Evening star., 1932-10-07
CONVICT ACCUSES
GUARD ON TRIAL
Favorable Testimony Asked
by coyrson in Murder Case,
Florida Jury Told.
BY the Associated Press.

florloa Jury IoIu.
BY the Associated Press.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla, october 7.
"A former prison guard accused Of
numbering Arthur Maillefert by slow
torture in a sweat box was described
in testimony today as courting the
favor and support Of another convict,
who had seen the New Jersey youth
chained in the box.
James H. Travis, a convict, who
served with Maillefert at the Sunbeam
camp. gave that description as the first
of the days witnesses in the trial OF
George w. Courson, former captain Of
the Sunbeam guards, and former Guard
Solomon Higginbotham.
He said he saw Maillefert placed In
the box and later witnessed the re-
moval of his body.
He declared Courson called me over
to him one morning after breakfast
and said:
Travis, I appreciate the attitude
you boys have taken in this, but you
are on the wrong side Of the fence.
1.-The gate is wide open for you to
get on my sue.
II laughed in his face and walked
away Travis added.
G.. A. Avriett, attorney for Higgin-
botham, cross-examined Travis.
rs it not a fact" said Avriett, that
If it were not for you, that other man
sentenced with you would not have been
convicted?"
That's a lie," the witness replied.
He is the reason I am on ths chain
gang now" No explanation was made
as to the identity of the other man.
Travis was sent up from Miami for
robbery.
Another question elected the informa-
ton that Travis had served a previous
prison term.
you are fond of these chain gangs,
aren't you?" Avriett queried. Travis
grew red in the face as he replied: .
II never heard Of chain gang until
I came to Florida. They don't have
'em where came from"
From Pennsylvania.
The witness said he came here froIS
Pennsylvania but did not name the
town.
As Avriett sought to have Travis
show clearly how the body of Maillefert
hung in the sweat box from a chain,
which had been placed around his neck
and tied to rafter, the witness tangled
the chain violently
Mrs. Julia Maillefert, mother Of the
dead convict, shuddered and appeared
to be about to cry out.
Travis said he had measured the
sweat box and it was not regular size
g by 81.
He denied he and Maillefert had
planned to escape from the sweat box
the night the New Jersey youth died.
This was in answer to a question as
to whether he had not planned to get
into fight and have himself placed in
the box with Maillefert as punishment.
Just because I'm from the North,
said Travis under cross-examination by
Fuller Warren, attorney for Courson, is
no reason why I should be tortured
like I've been"
Denying that he and others had tried
to play sick in an effort to escape. he
cried vehemently, That's a lie-they
worked men until they dropped"
Isn't it fact that profanity is q
normal conversation out at those
camps?" asked Warren Witnesses have
testified Maillefert was cursed.
Yes" said the witness, with the
you like to hear a sample Of it?" War
rem said he would not
Returning to the sweat box. the wit
ness was led to describe it. He said II
was dark inside when Maillefert was
placed in it.
You see," he said, cts been venti-
lated since this case came up"
Travis declared Maillefert tried tc
escape because he had been prosecuted
There has been lot of things told
on that boy that he didn't do" he con-
tinued
If you amt a stool pigeon at camp
you don't get along. They call it CO.
operation"
You wouldn't tell anything favor
able to Courson or Higginbotham?
shot back Warren.
ASK me a question" the witness re-
piled, land I'll tell you, favorable OF
not, but I'm sorry to say know very
little favorable about them.
"CourSon stood around with his hands
in his pockets and didn't do nothing
when they took Jerseys body from the
sweat box"
During his testimony, Travis men
toned the term hard timing of con-
victs"
Asked what this meant, he said:
The man who is hard-timed Is the
one who is kicked around all the time,
who is given all the dirty work."
Section Foreman on Witness Stand.
J. A. Taylor, a railroad section fore
man, testified he saw Maillefert placed
| in the sweat box with his neck chained
| to the rafter and his feet in stocks
| after he tried to escape. He also saw
them remove his body later.
He described the youth fleeing from
prison without stitch Of clothing and
some fellows after him"
| They caught him about 300 yards
| from my house. This guard" he con-
tinued. pointing to Higginbotham
came up with the dogs and said:
"'You slick -, you thought you't
get away, didn't you? If you thinl
I won't shoot you now, just try tt
run"
Taylor said Maillefert asked fol
some of the free men to come with
me to see that this is all get"
The section foreman declared he fol-
lowed them back to the camp.
Taylor described how the stocks wert
built on the prisoners feet and hov
/ he was then placed in the sweat bo,
with a chain around his neck.
Taylor stayed around the camp, sit
ting in his car, until the body wa!
taken out of the box.
HE looked like he was dead" tht
| witness said.