The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1914-07-15

eIt waiting LUZ lut nus Ddllu dui
father when the assassination oc
Cured.
For this crime Washmood, jim
Miller, Dan Sizes, a notorious outlaw
and Henry Pruitt, brother of Porte
Pruitt, were indicted. While out or
bond Sizes was shot and instantly
killed in Mexico, Porte Pruitt had
died of his wounds received at the
hands of Collins, Jim Miller, as above
stated, together with some other kin
dred spirits, were lynched at Ada for
the killing Of Gus Bobbitt, another
United States marshal, and another
brother, Clint Fruitt, was shot and
killed in front of the old blacksmith
shop in Cornish a few years ago
This left Washmood alone to be
tried for the crime, as the case
against Henry Pruitt involved some
legal questions that are now before
the supreme court, questioning the
legality Of the state court to try
cases for crimes committed before
statehood.
Washmood forfeited his bond and
skipped. He was recaptured in south
west Texas, but while returning he
evaded the officer at Fort Worth on
some preteXt, and for some time was
again at large. One night, however
he was captured at the home OF
Pruitt brought TO Ardmore and plac
ed in Jail.
Immediately after statehood Carter
county elected as its first prosecuting
attorney young, ambitious, fearless
lawyer by the name of Jimmy Math.
ers Mathers had long been a friend
OF Collins and his associates, and
during his tenure of office sent many
hardened criminal to the peniten.
tiary or had the death sentence pro-
nounced upon them.
With the advent of statehood, con.
ditions were changed materially, and
the law changed. Mathers took up the
prosecution of Washmood personally
but it was a Herculanean task, as
the witnesses were widely scattered
and almost impossible to get, and
the case was purely circumstantial.
Mathers finally brought Washmood
to trial before Judge A. II. Huston of
Guthrie, who was sent by the su.
preme court of the state to sit in The
case, as the presiding judge, Hon.
Stillwell H. Russell, now deceased,
had, before statehood, been retained
to prosecute the case.
After many weeks of one of the
hardest fought legal battles ever
waged in this state Judge Russell
and Jimmy Mathers secured a verdict
of death against Washmood, but the
higher courts reversed the case, be-
cause of Judge Russells participation
in the prosecution.
Undaunted by the reversal of the
case, and bent upon revenge for his
old friend Collins, Mathers immedi-
ately brought Washmood to t,ial
again, this time without any assist
ance he again secured a verdict of
guilty, and Washmood was sentenced
to hang by Judge Clark of Oklahoma
City, who presided. The case was
appealed the second time to the
higher courts and after pellilg there
for two years the court he'd hat
Mathers, the prosecutor, had been so
vitriolic in his speech to the jury,
and so jealous in the prosecution,
that he had overstepped the bounds
of fairness, and that Washmood had
not received a fair trial, free from
all bias, and again reversed the case.
All this had cost the taxpayers of
Carter county an immense sum of
money, The authorities of Johnston
county refused to have anything to
do with the case, and as the crime
was committed in that county, the au-
tborities here do not feel warranted
in pushing the case further. Wash
mood is rs years of age, and is suffer
ing from a fatal malady that will
take him away, at the best, in a
very short time. For that reason.
when application was made for his
release on bond, it was readily grant
ed, and the old man given his lib
erty.
There are two sides to all cases.
Washmood may or may not have been
guilty He is an old man of good
address, and the trouble Through
which he has passed., has whitened
his hair to the consistency of snow.
He may be guilty of the crimes with
which he is charged, but the more
charitably inclined attribute his
troubles to his associates, and aver