Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1933-12-03
.POSSEMAN HEARD
AT NORRIS TRIAL
Second ScOttSboro Defend.
ant Partly Identified as One
in Alleged Attack.
By the Associated Press.

BY the Associated Press.
DECATUR, Ala, December Sur
prise witnesses and new turns in the
evidence of previous witnesses this aft
ernoon broke the monotonous recital OF
testimony in the trial of Clarence Nor
ris. second Of seven colored defendants
in the "Scottsboro case" to face jury
here on charges of attacking two white
women.
The State calledtwo men who did not
testify in the trial of Haywood Patter-
son, who for third time was convicted
and sentenced to death in the case yes
terday. The defense, striving to keep
Norris from a second conviction, APP
piled mathematics to testimony CT sew
eral witnesses to show contradictions In
the evidence.
Norris was brought to trial on an
Indictment charging an attack on Mrs.
Victoria Price, Huntsville mill worker,
and her companion, Ruby Bates, aboard
a Southern Railway freight train in
jackson County, March Is, 1881.
Conviction Set Aside.
He was convicted on a similar charge
at ScottSboro in April, 1881, but the
United States Supreme Court set aside
the verdict in his case as we'll as those
OF his co-defendantS and the cases were
brought here under change of venue.
The afternoon session started much
as the forenoon with recital of sub
stantially the same testimony by wit
neSseS that was offered in the forenoon
until W. H Branum, called by the State,
took the stand.
On direct examination Branum iden-
l.; ,k,o,. 80 +la oi,1t
Rock posse that was organized to arrest
the Negroes on charges of throwing five
white youths off the train near Steven
son, Ala.
Did you see any women get off the
train?" he was asked by Attorney Cen
eral Thomas E. Knight, jr., on direct
examination.
Yes, sir" replied Branum, ct saw
between two cars woman sink to the
ground"
He was asked about the number of
colored youths and then was asked if
he could identify Norris. seated behind
his counsel, as one of them.
He looks to be-" said Branum, but I
could not be positive"
Samuel S. Liebowitz, chief counsel, re-
tanned for the defendants by the In
ternational Labor Defense, was meticu-
lous as to Branum'S position beside the
train in his croSs-eXamination.
Using counsel table to demonstrate,
he placed the station at Paint Rock. the
water tank and the coal chute, where
the locomotive stopped and asked Bra
mum to designate his position.
Branum said he was uncertain of the
distance, but said he was beyond the
water tank from the station when he
saw the woman sink to the ground.
Testimony Of Others.
Previous witnesses had placed the
gondola from which Mrs Price said she
got off the train about TOO feet back Of
the locomotive, which had stopped at
the coal chute.
Immediately after Branum left the
stand, the State called Arthur J. Wood
all, Stevenson merchant, and deputy
sheriff at the time the defendants were
arrested, to bring back into evidence the
knife ruled out in the forenoon.
Woodall identified the knife as one he
and c. F. Simmons, chief deputy sher-
if of Jackson County. who followed
him to the stand. had taken from Nor
riS Woodall identified Norris in the
court room
Did you ask where he got it?"
Knight asked
He said he took it from one of the
white girls" Woodall replied.
Liebowitz's croSs-examination consist
ed merely Of reading from the record of
the Patterson trial last Spring. He read
questions and answers in which twice
Woodall had testified he could not iden-
tify the prisoner from whom he had
taken the knife.