The Union daily times. [volume] (Union, S.C.) 1918-current, 1922-09-04
Moves to Dismiss
Bigham Appeal

Solicitor Gasque yesterday moved
before the supreme court for a dis.
missal of the Edmund D. Bigham ap.
peal on the grounds that it was
"manifestly without merit" The
court took the motion under advise
ment and will render an opinion
later.
The solicitor moved under Rule 80
for dismissal and presented his
arguments to the court, claiming tha.
the appeal had no merit whatever.
A. l.. King and Mendel L. Smith, at
torney for Bigham, resisted the mo-
ton.
Mr.. Gasque read the order of Judge
S. w. G. Shipp declining new trial
when the motion was made before
him. Judge Shipp refused the motion
on question of fact, the alleged
new evidence not being sufficient 10
warrant a new trial, Mr.. Gasque said.
In regard to the IL letters on which
the defendant is basing his plea for
new trial, Mr.. Gasque said both
Bigham and his wife knew of these
at the time Of the trial, but no effort
was made to produce them. These
letters would not change the result
of the verdict against Bigham, MIR.
Gasque argued. Among the letters
was one in which Smiley Bigham said
he was going to kill all the family
and 'leave no one to tell the tale"
He also said "you will not see me
alive again." This letter is one Of
the main ones relied upon by the de-
fense, but the solicitor said it would
rot have changed the verdict if it had
been introduced.
Mr.. Gasque said an end to the
litigation in this case should be reach
ed some day. He spoke of the firss
trial, the appeal and the affirmation
by the supreme court and now this
appeal "It looks like an endless
chain of litigation" the solicitor said.
He cited procedure to show that Big
ham may continue to appeal for many
more times and asked the court TO
dismiss the present one as he did not
think it had any merit. 1t does not
come within any Of the requirements
set down BY the supreme court for
an appeal, Mr.. Gasque said.
A. L. King, attorney for Bigham,
said the appeal had sufficient merit to
stay the execution of Bigham and told
the court that if there had been no
merit in the appeal it could not have
stayed the sentence. Mr.. King dealt
at length on the letters alleged to
have been written by Smiley Bigham
to Edmund Bigham. Mr.. King also
produced an affidavit from j. G. Miller
to the effect that Smiley Bigham told
him in Florence prior to the crime
that he (Smiley) was going to "kill
every one of them," meaning the Big
ham family.
Another affidavit of much impor-
tance, according to Attorney King,
was the one in which Mrs. Margie
Black, sister of the Bighams, was
quoted as having said that the fam
lily sent for Edmund, to protect them
from Smiley, this being when Edmund
was living in south Georgia.
Mr. King also brought out the sui
eide theory, claiming that the coroner
himself when he first sa wthe body of
Smiley Bigham said ''it certainly
To- nl,o t;lxo ,,,;o;Ja ko MN
Mendel L. Smith said the case was
one entirely of circumstantial evil
dence and had been built on the
theory that Edmund came from Geor-
gia to kill the whole family. Mr.
Smith read the letter alleged to have
been written by Smiley in which
Smiley said he was going to kill all
the family, and stressed the fact that
eight experts in penmanship have
sworn that the signature to the let
ter is Smiley's.
At this point Justice Watts said
from his experience with the family,
he having tried two or three Of them,
the Bighams always did things differ
emily. This was in reply to state
ment Of Mr.. Smith.
Solicitor Gasque in reply told the
court Judge Shipp had examined the
letter alleged to have been written
by Smiley in which Smiley said re
was going to kill the whole family
and had found the signature thereon
to have been traced. Mr.. Gasque
said-the original signature was not
traced very good and part of the
81" and "s" in the name was left un-
traced, this being apparent under a