Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1918-05-26
Johnson CLOSELY
CROSS-QUEST|QNED
Accused Dentist Spends Entire
Day on Witness Stand
Without Faltering.
DENIES ALLEGED CONFESSION
Says Washington Newspaper
Man Offered Him $1OO to Sign
Written Confession.

With his Goa. sleeves at times pulled
n back to his elbows. and leaning for
ward to observe his witness closely.
Commemorative Attorney Wise peited
DR.. Lemuel j. Johnson with cross
Iues tons for fully FIVE hours yesterday.
rs the young dentist sat on trial for
his life in the Hastings Court. upon
the charge of poisoning his wife. Dr.
Johnson wavered hut li;tle in his tes-
timony. lie stuck almost unfalter-
inGlY TO the tale he had told under the
guidance OF his counsel. John l.. Wood :
ward. of Wilson. y. C., and made a
favorable impression upon the throng
which packed the courtroom almost
TO suTocation. His memory failed. he
testihed. in recalling details upon
which the prosecuting attorney often
questioned him, and was bit surprised
when his attention was called TO the
fact that during December. 1917. he
had written TO the King Drug Com
pany, Of Raleigh. y. c., and asked them
TO supply him with cyanide OF potas-
SUM. fire" from chlorine The dem
tist did not deny having written to
this firm. His testimony when asked
about attempts to purchase the poison
was that the first he had bouEh, was
before he was married.
He was asked: Did you ever try TO
buy any cyanide of potassium until
YOU were married and your wife was
not in the condition you thought she
Was n?" To this he replied: Yes. sir.
the first l bought was before / was
married" Continuing. he testified that
this purchase was early in September.
and tha; IL was the only time he had
F., purchased or tried 10 purchase cyanide
CoSTRADICTs TESTIMONY
OF WIFE'S LITTLE BROTHER
During the questioning the incident
o. the Tuesday night following his
w!fe's death was inquired into. 1t was
! with reference to this that eleven-year-
! old Brandon knight brother OF the
/ dead bride. stated on the stand that the
| young husband searched the wardrobe
and the drawers OF the room Of his
vile on that night with 4 pocket
f. searchlisht. and it was the theory of
( the State that il was then that the
accused took from his wifc's room a
small white linen handkerchief. bear
ing the name ollie White" The pr!s-
oner said on the stand. contradictins
the little brother. that he had merely
/ taken the searchlight and looked in
F! the closet in order TO fnd a coat hanger
I because there were no chairs in the
room. He also stated that he could
not explain how the handkerchief
came TO be found by Detective Willy in
/ his suit case.
| Mrs. knight had packed the photo
graph OF his wife. the coffin pla;e. the
/ faded flowers and the ribbon, with the
woros My Wife" in a box for nim and
IL might have gotten mixed in with
them. he explained. Relating how he
came in possession of the handkerchief,
he said that Ollie White had given
| It 10 him when they began TO be
/ friends. and that Alice knight had
one time taken it away from him.
Early in the trial Mrs. knight testified
that she saw the handkerchief in the
dresser drawer on Sunday, when she
went to the drawer for linen TO pre-
pare her daughter for burial.
SAYS WASHINGTON REPORTER
OFFERED HIM 800 TO CONFESS
The prospect when court adjourned
for the Sunday recess was that the
trial would perhaps last until Wed
nesday. The State had not approached
the conclusion Of cross-eNamination
and it is expected that testimony in
rebuttal will! require at least one day,
after ii is closed The seventeen-year-
old brother OF the prisoner. Dewey.
watched his brother closely as he told
his story yesterday.
AT the morning session, DR.. johnson
denied that he had ever confessed to
A. Cloyd Gill. 4 newspaper man. that
he had poisoned his wife. He said
the reporter had offered him 500 TO
sign written confession. and he re-
fused 10 do so.
He described visits 10 the City Jail
made by Gill. when fruit and cigar
cites were brought as gifts, ard re-
lated a story the newspaper man. had
told him about having been arrested
and then cleared by newspaper stories
written in his favor. He said the re-
porter urged him to sign the confess
sion. and plead Guilty" and that he
would do the rest toward acquitting
him by writing sentimental stories.
When asked about William j. Court
ney. detective, who was produced
by the State to discredit Gill's testi-
mony as to a confession. the prisoner
said he refused TO talk to Courtney
at the Jail.
WISE BEGINS STATE
CROSS-EXi3IINATIO
At 1905 o'clock Attorney Woodard.
who had questioned DR.. johnson since
2:3O o'clock Friday, announced. The
witness Is with the Commonwealth"
The first question put TO him by At
torney Wise was about his attempt
at suicide. and the young dentist re-
! lated his troubled state of mind, over
work, the army. the illness of his
mother. his own weakened physical
condition. the death of his wife, and
added to all these. II decided / would
rather give my own life than go back
home and tell Of any relations which
! / always regarded as sacred. as a rea-
son for my sudden marriage"
Throughout the trial. the accused
spoke with a peculiar timidity, amount
ing almost to a lack of courage. when
explaining why he feared to make the
fact of his marriage known. Testify
in. thiS raniat ha