The daily banner. (Cambridge, Md.) 1897-2008, 1917-08-17
LAWYERS SEEK RELEASE
OF NEGRO MURDER SUSPECT
Scratches on Negroes Face Proof
That He Killed Annapolis Woman,
Police Declare.

| In an effort to obtain writ OF
! habeas corpus for the release OF
John Snowden, the Annapolis negro
charged with the murder of Mrs. Lot
! tie May Brandon, lawyers ror the
negro We're in search of Judge Duffy
at 40 O'Clock yesterday afternoon
On the verge of nervous break
| down, Snowden again was interroga-
| ted closely yesterday by Marshal Car
! ter and his detectives who are work
! ing Oh the case. To all of the damag-
! ing evidence against him repeated
! time and again the negro replied
with gulps and rolling of eyes.
The prisoner has developed an OBJ
ceSSion for burnt match sticks, ac-
cording to the detectives. AS they
talk TO him he continually searches
| the floor for them. Discovering one
| he retrieves it and breaks it in his
mouth. chewing violently.
| We have the man There is no
question in my mind that Snowden is
The guilty negro" said Marshal Car
ter. We can prove that he came
out of the Brandon home around
noon on the day the young woman
was found murdered. We can prove
that he has scratches on his face and
arms, and can show that he got those
marks on that day.
The case TO me is like big fire
that has been eXtinguished. All we
are doing now is cleaning up the
small ends.
Another strong link in our chain
OF evidence against the negro is the
discovery Of several short hairs be
sides the black skin in the woman's
finger nails. Snowden has a scratch
through his left cheek, where his
beard is the heaviest. He cannot ex-
plain that scratch =
After a night of little sleep, Snow
den was given breakfast of boiled
eggs and coffee in his cell in Central
Police Station. Baltimore He drank
the coffee. but left his eggs untouch-
ed. Detectives DougheIty and kratZ
went for the prisoner at o'clock and
took him TO Marshal CARERS office.
The negro appears worn out and
has@aad- His eyes are sunlen ana
his gait slow and unsteady.
Deputy Marshal House at noon
yesterday gave permission 20 news
paper men tC see Snowden. The ne
gro appeared worried and diStraught.
He cheWed match sticks continually
a4d shifted his cap from hand to
hand over and over again he de-
c!ared he was innocent: that he ney-
e. saw Mrs Brandon, and was never
in her house. The prisoner admitted
he had walked by Mrs Brandon
nome Oh The day of the murder. but
denied that he carried d bottle.
The scratches on his face he said.
came from the finger nails of the
Wallace woman and not from Mrs
Branuon'S
Edna often played with me like
That he answered TO a question
Il ain't done nothin,' | never kill
ed the woman! | want 10 be free. -
said SnoWden, as he gazed out on the
street through the barred windows
one OF SnoWden'S peculiarities is
that he cannot remember the muir
dered woman's name, although he
has heard it many times He re-
fers TO Mrs. Brandon as Dat Wom-
an" and when he is reminded of her
name he invariably says, L jis can't
remember her name"
Snowden was committed TO 1al,
late yesterday afternoon on a charge
of murder.
Edna Wallace, with whom Show
den lived in Acton lane in the rear
of the Brandon home, was taken
back to Annapolis late Wednesday.