The Semi-weekly leader., 1920-12-11
ACQUIT ROBERTSON
IN BOUTWELL, CASE
Hazlehurst Man Found "Not Guilty" of
Murder Charge ~ self-Defense
Plea.

Flea.
Hazlehurst, Miss, Dec. 9.-J. e. Rob-
ertson was acquitted of the killing of
Luther Boutwell, when the jury came
out today just before noon and render
ed verdict of mot guilty.. The trial
lasted week and cost the county thous-
ands of dollars.
He was tried at the last spring term
of court for killing Lonnie Boutwell,
and received a ten year sentence for
manslaughter. That case is on appeal
to the Supreme Court
| The third case against Robertson for
killing James Boutwell,, father of Luth-
er and Lonnie, is still to be tried. Rob-
ertson killed the three men at the same
| time, claiming that he acted in self-de-
Tense. His wife is also under three in
| dlctments for murder as she was with
her husband when the fatal shooting
occurred in the field Of the BoutwelTs
| on Robertsons place near Hazlehurst.
Her case will likely be called at the
next term of court
| One hundred witnesses have been ex-
amined and more than three hundred
men were examined before jury was
/ chosen to try the case.
Robertson has been in Jail here since
May, 1919, and will remain there until
the Supreme Court passes on his ap-
| peal to that tribunal.
Hundreds have attended the trial and
more than fifty of the accused mans
kinsmen have been present every day.
Robertson was on the stand fve hours
| testifying in his own behalf. His tes-
innn .1Ne,ka
The Boutwells moved on his place in
the early part of 1919 to farm with him
| ON shares, or halves. From the very
| first he had considerable trouble with
them in getting them to abide by his
| instructions, and that they had repeated
ly threatened his life among their neigh
bors, and claimed he was trying to force
unreasonable terms of working the
crops upon them as tenants.
He said that he had tried to avoid
serious conflict with them, and that his
indulgent ways seemed only to make
| them more impudent and harder to
please.
He said: II went to the field on the
| day OF the trouble with my pistol in
my overalls, fearing that they might
| attempt to carry out their threats any
time. l went to get some lumber that
they had persisted in using to build a
tomato packing shed I had told them
| must be built near my house where l
could see the packing of the tomatoes
in person. They were arrogant and
would not listen to my instructions.
When reached the field where they
were at work they saw me at distance
and started off the shed where they were
working on and advanced on me, appar-
entity attempting to bluff my further
| approach to the shed. / told them to
stop. They would not stop; but Luther
came at me with his hatchet raised as
if to strike me. When in twenty feet
of me fired, killing him, and when the
brother also advanced on me had to
shoot him to save myself. Then the
father James Boutwell,, came up and
seeing his dead boys, advanced on me-
killed him only after hard scufhle
on the ground. the man being wounded
at the time.
Il admit that reloaded my pistol
but did not attempt to shoot the Bout
well women, as they stated here on the
witness stand. wanted to run from the
women, but I was fatigued and could
hOb AOAi1 ~ 1 ISlOduSU my pistol anu
waved it at them, cautioning them to
stop, which they finally did 1 would
never have killed the women under any
circumstances. / shot the men and
then phoned the sheriff that had killed
three men. killed the men in self-de-
fense, God being my witness, and would
have to do the same thing again if con-
fronted with like circumstances"
On cross examination Robertson ad-
mitted that he drank whiskey and car
ried pistol at times. that he did carry
| a pistol after the threats of the Bout
wells came to his ears. He denied that
he told Dewey Boutwell,, a young son
of James Boutwell, that he would kill
him if he had anything to say about the
killing.
The jury was composed of the follow
ing citizens of Copiah county: l. D.
Smith, R. H. Jones, d. NJ. Hawkins, Jack
| Sullivan, Will Peevy, T. ]. Miller, B. F
| Cammack, Luther Little, Jim Jones, ]
F. Decell, Aubrey Wooten, Tom Funch-