The Lexington advertiser. [volume] (Lexington, Miss.) 1904-1985, 1948-09-23
Powell Goes Free On
|HUading And Armed
Robbery Charge
District Attorney Labels
Verdict "A Shocking
Miscarriage Of Justice"

Marshall Blackjack" Powell
owner of the Rainbow Garden in
Holmes county, was found mot
guilty" of the armed robbery and
hijacking of two Negroes, Woodrow
Blggs and Clyde Walton, by a jury
of the second judicial district cir
cult court of Kinds county in Raw.
mond, Saturday noon.
District attorney M. M. MCGOWAN.
who prosecuted the case vigorously.
called the jury's verdict "a shocking
miscarriage of justice"
This was the first time since he
took office that the District Attor-
ney had used such strong language
to describe a verdict.
Jury Listed
Members of the jury that tried
the Powell case were C. H. Robi.
son, RID, Edwards; D. P. Etten. Ed.
wards; A. H. Vance. Edwards: joel
A. Boyd, Learned; T. W. Strineer.
Terry; G.. E. Osborn. Jr., Learned:
Herman Ward, Raymond; Crisler
Mullen, Terry; Joe Field, Edwards,
A II. Stubs, Terry; D. L. Pease.
RAYMOND, A. r. Woods, Edwards.
The jury got the case at 1O:45 %.
m. Friday night, and did not return
the verdict until a few minutes be-
fore noon Saturday.
District Attorney M. M. MCGOWAN
was assisted in prosecution of the
case by Kinds County's Attorney.
Julian Alexander, and by two out
standing members of the Kosciusko
bar, Clarence Morgan and George
Thornton. Morgan and Thornton
were hired by Holmes county citi-
zens to assist in the case against
Powell.
Most Respected Citizen"
Defense attorneys for Powell in
their final argument to the jury
described him as "a clean cut bow
who doesn't drink or smoke and who
goes to church every Sunday" and
as "one of the most respected citi-
zens of Holmes county"
The state presented a strong case
against Powell.
Woodrow Biggs and Clyde Wal
ton, the two negroes who were
robbed at gunpoint in Edwards, of
a cargo of $1,019 worth of whiskey.
IN the early morning hours of April
"A, soon after leaving the Rainbow
club near Vicksburg, identified
Powell positively as the man who
stepped out of a hijack car, driven
by another man, and pointed a gun
at them and told them to get going,
and then drove their car with the
whiskey away. The car was later
found about six miles away with
the whiskey removed.
Biggs and Walton purchased the
whiskey from Harvey Boutwell, at
the Rainbow Club, according to their
testimony, and were delivering it
to their white employer in Rankin
county.
Accused Of Tipping Off
Boutwell,, a former resident Of
Durant and regarded in Durant as
an employee of Powell, was accused
by the state of telephoning Powell
in Durant at the Rainbow Garden
on the night of April %. and
telling him the Negroes were pur-
chasing the whiskey, and tipping
Powell off so that he could waylay
them on their way back to Rankin
county and rob them of their whis-
key cargo.
Boutwell,, testifying under his
sworn oath, said he did not place
a call to Powell or to anyone on
the night of April %. He did
admit being in a room in the Car
roll hotel in Vicksburg that night.
but did not remember "the number"
Powell on the witness stand also
denied getting any calls from Bout.
well at all on April %.
Telephone Officials Testifies
The state produced the assistant
manager of the Vicksburg office Of
the Southern Bell Telephone COM
pany, E. P. Spencer, who produced
the original records of calls placed
April %, by Harvey Powell"
etliQ I1dlNCy DOutWSlI dt Tic SdIif@
time from a room in the Carroll
hotel in Vicksburg, in which Harvey
Boutwell, was registered April
%.
The calls were evidently placed
by one person, Harvey Boutwell,.
at the time, the witness MIR. SPENCE
said, and the operator mistakenly
put Harvey Powell" on one of the
tickets because it was a Powell who
was being called. The other call
placed at the same time was from
Harvey Boutwell, in Room 142. at
the Carroll hotel in V~icksburg to
Mrs. Harvey Boutwell, in Jackson.
The two calls were placed at 7:24
o. m. by the same person, and one
of them completed at 800 p. m, ac-
cording to the records of the Tele-
Nhopa onyonapU-