The county record. [volume] (Kingstree, S.C.) 1885-1975, 1922-06-15
BICHAM REFUSED
new TRIAL
RESENTENCED TO ELECTROCU-
TION JULY 14-NOW IN PENI-
TERTIARY DEATH HOUSE.

In the city of Florence last Friday
the court room was crowded to
overfowing with men, women and
children when Judge Shipp convened
court to hear the motion for new
trial for Edmund D. Bigham, under
sentence for killing his brother,
Smiley Bigham, and four other MEM
bers of the Bigham family for which
he has not yet been tried. The Coun-
ty Record takes its account of the
famous case from the Florence Times.
Mr.. King opened with the pre-
sentation of the letters and affidavits
which have been published in sum-
mary already. The first was his own
affidavit that he could not have OBJ
tanned the evidence now being sub
mitted previous to or during Big
hams trial in March 1921. The next
was from Mrs. May M. Bigham, wife
of the convicted man, as to the loss
and recovery Of the evidence in
question. Also there was an affidavit
from Edmund Bigham as to the re-
ceipt and subsequent loss Of the let
ters.
At this juncture, Edmund Bigham,
who sat in the dock, removed his
coat. He took great interest in the
proceedings.
Mr.. King read the letters which he
had procured. These covered the
business affairs of the Bigham family
at Pamplico, always concluded with
terms of endearment, recited various
other matters, and the desire to sell
the land to Edmund to settle up the
obligations to him.
Mr.. King recited the findings of the
letters by Mrs. Bigham in sumo fur
niture after her husband had been
convicted and sentenced and she had
moved to Taylors, they having been
packed in the furniture in Georgia
and never taken out at Pamplico.
The signatures on these letters pur-
ported to have been written by Smiley
to Edmund, were compared with
checks bearing the signature OF
Smiley. Affdavits as to their gen.
uineness were read from H. NJ. Pleas
ants, cashier of the Farmers and
Merchants Bank Of Pamplico; j. b.
Connatser of Columbia, teacher in
Draughan's business college; William
M. Gibbes, Jr., cashier of the Palmet-
to National Bank of Columbia as to
the ability of Mr.. Connatser; c. M.
Wilkinson, of Pamplico, agent for the
S. A. L. that Smiley had used his
typewriter great deal; E. M. Single
tary, clerk of court that he believed
the signatures on the letters were
genuinely Smiley's; w. L. Meadors,
assistant cashier of the Palmetto
Bank and Trust company, that he be-
lieved the signatures Of L. S. Big
ham on the checks and the letters
were written by the same person; l..
T. Wellings, of Darlington, of the
Carolina National Bank, to the same
purpose; w. R. Willis, Of the Peoples
Bank of Darlington, to the same pur-
pose; R. C. Rollins, of the Bank Of
Timmonsville, same purpose. He read
the affidavit of j. G. Miller, formerly
of Pamplico and now OF Florence, to
the effect that he had undertaken to
deal with Smiley for a sawmill; that
the next day, in the fall of 1920, ne
had met Smiley on the streets OF
Florence, and Smiley had said to him
that his family were trying to steal
everything he had and he would kill
ever one of them. He read the affl-
dav-. of w. T. (BilD Hyman OF
Pamplico, that he had endorsed notes
for Smiley to get fertilizer. Also ne
read an affidavit from Jim Cain,
brother of Began Cain, who married
Aleatha Bigham, that Smiley and Ed
mund's sister, Mrs. Margery Black,
who was killed in the wholesale muir
der, had told him they had to send
for Edmund to protect them from
Smiley. He read an affidavit from
Clarence Rose, member of the city
police and a deputy sheriff at the
time of the killing, that he had pick
ed up three or more empty pistol
cartridges in the Bigham yard two or
three days after the killing. This
fact Mr.. King said never was intro
duced at the trial.
L. NJ. Gasque, Solicitor, then pre-
sented his answer. First he present.
ed an affidavit from ]. G. Miller, who
had given Mr.. King the affidavit re-
earding the saw mill deal and the
threats of Smiley, saying that his