Evening star., 1942-10-12
Death Penalty Is Sci
Aside in Criminal
Assault Case Here
PrejudiciuI Charge
Is Busis of Reversal
By Court Of Appeals

The United States Court of Ap-
| peals today reversed the District
Court conviction of Bernard Lee
Williams, 81, colored, under SEN
tence of death on conviction of
criminally assaulting a 17-year-old
colored girl on August 2, 1941. Will
liams was sentenced to be electro
cuted November 20.
The appellate tribunal held that
the trial Jurist, Judge Thomas Blake
Kennedy of the Federal District of
Wyoming, who was serving here to
aid in reducing a crowded docket,
had made an erroneous and preju-
dicial' charge to the jury. Williams
was convicted September 8, 194l.
The Court of Appeals pointed
out that Judge Kennedy probably
was not familiar with all the legal
requirements of this jurisdiction"
with respect to charging jury. The
jury, in bringing in a verdict of
guilty, exercised its right in adding
that the death penalty shall be i'm
/ posed.
Record Investigated.
The ColM of Appeals opinion,
written by Associate Justice Fred M.
wilson, SEATED that upon the issues
presented by the defendant on the
appeal, the court would be con-
strained to affirm the District Court
conviction.
1T is our custom, however, in
cases of serious criminal of1enses, to
check carefully the record for error
prejudicial to the defendant, which
he did not urge" the court said.
IN this case, we have found such
error. Several might be discussed,
but since the judges charge to the
jury w:s definitely erroneous and
prejudicial, we will confine our dis
cussion to the more important omis-
sions therein, which we think
require reversal of the judgment"
First, the appellate tribunal said,
the judge failed to discuss and de-
fine the offenses included within
the indictment against Williams,
adding:
Rape was not defined generally,
much less broken down into its
constituent elements; naturally, as
a result, the elements were not dis
cussed or defined. The jury was
not told what assault with intent
to rape is, nor how it is distinguished
from rape"
Jury Not Informed.
The Court of Appeals also pointed
out that the jury was not even told
at any time that it could return a
verdict of not guilty.
THE jury must be told at least
once, in some unequivocal language"
that If it is believed that the de-
fendant is innocent it must return
a verdict of not guilty, the court
said.
In summing up, the court said:
"It is almost, If not, as important to
a defendant to have a jury in
structed on the law applicable to his
particular case by the judge, who
knows the law, as to have a jury OF
his peers. The latter is supposed
to safeguard our institution of fair
trial by insuring impartiality"
Participating with Justice Vinson
in the opinion were Associate JUS
tices Harold M. Stephens and Henry
w. Edgerton.
Williams was accused of assault
ing the girl in a remote section at
Fifty-third and Fitch streets NE.
at night.
He was represented before the
court by Attorney Saul Lichtenberg.
williams is the second of five
colored men convicted of commit
ting sex crimes In 1941, to obtain a
reversal of his conviction. The
other was James r. Mckenzie, 20.
accused of attacking a 26-year-old
employe of Fourteenth street
cleaning shop last June. Mckenzie
is scheduled to be tried again in
District Court this fall.
The conviction Of Jarvis r. Catoe,
SO. sentenced to die for the murdef-
criminal assault of Mrs. Rose Alb
ramowitz in January, l94l, in her
Sixteenth street apartment, was
affirmed recently by the appellate
tribunal. The Supreme Court may
be asked to review the case, however.
Catoe also is under indictment on
charges OF committing four other
murder criminal assaults.
The Court of Appeals still has
under consideration the case of
Roland ]. Lindsey, 20, charged with
attacking an 18-year-old girl In July
in Brentwood Park.
william Isaac Robinson, 81, was
executed Friday for an attack on
15-year-old girl near Rock Greek
Park in August lo4l. His conyietion
was afirmed by the Court OF Ap-
peals several months ago and later
President Roosevelt denied Q plea
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