The monitor., 1928-06-01
M0MAN's PERJURY
IMPRISONS NEGRO
Thirteen YEARS
Fearing to Face Death with Perjured
Soul White Woman Confesses
Her Lie Imprisoned
Innocent Man
BEss NOT GUILTY OF ASSAULT
Governor Richards Liberates Prisoner
Once Property Owner But Now
Penniless; Newspaper
Raising Fund

OVtohiDin, -. O.t may No-OOH
science and justice have set Ben Bess
Florence county Negro, free-aftel
13 years behind the bars an innocen,
man.
The woman whose testimony sent
Bess to prison on charges of assault
for 30-year term has filed an affi
davit, part of which reads:
"Since I have not much longer t.
live, | hereby desire as much as pos
sible to undo the great wrong have
done this Negro, Ben Bess, and
hereby declare my testimony upon ths
trial of this case to be untrue"
Justice acted when Governor Rich
ards gave Bess full pardon.
When Bess went to the peniten
tiary he had some property. He lost
this and when he was given his free.
dom he was destitute. Governor
Richards sought to have financial aid
given the man from the state contin,
gent fund, but was told that no legal
means of doing so existed. The gov.
ernor then expressed the hope that
the South Carolina legislature at its
next session would take steps to right
the grave injustice done this Negro
A Columbia newspaper has started
a fund for Bess and this has reached
1864.
The woman who caused Bess to be
sent to prison and who is white, fail.
ed to give any reason for her false
testimony in her affidavit.
Bess Case Deeply Stirs South
Columbia, s. C. - (ANP) - The
case Of Ben Bess, who served 13
years of life sentence for criminally
assaulting a white woman and who
was liberated recently when the wo-
man declared that he was innocent,
has caused quite stir in this state
and citizens here and elsewhere are
seeking some way to compensate Bess
for the years which he has spent in
prison.
Suggests Purchase of Home
One white woman, who did not sign
her name, wrote to the South Caro-
lima State, white daily, suggesting
that the state purchase a home and
farm for Bess. Her letter is as fol
lows:
being a woman, I am much inter
ested in the case of Ben Bess, who
was betrayed and falsely accused by
a woman-shame on her! l should
think a nice little house on few
acres of land would be very little fol
the state to give this poor innocent
man for the loss of the thirteen best
years Of his life and the shame Of be.
ing a criminal. Implements to cult
vate crop, good mule, and supplies
for year-not much, but it would
make him 80 independent and happy
The home would be a monument to
Justice"
What If He Had Been Hanged?
Another white woman raised the
question as to what the state woulc
do if Bess had been hanged as sug
gested by the prosecution. She point
ed out this phase of the case as an ar
gument against capital punishment
pointing out:
"That is the outstanding weakness.
of capital punishment: there is no op
portunity to correct the errors Of hui
man beings proverbially addicted te
error. 1t is, Of course, proper thai
Bess should have been pardoned. Il
is also proper that, SO far as possible
restitution should be made to hin
for the injury which he suffered"
Answering the query as to what
provision could be made in such {
case, the attorney general declared
that there was no legal way in which
the state might make gift of any
kind to Bess, as the case was without
precedent.
The governor, however, stated tha
il no way was found, he would ap
vnint q commiffaa To receive free vii