Twin-City herald., 1933-10-14
Hardiman Takes
Stand Denies He
Fired Fatal Shot
By S. X. Davis

The case of Wilbur Hardiman, %
year old Negro boy, charged with
murder goes to the jury Friday morn
ing October 13) as we go to press. A
stirring plea for verdict Of not guilty
was made by David j. Bentall, noted
attorney of Chicago, who was brought
here by the International Labor De-
fense to defend Hardiman.
Praises Hardiman's Courage
The courage of Hardiman and of
James Johnson, another Negro, who is
charged with assault in the first de-
gree as result of the lynch attempt
in the Gateway district on June 22nd,
stirred the Negroes and Whites who
packed the court room.
eyes, cut someone IN the alley. /
was surrounded. They were yelling
Lynch Them and String 'em up and
/ would have fought with the last drop
of my blood to free myself" Johnson
declared on the witness stand.
Hardiman denied that he did the
shooting that resulted in the death of
a member of the mob, but he added,
''There was time there that wished
/ did have a revolver"
j Mr.. Bentall, in addressing the jury,
declared that Hardiman and Johnson's
courage on the witness stand should
be an inspiration to the Negro race.
Referring to the defendants, Bentall
stated, II say that they are splendid
representatives of the Negro race, and
Negroes can learn from them. Mobs
must learn that they cannot take the
lives of Negroes without suffering the
consequences" Addressing the jury,
Bentall asked, "Do you think it a
good thing for Minneapolis to have a
lynching bee. These boys saved that
situation. They saved the city of Min
neapolis against that shame. What
has the states attorneys office done
in this case? 1t has indicted those
that were to be lynched. It would send
Hardiman to prison for the rest of his
life because Negroes defended them
selves against lynch mob. The
states attorneys office made no in
vestigation of the case, but arrested
| the Negroes. The states attorneys
office made no effort to find out why
this occurred, but they kept rounding
up Negroes all that night.
Shooting Justified
"Another Lincoln is going to arise
who will tell the Negroes what to do
and that is to fight against their
oppressors. Whoever did the shooting
was absolutely justified in doing So"
Speaking directly to the jury, Ben
tall asked, "What are you going to do
about it? Are you going to place
your stamp of approval on the events
that occurred here on the night of
June 22nd? Your verdict will speak
loud. Your responsibility is great. /
have implicit confidence in the people
of the state of Minnesota, / have con-
fidence in YOU"
Hardiman Denies Shooting
Hardiman denied that he did the
shooting. He denied that the coat
that was found in his possession and
which contained bullets was his coat.
Witnesses testified that Hardiman
was without coat at the time that
| the shooting In the alley between
Nicollet and Hennepin avenues oc-
curred. They also testified that Hardi-
man was not the man that did the
shooting, but witnesses for the state
testified that he did do the shooting.
/ Mr.. Bentall, in, addressing the jury,
Ipointed out that while the fact that
Hardiman's claim that someone gave
him coat, seemed hard to believe, at
| tcentinued on Pare =.