The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1921-09-23


of the defendant, and the case was
therefore put in the class of man.
slaughter, said Mr.. price.
He then reviewed parts of the tes-
timony taken at the trial referring
to the narrative record presented to
the Supreme Court in the appeal for
a new trial. He declared that his
theory of the case was that the young
girl had made up the story of the as
sault in order to escape the anger of
her mother which she feared she
would incur when her mother found
that she had been hiding instead of
going to church, as the girl had testi-
fled that she was afraid of her moth
er. Mr.. Price said that the testimony
of the older sister of the prosecutrix
witness, a trained nurse, was very
vicious and not reasonable.
In touching upon the testimony,
Mr.. Price read to the court parts of
the last exception noted by Gen. M.
l.. Bonham,, of Anderson, associate
/, counsel for the defense in which Gen.
eral Bonham pointed out number Of
alleged inconsistencies in the testi-
mony of various state witnesses.
Declaring that the jury was drawn
solely to try Kenneth Gossett, and
that they were afraid of the mob
spirit displayed at Abbeville,' and in
fact in the court room at the time of
the trial, Mr.. Price said that one of
the jurors had been so affected by
the verdict that he had nearly lost
his: mind, and that he had gone to
I,his preacher and asked the minister
to pray for him. ....
Summing up his appeal for bail,
Mr.. Price reminded the court that
Gossett had already been in prison
for seventeen months.
Solicitor Blackwell.
Solicitor Hsmer S. Blackwell, on
behalf of the State resisting the mo-
ton for bail, said that, if this is not
a case wherein bail should be denied,
then there never can be a case in
which bail can be denied. The Con-
stitution specifies certain cases in
which it shall be denied
Justice Cothran interrupted Mr..
Blackwell and said that all that was
to be decided here is whether or not
this particular case comes within the
scope Of the constitutional limitation
denying bail. Is this a case of that
character? The merits of this case
alone are to be considered and not the
merits of any other case. The court
said that 'the solicitor should confne
himself to discussion of this case.
Solicitor Blackwell said that if he
had said anything to displease the
court. he desired to apologize.
Justice Cothran said that the court |
did not take offense, but held that
only the merits of the present case
were under consideration and the sug-
gestion that other cases were involved-
was not a proper argument.
'Resuming his argument, Solicitor
Blackwell said that, if he had thought
this bailable case, he would have
remained at home. He contended that
there was no reasonable, doubt as to |
the guilt of Gossett. When first ar
rested, the defendant denied that he |
had been at Abbeville on the day the
alleged crime took place. The girls |
had been rash in getting into his car,
of course, but that did not justify the ]
defendant in any way. .....
The prosecutrix had cried out to |
her girl companion, when the latter
came to her after the alleged offense,
II am ruined" The girls had to come
back with the Gossetts to Abbeville-I
it was too far to walk. The girl COM
panion said the prosecutrix cried all |
the way back home. Not long after
ward, when search was being made
for the accused man, the prosecutrix
recalled that his name was Gossett.
Mr.. Price interrupted, saying that
this was not in the testimony, but
Mr.. Blackwell thought it was.
Taking up the charge that the de-
dendant at his trial has been suround-
ed by hostile atmosphere, Mr.. !