The Palatka news and advertiser., 1915-10-01
"GREESY JIM IS
HELD FOR MURDER
Man Who Knew Nothing,
Now Has Time for
Reflection.

The ceronor's jury in the case Of
BarrowS and Wells, whose mutilatea
bodies were fshed from the St. Johns
river above San Mateo some two
weeks ago, and whose deaths were due
pants of several boats tied together,
agreed on verdict last Monday af-
ternoon after listening to testimony
the recital of which covered the bet
ter part of three days.
The verdict charges Jim Meredith
"Gressy Jim"-with murder. The
charge is that he murdered Barrows.
The verdict is clothed in the regu-
lar legal phraseology made and pro-
vided by the State, and reads like a
leaf taken from an old book-so old
that its whiskers were gray when
King Solomon married his 'steenth
wife. 1t is also funny.
"An inquisition, iplented and taken
for the State of Florida, in the Coun-
R of Putnam on the 10, %, and 9th
days of September, Ammo Domini,
1915, before me John E. Marshall,)
as coroner in and for said county, up
on the view of the body of Robert
Barrows then and there lying dead,
upon the oaths of c. H. Wigg, Tom
Holden, John c. Marshall, j. D. Doyle,
j. o. Allen and S. H. Blunt, good and
lawful men of said county, who being
duly sworn and charged to enquire
how, and in what manner, and by
whom, the said Robert Barrows came
to his death, do say upon their oaths
aforesaid that James Meredith on the
18th day of September, 1915, in
county aforesaid, in and upon the
said Robert Barrows in the peace of
God then and there being feloniously,
wilfully and of malice aforethonght,
did make an assault, and that the said
James Meredith with certain knife
which he then and there had and held,
in and upon the said Robert Barrows
a mortal wound did infict, of which
said mortal wound the said Robert
Barrows died. and that the said James
Meredith in the manner aforesaid, the
said s. R; Robert Barrows then aSd there
did kill and murder"
"Greesy jim" who knew nAthing
whatever, and who consumed thabet-
ter part of day in telling it, is &ll
paid for his silence. He may never be
convicted of killing, let alone murder
ing, the said Robert Barrows in the
peace of God feloniously and with
malice aforethought and with a GER
tain knife which he then and there
had and held, and with which he did
then and there kill and murder the
aforesaid Barrows by the infiction of
a mortal wound, and of which said
mortal wound the aforesaid Barrows
went and died as aforesaid, but Jim
"Greesy Jim"-will have a chance to
sober up and reflect on the immuta-
biity of things which are not mutable
because of their aforesaid immutabili-
ty.
In other words Jim stands to lie in
Jail for while before again being
called upon to lie to a jury. The
grand jury may indict him, but his
is another question.
"Greesy jim" wore twenty-one
knife cut ornaments when he arrived
in the city from the scene of the fra
cas-, evidence that he was lettering in
the immediate vicinity of the cutting;
and if he was the cutter he was also
the cuttee, aforesaid, while Robert
Rarrows aforesaid was then and there
in the peace of God being feloniously,
wilfully and with malice aforethought
carved and cut with a certain
Knife which some one then and there
mad and held and otherwise manipu-
ated with murderous deXterity into
md among the vitals of the aforesaid
Robert Barrows, who was either kill
I'd or murdered or slain by someone
n the peace of God. Anyway, he is
still dead.