The north Mississippi herald. (Water Valley, Yalobusha Co., Miss.) 1888-1929, 1921-03-25

COVINGTON. Tenn. March 10.--
The closing chapter in the murder of
Jailer George T. Reeves of Shelby
County was written her this morn
ing when Irene Shaw was pronounc-
ed not guilty.
1t required just one ballot by the
jurors to give the woman her free
dom. She showed little emotion
when the verdict was read. She was
profuse in her thanks to jury and
counsel and severe in her denuncia-
ton of Memphis. but otherwise ac-
cepted the verdict as might have
been expected of a woman associate
of bank robbers and murderers.
Regardless of the damaging nature
of the evidence adduced against the
woman, the verdict was not received
with surprise. Sympathy for Irene
Shaw on the part of certain por-
ton of the populace here has been
evident ever since she and her hus-
band, Aida C. Shaw, and Edward B.
Kelley were brought tc Cov!ngto1 TO
stand trial. This sympathy became
so manifest that citizens employed
Senator L. E. Gwinnto assist in the
defense. J. E. Webb of Memphis
had been appointed by Judge Rich
ards of the first criminal court Of
Shelby County to represent her.
]. D. Bell, a prisoner in the Shelby
jail at the time Mr.. Reeves was shot
down, testified that a woman, later
proved to be Irene Shaw, had deliv-
cred to Bells half brother. Sam Nc
Kee, a note calling for delivery of
Bells pistol to bearer, and this pistol
was smuggled into the Jail. 1t was
the weapon with which the jailer was
shot down. Bell testified that he un-
derstood at the time the escape was
to be effected through the roof.
Basing their request on Bells tes-
timony, defense counsel asked that
the court charge the jury, in event
it accepted Bells statement as true,
that they should acquit the defend
ant, as the state had failed to make
good its charge that the woman was
accessory to murder before the fact.
Defense contended that Bells testi-
mony tended to prove that even Il
the woman did smuggle the pistols
into the Jail, she had no knowledge
that there was a conspiracy to attack
the jailer, believing that the bandits
planned to escape by other means.
and she therefore could not have
been guilty of the offense charged IN
the indictment.
Judge Baptist charged the jury on
this point as requested.
The woman on the witness stand
denied any knowledge of how the
pistols reached the prisoners. regard
less of the fact that the Memphis po-
lice department has on file her sign
ed statement admitting that she sur
reptitiously gave them to her hus-
band, her confession being substanti-
ated by the evidence of witnesses
tending to show that she smuggled
both weapons into the prison.
Tonight will be the first in more
than three months that Irene Shaw
las spent outside prison walls. De-
claring that she never again wanted
to set her foot on Memphis soil, she
said today that she would leave Cow
.ngton on the northbound train to-
morrow morning for her home in
Moscow, Mich, to await the release
of her husband from the Tennessee
penitentiary. Both she and the con-
vict will have passed the meridian OF
life when this reunion takes place, if
Shaw serves out his full sentence, AZ
the. jury verdict condemned both
Shaw and Kelley to 22-year terms.
Covington citizens contributed $40
and purchased for Mrs. Shaw ticket
to her Michigan home.