Arizona republican., 1914-07-15
WARRANT
IS READ EIGHTH
TIME TO NEGRO
Probably Without Parallel
in Annals Of American
Courts is the Case of
Erwin Pope, Alabama
Negro Murderer
Especial to The Republican,


ANNISTON, Ala, July 4-P-o -oba-
bly, without parallel in the annals
Of American cOIrts is the ramark-
able case Of Erwin Pope, the Al1-
bama negrr who has just appeared
| in court and for the eighth time
listened to the reading of the death
warrant and heard the date set for
his execution. For five years the
negro has been in Jail under con-
viction for the murder of J. 3. Nc
Clurkin, a white man living near the
town of oxford He has been con-
victed and sentenced to hang five
times: the case has been before the
supreme court and reversed four
times, and eight different days have
been set for the execution. Through
it all the negro's nerve has never
beer shaken Frtm the day of his,
arrest he has maintained his inno-
cence of the crime charged against
him and has expressed confidence in
his ultimate acquittal.
The murder of McClurkin occurred
on the night of April 10, 1909 About
midnight the victim was awakened
by the noise of someone robbing his
cotton gin. He got up, saddled his
mule and followed the robbers wa
gon toward oxford The next morn
ing his body was found horribly mu-
| tilated in a cotton patch on the edge
of the town. In an alley in a negro
settlement he had evidently been hit
! in the head with a heavy club, and
his skull beaten in with a large
| stone.
Erwin Pope lived in the town of
| oxford about a mile from where the
| body was found. He owned a little
farm in the country and also ran a
, little restaurant in town. 1t was
| proved that on the afternoon preced-
ing the murder Pope was at the
mill owned and operated by McClur-
kin and had exchanged corn for
meal. The principal witness for the
state was a negro, John Body, in
! front of whose door the murder was
committed Body testified that on
the night of the murder he was
awakened by the sound of screams
and blows in the alley. He claimed
| to have gone to the door, opened it
and looked out and swore that he
saw two men struggling, and heard
a voice say. Erwin. Erwin" black
smith testified that he discovered
the track of a wagon leading from
the scene of the murder to Popes
house. Later a pair of shoes said
to show traces of blood We're found
in an clubhouse in Pope's yard. On
this evidence, all of it circumstan-
tial-the negro was tried and con-
victed
| John Body, the negro in front of
whose house the murder was COM
mitted, was arrested and held on
suspicion After Popes conviction,
Body was released He Immediately
abandoned his crop and family and
ran off, and all trace of him has
been lost The state and the de-
fense have both made efforts to find
him, but they have failed
The lawyers for Pope have con-
tended from the start that Body was
the guilty man. Their theory is
based on the seeming improbability
of Body's story; on the fact that the
! t1luIueT was Ill HUH VI DOuy uODT
that the club with which McClurkin
was killed came from a wood pile
in Body's yard: that the murderer
had taken pains to drag the body
away from Body's door; that Pope
had no one horse wagon, while Body
had wagon which exactly corre-
sponded to the tracks found at the
scene of the crime: that barefoot
tracks were found at the scene of
the murder. as if Body had gotten
out of bed and committed the mur-
der; and that the cotton seed which
was stolen from McClurkins gin on
the night of the killing was found
in an clubhouse just back of Bodys
house.
At the first trial the court per-
mitted a negro witness to describe
his own conduct and actions as
proof that Pope was guilty. The
supreme court held that this was an
unfair and improper way to pro-
ceed against the accused and order
ed new trial. The second appeal