The news scimitar. (Memphis, Tenn.) 1907-1926, 1919-02-22
Jury FINDS HAZEN
GUILTY Of MURDER
FOR SIMMS' DEATH
Plea Of Self Defense and Una
written Law Fails to lTl1u
press JurorS-Many wife
neSSeS Testified. 4
VICTIM SHOT AND
KILLED SEPT. !, 1917
Tragedy Occurred in ParIon
Car at Union Depot When
SIayer'S Wife Was Found irt
Victims Company. Y

Fay n, Hageu, travelling salesmane
accused Of murder in connection with
the death OF y, Il. Slmms, lumbermah,
whom Ae shot and killed Sept. /, 1917
was found guilty by q jury in the
First criminal court.
when Judge Richards had the vers
dict Of the jury read and when th9
clerk slowly read guilty as charged,
Hazens face hlanched, but he made ne /.
Immediately following the making Of
the bond Ha7en went into the hail
and, meeting Judge Richards, shook HIS
hands and wept; He told the Judge that
partial trial and thanked him,
The shooting occurred In a parlor
car Of the Iron Mountain railroad at
tho Union depot, Mrs, Hazen, wife
OF the defendant, was a witness TO the
killing, but was not present as the
trial
Haxen's plea was aelf-detense, and
the trial was his second, the first case
resulting IN a hung jury,
The jury's verdict, returned shortly
after II o'clock, after having considered
as charged with a recommendation "
mercy from the court, As the tragedy
occurred at n time when the Bowers
anticapttal punishment law was In ~
feet, Hazen cannot be executed, and
hence was allowed bail. He made bond
In tho sum OF $4,000, with John T.
Fisher and r. L. Jordan as sureties,
A motion for u new trial was filed,
and II denied the case will be appealed,
attorneys for Hasen announced
State Claimed Murder.
Tho state charged ana sought TO
prove, through testimony of state witt
nesses, that Hazen deliberately killed
Simms while In q ~ OF anger induced
through learning that his wife and tho
hs ltnr puAH tnpathRr Irnn
Mountain Nbam, bound for Alexandria
Louisiana Y
Lieut. l.. s. Kinard. the states prin-
al wit1ess, detailed at great length
/ Ecidents OF the affair TO which he
was a spectator He testified that after
hearing the first shot or two he rushed
into the parlor car in time to see
Slmms fleeing toward tho front ycstl-
hule in staggering trot, with Hazen
closely pursuing, and that he saw
lGazen shoot the lumherman In the
back Smms he testified, did not have
n pistol In his hands, and that when
he dotalned Hazen awaiting the arrival
Of an officer the defendant said;
well, the revolver was small, I think
he's dead II he atn't he ought TO he"
In tho office Of the chief OK detec-i
tlves short time after his arrest
Hazen made the statement so news.
paper man, testifying for the state, de-
clared, that he had gone to the depot
to "get" slmms and that he had killed
him because he (Simms) had stolen
his wife. He added on cross exnmina-
tlon. however, that HaZen also stated
Slmms had attempted to draw a pistol
Mrs Slmms testified that when she
learned, through n newspaper extra.
that her husband had been killed she
rushed TO the depot and obtained hi&
grip, finding therein the pistol. stiiH
loaded Hhe had placed there when she
the morning he was shot.
In substantlation OF the plea Of self-l
defense llazen testified that ne Shetl
and killed simms only after the huns
herman had twice fired at hlm He
identified coat with a tagged tear
below the right pocket as having been
the one he wore the morning OF the
tragedy, The tear, he declared, was
caused by a bullet fired at him at
close range by Slmms A second shot
he said grazed his neck.
The defendants testimony TO the
effect that he had first scutfled with
Simms in tho vestibule OF the parIcr
car, in which the shooting % occurred.
and before he fired at Simms. was corr
roborated by r. j. Gilmore, steward
on the dining car Immediately ahead
Gilmore declared that he heard the
scuffle first and then five or six shots
The state attempted to prove that the
only shots fired were those from HA.
zen's pistol,
1t was further shown by witnesses
for the defense that the domestic rela-
tions between Mrs Hazan and Simmal
were not what they should have boon:
that Slmms was a constant visitor 10
the Hazen home during Hazer's an
sence from the city and that the claim
of Mrs, Hazen to having been employed
by Simms In the capacity of clerk
was mere subterfuge.
Hazen was defended by L, Clyde Go.
ing and Hugh Magevney and by FrsA
L. Mullinix, Of Jonesboro. Ark S, a.
Bates state's attorney, was assisted bV
John Exby and Martin Boyd.