The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1913-06-10
LONG ACQUITTED OF MURDER.
Foreman Tells Court Rchuttal TeSti-
mOny Against aiken County Leg
isIatOr Unnecessary.

tory today when the jury IN the Long
murder case decided that they had
about enough Of the testimony and
were ready to acquit Legislator Long
without hearing any more evidence
or any of counssl's arguments in the
case; that they had already reached
their decision and would have return
ed mot guilty" verdict yesterday
afternoon.
The defense had just rested its case
and the prosecution wasre ady to place
on the stand witnesses in rebuttal, but
it was near the diprer hour and the
court announced a recess, whereupon
the foreman of the jury, Jas. R. Lea
que, of North Augusta, leaped to his
feet, but when he started to make
his statement the court stopped him
with the announcement that the State
must be given it's opportunity to pre-
sent witnesses in rebuttal to the testi-
mony offered by the defense.
Decision Already Reached.
When the States testimony was COM
pleted after dinner, the foreman then
informed the court that the jury had
already determined upon the merits of
the case. and that arguments by coun-
sci we're useless. This stemmed a
promised flow of o"atory. So Judge
Ernest Gary, of Columbia, presiding,
delivered his charge and permitted the
Jury to enter an anteroom and draw in
regular form the acQuittal of Long.
They were out about ninety seconds,
when the clerk of court, in sonorous
tones, read the verdict, "Hugh Long,
indicted for murder, not guilty"
And tonight Hugh Long is the hap
piest man in Aiken county. His
friends and attorneys are jubilant, too,
and his counsel, Messrs. Croft & Croft
and Col. Claude E. Sawyer, who SO in
telligently and skillfully conducted the
defense for their client, were the first
to congratulate him and they were
followed by throngs of people, some of
whom were heretofore absolutely in
different as to Hugh Long.
With some few natural exceptions,
there is general satisfaction over the
verdict and no one, so far as known
has presumed to question its justice.
Defendant ON Stand.
In the same court room, where he
will soon be practicing law, if reports
be true, Legislator Long took the
witness stand this morning at 11:45
o'clock and told how and why he kill
ed Picksns n. Gunter, of Wagner. He
remained on the stand one hour and
forty minutes.
The witness proceeded to state that
he moved to Wagener in 1911, and
that shortly thereafter, without any
solicitation on his part and virtually
without his will, he was elected mayor
of the little town.
In Wagner he owned and edited a
country weekly newspaper, and in ad-
dition to this had good deal of law
work
Then he told how, in the early part
of last summer, almost .innumerable
friends approached him and urged
him to run for the house of represen-
tatives, and, as he expressed it, 'he
was in the race before he knew II.
From that point the witness told of
his alleged political persecution and
how, he charged, Pickens Gunter and
others followed him from one meeting
place to another; bounding him all
over the county, he alleged. He emu
merated several occasions when they
attended meetings and he declared
that Gunter and his friends were at
practically every meeting of the cam
paign, with maybe three of four ex-
ceptions.
Warned Of Alleged Threats.
The witness was elected to the house,
however, at the second primary, and
said he was informed that his success
full candidacy had made "the opposi-
ton" in Wagner more intensely bit
ter against him than ever before, and
that i. would be best for him to stay
away from Wagner fer awhile, He
said that more than a hundred people
warned him Of the deceased's alleged
threats to kill, among them NJ. T Hol-