The county record. [volume] (Kingstree, S.C.) 1885-1975, 1922-11-09

TO DIE IN CHAIR
SUPREME COURT REFUSES NEW
TRIAL FOR CONDEMNED
MEN.

/ the murder of John I. Annette In his
filling station on Main street in Co
lumbia on the night of May 9, are
faced with the prospect of death in
the electric chair, their appeals from
the decision of the lower court hav-
ing been denied by the state supreme
court in opinions handed down at Co.
lumbia last week. The two cases
were remanded to the court Of gener-
al sessions in order that the date
for the electrocutions may be set, and
the two men will accordingly be
before Judge Thomas j. Mauldin at
the November session for resentenc-
ing. Glenn Treece, convicted with
Harrison and Jeffords of the murder
of Annette, was recommended by the
jury to the mercy of the court and
is now in the state penitentiary serv-
ing life sentence.
The November term of the court
of general sessions for Richland will
convene Monday, November 81, and
no time will be lost by the state in
the resentenciHg of the two men, ac-
cording to Solicitor A. Fletcher Spig-
ner, whoprosecuted the accused men.
In accordance with the usual pro-
cedure, the solicitor said, he will ap-
pear before Judge Mauldin on the
opening day and will then ask the
Judge to fix date for the resentenc-
ing of the two convicted murderers.
On the date set Harrison and Jeffords
will be brought from their cells in
the death house at the penitentiary
and arraigned before the judge for
the passage of sentence of death
upon them.
Lower Court Upheld.
The supreme court in the two opin-
ions took up in order and sustained
the lower court on every point raised
by the two men in their appeals,
argued before the supreme court Octo-
Der "a. Counsel for Jeffords based
his appeal on the grounds that Judge
w. H. Townsend, who had presided
at the trial, had erred in refusing
Jefford's petition for a severance Of
the case; that Sheriff Heise in error
had been allowed to repeat the state
ment of Harrison that the officers
should send for Jeffords if they want
ed to know who was implicated; that
Judge Townsend had been in error in
admitting the confessions of Harri-
son and Treece in so far as they re-
ferred to Jeffords and that his honor
had erred in charging the jury as to
conspiracy. Judge Townsend in each
instance, the court found, had acted
in accord with the law.
Harrison's plea was bottomed on
the contention that the judge had
erred in denying Jeffords' motion for
| severance of the case and that he
! had been in error in charging the
jury as to implied malice. The state
ment of Judge Townsend as to malice,
Associate Justice T. B. Fraser says
in the writing of the opinion is not
Gin the usual form, but it is entirely
harmless here. When man is beat
en- to death with pieces Of wood apd
bar of iron in his own place Of
business by his partner and employee,
to whom he had been unfailingly
kind, it was express malice"
John C. Annette was killed in the
Elmwood filling station at the corner
of Elmwood avenue and Main street
at about II o'clock Tuesday night,
May 9. His body, thrown in his own
car, was discovered in a ditch beside
the Bay branch bridge on Kirkland
avenue at IL: 80 o'clock Tuesday night
by six national guardsmen, who had
seen the wrecked automobile as they
passed on their way home from drill.
Sheriff T. Alex Heise was notified
and he and Deputy Sheriff William
H. Thompson began work on the case.
At about 1890 o'clock the filling
station was discovered on fire and
at 1870 o'clock Sheriff Heise and
Deputy Sheriff Thompson, learning Of
this fact, went to the filling station,
to become convinced that the crime
had been committed there and the
body later carried to Kirkland avenue
and deserted.
Mrs. Jul a Doar Mcknight, daugh-
ter of ~ and Mrs. E. Marion Doar,
dis6 At the home of her parents in
81