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SENSATIONALJUSTICE COURTPruitt Commitment Trial Furnished Unusual Incl-dor.t Last Tuesday.J.We£, The commitment trial ot Taylor Pruitt, who killed Joe Will Pinson, was conducted before Justice Thomas Swint, in the superior court room at the court house, last •Tuesday morning. A large crowd of spectators was present and •watched the trial with interest.Attorneys W. 0. Wright and H. A. Hall appeared for the prosecution, and Attorney W. G. Post ' conducted the defense. The prosecution introduced four witnesses;' the defense introduced none. The witnesses for the prosecution who «testified were Annie Truitt, White* law Reed and Spencer Caldwell, all colored, and Mr. J. W. Bowers.The first witness was Annie Truitt, a young negro womau, who (testified that she and a negro woman named Mary Bryan were with Pinson the night of the shooting, at Mary Bryan’s house, which was next door to the Truitt woman’s house.The negroes live on Savannah ‘ Street, between the railroad junction and Robinson Street.Annie Truitt testified that Taylor Pruitt, Tom Bolton and Dan . Montgomery came to the Bryan woman’s house and Pruitt knocked on the door,demanding admitance. Mary Bryan went to the door, re-AsiorMred 1 unt andTatMr. J. W. Bowers was placed onthe witness stand and testified that he heard Pinson’s dying statement in reference to the difficulty. There was also present Messrs. W. E. Richards, W. A. Steed and Raymond Pinson, all of whom heard Pinson’s dying words. Mr. Rowers read these words to the court. Pinson’s statement was substantially the same as the story told by witnesses placed on the stand.After hearing short arguments from counsel, Judge Swint decided to bind Pruitt over to Superior Court on the charge of voluntarymanslaughter. This decision was so unsatisfactory to the prosecution 11** * that it was finally determined to ten dismiss the warrant in the case, p*5*1 swear out another warrant and Pri bring the case to trial liefore Jus* P08 tice A. H. Bohannon. theJudge Switit refused to dismiss P™ the warrant, after he had heard raelt; and passed upon the case; and he proceeded to fix the sum of Pruitt’s ^ bond at $1,000. Pruitt has not|tor succeeded in making the require bond and is now being held in jail. *8 * After the sensational ending of the the trial before Justice Swint, the I101 attorneys for the prosecution pro-1 rea ceeded at once to the office of Justice Bohannon and secured another warrant for Pruitt, charging him with murder. Since that time there have been no further de velopments in the case.Chi 1die:taxRock Spring;Mr. and Mrs. P. C. Smith andlittle son spent Saturday last in fused to admit Pruitt and h*8Iolanta.friends, and then.closed it. Pinson left the house by the back door, •went around the house, and met.the men outside in the front yard.A violent quarrel ensued; Pruitt , threatening to shoot Pinson. Pinson picked up an ax in the front yard, and while holding it in his lands and talking to Pruitt, and while standing from 25 to 40 ieet-from the latter, Pinson was shot -n Newnan.Miss Dollie Swanson has returned to her home at Flat Creek, after several weeks spent with relatives at this place.F. M. Parrott and Willie McGee attended services at CokeChapel last Sunday.Mrs M. D. Thurmond and daughter, Miss Lucy, and Miss Lizzie Parrott spent Tuesday lastdodothiselby Truitt. These facts in regard to the tragedy, the Truitt woman said she learned by looking through the front door.* The second witness examined was Whitelaw Reed, a negro \yoy and son of Jim Reed, proprietor of a restaurant in this city. The boy said he passed down Savannah .Street on the night of the shooting,Cicero and Tommie Parrott, of Flat Creek, were the guests of relatives here Friday.Lehmann Hudson and Jim Banks, of Sharpsburg, visited friends here Sunday.Mr. and Mrs. Alton Royeton have located in this community. We gladly welcome them.Andrew Bailey and Alton Roye-edSCIofthtiirelt;toletr- i Vlltll MW UIIVJ ^driving a horse and buggy. He ton Iliade a business trip to New-drove home and came back up thestreet in about ten minutes. As he passed the houses of Mary Bry-and Annie Truitt, going home,•i 1»nan last Tuesday.Messrs. T. G. and J. W. Haines and M. I. Thurmond spent last Saturday in Palmetto.n. saw two or three men standing j Wilbur Houston spent Sunday in the yard, talking. I hey were ]as^ w ith relatives at Palmetto., white men but he did not recognize yjrSt Parrott and-- | M • i ■ — * * --- ----them. Coming back he saw two ^ Houston were shopping in men standing on the sidewalk, JO jjewnaM ont. bay last week.or 40 feet from each other; and as .he arrived opposite them, one fired his pistol at the other and the man shot at fell.The third witness examined was Spencer Caldwell, a negro man. *He was in a negro house next door to the Bryan woman’s house onA merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year to the News andits subscribers.hseddiTltucldiliMdic:wwccClwVIIIoiniiliDied in His Office.Covington, Ga., Dec. 10.—Hon.T. J. Shepherd, one of the old night of the shooting. Hear- lail(1.lnarks of (;ovi„Kto„ a..d foropened many yeaiS a prominent citizen the door, and saw a man coming ^ ^ leading merchant, died sud-denly while alone in his office hereacross the street with a pistol in-his hands. This man, whom he Mond ftenioo„. identified as Pruitt, came to the, Hkonllml nl.door and ordered him to go out111n0 tlt; s11.Mr. Shepherd organized the first Iboor ana oruereu mm to gu uut bank that (lid business in this city.and get an ax. He accompanied ^ beforethe civilwar he was aPruitt down the street a distance•big cotton buyer and merchant of 25 or 30 yards, where Pln80n : herelt;■ j i • . •_ ii Dnn iff'was sitting in the gutter. Pruitt commanded the negro to take theHe is survived by his wife, oneson and two daughters. W. B. ax into the negro house. Thls he 8hepher(i, the only son, is a well3 • J J fiAAn ACS TvAOuiKlo 1 . _1jDUCI/UCIU, LAIC wuij riviij c* tioudid; and, as soon as possible, left known merchant 0f this city. The tbe place. Caldwell was positive d hter8 are Mrs. J. E. Maddoxj _ x. n :a.a. afnnrlinrr olmAct 1 - _that Pruitt was standing almost immediately in front of the house he was in, but across the street, when the shot was fired; and. he found Pinson 25 or 30 yards disand Mrs. George Akers,of Atlanta. Atlanta News.Mr. Shepherd was a relative of the Robinson and Ramey families of Newnan, and has a number off, U1 liCW UflU^ “RH iiao a iiuuiwi vitant, wounded and ® | friends among the older citizens ofstreet gutter, the ax lying aboutthree feet distant. 1 thia Clt* *
Newspaper Details
Newnan Weekly News
Newnan, Georgia, US
Fri, Dec 22, 1905
Page 1
Full Page
Clipped by
Joey C.
GA, USA 01 Dec 2021
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