The Columbus dispatch. (Columbus, Miss.) 19??-1922, 1921-02-06
DR.. Lee Heard LJu
Affirm His Senl~ncG
Aberdeen Physician Came To Jackson
to Hear DOom Pronounced.

deem physician, mad the doubtful
pleasure yesterday of hearing the
Supreme Court 4rm his tw, ~
year sentence in the state peniten-
tiary.
DR.. Lee was sitting just outside
the court railing when Chief Justice
Smith read the opinion affirming the
verdict rendered by the Alcorn
county jury before whom he had
been tried for performing a crimi-
nal abortion.
It was under orders issued by the
Supreme Court a few days pr Gus
that Dr. Lee came to Jackson, and
for a few minutes was in the formal
custody of Mr.. C. L. johnson, mar
shall of the Suprele H0urt. Imme-
diately after the opinion was read
he was surrendered to the shor'tf
Of Kinds county, and is now il. he
county Jail here awaiting transfer
to the penitentiary. 1t is not yet
known whether his attorneys will
file a suggestion Of error, but it is
probable that they will DO so, al
though the opinion read by Chief
Jus ice Smith was clear-cut and en-
nhatic
Z DR.. Lee vas for yea nc r tn
Ieading physicians of Aberdeen and
the crime for llich he was con-
gicted, performing a criminal opera
ton on Mary MIL 20 7 white
girl, created 49,. ide sensation.
In the summer of 1916, ely n
gram and Mary Miller, bot f
i5gFHr. Miss, ana at that line
the A. and NJ.
lltea, ere =
= o., "a vy~.a..sn was performed
upon the girl by Dr. F. E. Lee, a
physician Of that place. A negro
doctor by the name of Houston
Broomfield, assisted DR.. Lee, the
separation being performed in a
house of ill repnte. Shortly after
wards the girl died, from the opera
stiCm, just before Her death having
sbeen secretly moved at night to DR..
Lees home.
y The following fall the grand jury
Indicted DR.. Lee, Clyde Ingram and
Houston Bloomfield jointly.
II On motion for change of venue
sshe case was moved to Corinth,
t'where in January 1917, Clyde In.
Asgram' was tried and acquitted, the
tstate failing to connect him with the
Brine.
Vi After much delay, was
brought to trial in Corn n the
@January court, 1920. At Il time
ethe state had lost sight .ef'tle only
Nwo eye witnesses who could testify
apositively as to the operation These
.were the two negro women who had
scharge Of the house where the
operation was performed, their
names being Sallie Scott and Ida
Stokes. For ome untcnown reason
they had mysteriously disappeared,
iand the state was compelled either
30 mol pros the case or go to trial
without them.
u Likewise the only witness who
could trace the body back to DR..
lees house and thus connect Lee
with the homicide, was lost sight
lof. This was w. R. Webb, the I'M
dertaker, who had been called by
Or. Lee to prepare the body for
Shipment When last heard Of in
Aberdeen this witness had gone
either to Birmingham or Memphis
The case was set for the second
Monday Of the term and during the
first week every effort was made q
locate this witnesa. At this point
the defendant almost escaped with.
out trial. The district att .ney
knew that no case would be made
out in the absence Of this lost wit
pess and had almost decided to dis.
miss the case, when his wife with q
"a woman's intuition suggested that
Vie police forces of these Two cities
could trace the lost witness if call.
ed upon. A telegram was sent al
once to the chief of police in Bir.
bingham with the It Al. l..a. IA,
had the witness rushed to Corintt
gust few hour ahead Of the trial
Again the defendart almost miss
ed trial in anotl way when tn,
father Of the dead girl at one stag,
of the trial, rushed inside Il ual
and began firing his pistol thu
defendant and Ingram. Fortmatel,
fed oaa only one sho
s.s s-e, ,i.cn severity, but no
fatally wounded Ingram.
On trial, the state connected DR.
Lee almost wholly by circumstan
tial evidence, and the insufficienc,
of evidence was argued strenuousl,
before the supreme court.