The Chicago whip. (Chicago, Ill.) 1919-19??, 1921-12-24
MAYS GETS
go DAY
RESPITE
Governor Wants Time to In
vestigate Records of
Famous Case.

NASHVILLE. Tenn. Dec. PA
Christmas present in the form OF
90-day respite was given Maurice
Mays by GOV. A. A. Taylor last Thurs
day morning
Mays. twice convicted in the Knox
County criminal court for the murder
OF white woman. Mrs. BERTHE Lind
say. was condemned to die Thursday.
The Mays case attracted national
attention, and aid was elected from
throughout the country in his fight
for hfe.
In granting Mays the respite Gov
ernor Taylor announced that he was
desirous of making a complete investi-
CATION of all the facts in the case.
Story of the Case
l., II was on the Saturday morning
&f September, 1918, shorty after mid
night. that the gruesome tragedy was
enacted which few hours later in
'volved Maurice F. Mays, young1coi.,
ored man, and caused his arrest AZ his
home on Humes ST.
Mrs. Bertie Lindsay and her cousin,
Miss Ora Parsons, now Mrs. Ora
Smythe, were asleep in their home,
three-room house in the northern part
of the city, when some intruder gained
entrance to the home and with a fash
light in one hand and a pistol in the
other, demanded that the two women
remain still and submit to his COM
mands or he would shoot them Mrs.
Lindsay refused to obey and the story
is too we'll known of the action of the
maraudcr in firing a bullet into her
body that resulted in her sudden
death
Captain Wilson was in charge Of the
squad of officers who were on duty
at that hour and one of these officers
was Patrolman Andy White, who ac-
cording to the testimony of many wit
nesses, was an enemy of Maurice
Mays. 1t is stated that Patroiman
White, upon hearing of the killing, I'M
mediately stated "I'll bet it's that Mig
ger Maurice Mays" and further, sug-
gested to Captain Wilson that Mays
be found and taken into custody. The
officers drove to the room of Mavs on
Humes St. and found him in bed.
After making search of his home
they found pistol OF the same caliber
as the one with which Mrs Lindsay
was killed, but failed to find a fash
light. Mays was taken into custody
and with the officers drove to the scene
OF the killing Miss Parsons was
called and according to Mays testi-
mony was asked to identity him in
a very poor light and while she was
in a very excited condition. She read
lily stated that Mays was the man and
charged him with having fired the
shot that killed her cousin. Miss
Parsons never did change her state
ment as TO the positive Identification OF
Mays and it was her statement that
resulted in Mays conviction.
The trial of Maurice Mays was con-
Quoted in the Knox County criminal
court before Judge T. A. r. Nelson,
several months after the killing of Mrs.
Lindsay and the jury in the case re-
turned a verdict of guilty of murder in
the first degree and Judge Nelson sem
fenced Mays to death by electrocution.
Mays attorneys filed a motion for a
new trial and this was denied by
Judge Nelson after which the con-
victed man was taken to the Nashville
prison to await the outcome Of the
appeal to the state supreme court
The higher court reversed the lower
courts decision on the grounds that
technical error had been made by
the lower court in that the jury failed
to prescribe the punishment.
The case was again called in the
Knox County criminal court and the
second time Judge Ken Hicks, of an
adjoining county. was appointed by
the governor to preside, Judge Nelson
beng held incompetent. due to his de-
cision having been reversed by the
higher court. Practically the same
evidence was offered by both sides at
the second trial and again the Jury
returned verdict of guilty OF murder
in the first degree and fixed Mays
punishment as death by electrocution.
Judge Hicks also overruled the motion
for new trial and again the case was
appealed 10 the supreme court, which
after reviewing the case, affirmed the
decision Of the lower court and set
the date for Mays eiectrecmticn as
Thursday. Decembes Is /