Jurors who tried the case. the law
yers both for the prosecution and
the defense, the sheriff and the gov
eronor who refused to commute the
sentence have all long ago answered
at the bar of the highest of ali
courts, the court presided over by
the Supreme Ruler.
Dr. Kendrick says the woman's
neck was not broken by the fall. and
that it was half an hour after the
trap was sprung before life was ex-
tlnct. While in the struggles of
death and strangulation her heavy
breathing was heard fifty yards
The Governor Was Firm.
The trial of Spann and Miss Eber-
hardt aroused intense interest and
lasted through one week. Both were
adJudged guilty and sentenced to the
glbbet. The supreme court affirmed
the verdict, and then Governor MiIt
Smith was appealed to for commuta-
ton OF the womans death sentence.
Committees of prominent citizens
OF this section and Webster county
interceded with Governor Smith in
behalf of the unfortunate young wo-
man -
But Georgia's governor was made
OF sterner stuff than are those of
more recent years. He refused, near
ly always, TO set aside a court YER
dict after a case had been fairly and
lmpartially tried before a jury of
twelve good and true men, as was
done in this instance.
The verdict stood and Mrs. Eber-
hardt went to the gallows.
The only other woman ever hang
ed in Georgia was a negress. who
was executed twenty-five years ago
as one of the Eastman rioters.