Evening star., 1923-06-26
SIX FACING DEATH
3YEARS RELEASED
Arkansas Negroes Were
Convicted Twice of Part in
Elaine Riot.
By the Associated Press.

BY the Associated Press
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. June 26.-Six
negroes, twice sentenced by Arkan-
sas courts to be electrocuted after
twice being convicted of murder in
connection with the Elaine insurrec-
tion in October, 1919. are at liberty
today, a misunderstanding or contra
diction of orders having brought
them release early this morning, sud
denly and unexpectedly. as they stood
knocking at the outside gates of the
state penitentiary near here.
Sheriff A. L. Galloway of Lee county
had brought them from the Jail at
Mariana on orders from Judge L. d.
Robertson of the Lee county circuit
court he said. Warden Hamp Mar
tin had no orders to receive them, he
said, and refused to admit them. They
were set free.
Recovering from their bewilder-
ment, the six, with attendant rela-
tives and attorneys. climbed into au-
tomobileS and returned to Little Rock
to spend the night as they pleased
for the first time since. three and
half years ago they were arrested
and charged with completely in the
uprising which resulted in the death
OF several white persons and an in
determinate number of negroes and
the calling out Of the United States
troops.
Court Dismisses Case.
An opinion of the Arkansas supreme
court yesterday directed the dismis-
sal of the case against the negroes
on petition of defense counsel. which
asserted that two terms of court in
Lee county, where their third trial
had been set have passed without
their having been brought to trial.
John Martin, Alf Banks, Albert Giles
and VIII Wordlow, agreed before
leaving the penitentiary grounds that
they would meet in the office of an
attorney in Little Rock today, when
further action on their status is ex-
pected.
Six other negro defendants in the
Elaine affair are in the penitentiary
here awaiting action of Federal Judge
Trieber on their habeas corpus plea
which was based on the alleged
ground that they did not receive
fair trial at Helena, in Phillips
county, the locality of the insurrec-
ton.
Verdict Was Reversed.
The first reversal of a verdict of
guilty and a sentence of death in the
case of the negroes released was
caused by the fallure OF the jury to
name the offense for which it found
the defendants guilty Its verdict
was, Guilty as charged"
Reversal in the second conviction
and death sentence was based on the
fact that no negroes were on the
jury which found the six guilty, the
supreme court declaring that they
had not, therefore, been guaranteed a
fair trial. A change of venue was
then granted to Lee county, where at
torney requested the postponement of
the trial He explained that witnesses
by whom he had obtained convictions
Riot Occurred in 1919.
: The Elaine trouble started when a
party in an automobile, including an
officer, was fired upon early in Oc-
tober, 1919, by persons concealed near
a negro meeting house at Hoop Spur
in Phillips county. Investigation
later disclosed that armed negroes
were patrolling the Vicinity of the
house, in which a great number of
negroes were congregated. armed.
In operations by federal troops and
posses hundreds of negroes were
captured and disarmed Quiet was
restored after several white men, In
cluding a deputy and two members
Of the Helena American Legion post,
had been killed The negroes, it de-
veloped, had been persuaded by an
agitator, posing as a government
agent. to arm and drill in preparation
for the day when they should take
over control of affairs in that section.