The daily sentinel., 1912-11-20
Associated Press.

Richmond, Va, Nov. 2D.-The rNe-
cution of Floyd Allen and his son
Claude Swanson Allen. sentenced To-
die in the electric chair between
sunrise and sunset. December I".
marks the first blow of Justice upon
the notorious Alien rIausmcn whose
flawlessness fer years held The ma
tfves of the Virginia mountains in
terror and eliminated early this
year in the shooting up of the Carroll
county court when five persons lost
their lives. The news of the crime
sent n thrill of horI-r throughoui the
nation. and the shocked Virginia
authorities moved pNpeditiously TO
bring the criminals To Justice
On the morning of March "A.
Floyd Allen stood before the bar of
the Carroll county court house at
Hillsville, to receive sentence for his
part in aiding the escape of another
mountaineer from the custody OF the
sheriff. 4 crowd packed the little
court room for the character Of the
prisoner was well known Members
of the Allen family we're known to
be in court and trouble was thought
imminent.
The jury having Announced a YER
dict of guilty, Judgc Thornton B.
d
one year at hard labor. With the
last word of the sentence, a crash of
firefrms broke from the spectators
benches. Floyd Allen, the prisoner,
with smoking revolver in his hand.
leaped from the prisoners dock and
Joined the rush of the gang toward
the door.
When the courtroom was cleared
the body of Judge MassiC. ridded
with bullets, was found lying over
his desk; Commonwealth Attorney
William NJ. Foster and Sheriff l.. =.
Webb lay dead on the floor: Angus
tus Fowler, juror. and Elizabeth
Ayres, n spectator, we're bleeding
from wounds which proved fatal the
next day; and Dexter GOad. clerk
of the court, lay shot through the
neck. Goad was one of the principal
witnesses for the state at the con
! viction of the prisoners.
200 Shots Fired.
When the courtroom was examined
later it was found that more than
200 shots had been fired. Twenty
seven shots took effect upon those
killed or wounded
An army of detectives and news
paper correspondents soon was scuur-
ing the muddy roads of the mountains
in search for the prisoners Floyd
Allen, the cause of the shooting, who
had been wounded by Sheriff Webb
in the courtroom. was taken the day
of the crime, together with his son,
Victor Allen, and his nephew, Bird
Marion.
Sidna Edwards, a nephew of the
Allen brothers, was captured in q
hut in the mountains March - Ed
do Ia T.. 1.
ing for several days. and was very
weak when found. Claude Swanson
Allen. another son of Floyd Allen,
walked up to posse in the mount
aims and surrendered himself on
March 2S. The next day Friel Al
len, youngest member of the gang,
was taken at his fathers home.
Floyd Allen, charged specifically
with the killing of Commonwealth
Attorney Foster, was found guilty of
first degree murder on May II. and
sentenced to death. Claude Allen,
his son, was tried on a charge of
killing Judge Massie. and convicted
of murder in the second degree The
jury recommended a sentence of fif-
teen years in the penitentiary. The
state demanded a new trial and a
verdict of guilty in the first degree
was returned ON July %, and he was
sentenced to death
Friel Allen pleaded guilty of muir
der in the second degree and on
August ii was sentenced to s years
In prison. Three days later Sidna
Edwards pleaded guilty to a like
charge, and was given sentence Of
fifteen years. Victor Allen was uC-
quilted of charge of having partic-
ipatcd in the murders
A
len and recognized leader of the
clan, and his nephew, Wesley Ed
wards. eluded pursuit for many
weeks, and eventually escaped out
of the Virginia mountains. ana made
their way west. They were captured