The Mena weekly star., 1916-08-24
TWICE SENTENCED
 10 DIE, NOW FREE
as0s ernor Hays Issues Pardon Co VI $. Rhea. Life Termer'--story of kilIina and Long Fight for Life
 and Freedom

Little Rock. Aug i7.~After haN- dng his life once threatened by an angry mob. having the date of his execution hy hanging set on two different occasions and once the sranold on which to hang him being aeualiy built W. S. Bud Rhea. -iife fermer in the Arkansas state 1enitenfiary today received a par don and walked out Of the walls ot the penlentiary free man. khea is a white man about 30 years old and al the time of his arrest was manager of a large plantation m Iesh8 county
 Aheas case stirred all of eastern Arkansas from the time of the mur- dee in which he was charged m par firipatiug Go the time pt his sentence was cnmmuted to life lniprlson- menL tive years later. Five of the urinelpais Of the affair are now dead, one having been mobhed. one shot ana killed and three others having died while in custody
 On the night of May f3. 1911, Vital Aresiard, q constable from Farrell, appeared on the plantation m Desha county that Rhea was managing. He visited with Rhea and told him he hall come lo arrest Grant Sanders, a nN1ro under indictment for murder. Sa1iders was supposed to have jumped bond He had been on the Hhea plantation for several days
 About $ o'clock in the evening Ar chard found Sanders and placed him under arrest, starting with him to Dumas Major Davis, Joe Ber- ry. Max Tucker, Robert Johnson and Jign Hubbard. all negroes working On the Rhea plantation followed them fa rescue Sanders. The constable vNas shot and mortally wounded.
 The following day all six negroes were arrested, as was Khea. In the trial be negroes testified that Rhea Aau forced them to follow Archard alnh urged them to kill him if he ,saueayored Co prevent the escape of Sanders, Rhea was with them, the negroes said, when the killing sscsa9rred.
 Fearing mob violence. officers took Rhea Go Mc6eehe and kept him over night. \ mob did form and got pos session of Hubbard. one of the ne- gTees. He was promptly hanged and shot
 Rhea was tried al Pine Blufl. Jeff
 
 and suax convicted and sentenced to 3t hanged Davis, Berry, Tucker md Johnson were convicted of sec md degree murder and sentenced to
 years imprisonment. Sanders eften in jail in Dumas. Since then Davis and Tucker have died the Gogmer at the state convict farm at Infker and the latter at the state menitentlafy here.
 Eshea's fight for life just began ssnen the death sentence was pro- g2ouneed against him at Pine Blulf.
 The court deereed that he should De Arabged at Arkansas City on Janu- ary 2. l9i2 An appeal to the SUI Dreme court however, automatic aglx set aside the date The su- xareme court affirmed the lower courts decision and former Govern ar George W. Donaghey set July t2, 1912, for Rhea's execution. The su- preme court refused Co review it's decision. or grant q rehearing.
 Lawyers from all sections of the sstate ny this time were aiding Rhea g ssssSe. and Si2000 raised hy Rhea and xlIs friends had been spent. No fur Nher steps were taken until three jays before the date set for the ex- NrJtAtlfls III NttH itttdHtttitF t1tfth III E4aev. of Desha county. had erected n scaff0ld for Rhea's execution.
 Then the case suddenly went into the United States supreme court a writ being asked to compel the su- prewc court to rehear the case There the matter was pending when -1oe F Robinson. United States sen saxor. then governor. commuted the SputpnCe to life imprisonment The matter in the United States supreme court was dropped
 Strong efforts for a pardon for Rhea have been made at various xlnes since his incarceration When he first was committed to the Denitentiarv he went to the farm was in ranks for about year Slrr~ then he has been a trusty.
 
 Hundred Of young men every ~~eaf- work tO nav mart of their ex-