NEW EVIDENCE IN THE CASE
What Lawyer Cooper Told the Prison Commission
Further postponement has been granted in the Rawlings case at the request of Attorney John Cooper. The hearing for clemency, which was scheduled for next Saturday in Atlanta, has been delayed.
(From Tuesday’s Daily)
Attorney Cooper claims to have new evidence in the Rawlings case, which prompted the board of pardons to grant a postponement. An Atlanta correspondent of The Times writes as follows regarding the board’s work:
“Petitions for commutation of the sentences of Jesse and Milton Rawlings will not be heard by the prison commission next Saturday.
“After requesting the commission to set the hearing for Saturday, Attorney John Cooper now asks for a further postponement, as he has other evidence that will not be ready for presentation by that time.”
“The postponement has been agreed to by the commission, but no new date has been set for the hearing. Unless some new development arises that further delays the hangings, scheduled for November 2, a special date will have to be arranged for hearing the appeals for clemency.”
Chairman J.S. Turner and General Clement Evans are in the city, ready for the commission meeting, which will formally begin Tuesday morning. Colonel Tom Eason is expected to arrive Monday afternoon.
The commission has two capital cases to consider this session. One is that of G.W. Bundrick, a white man sentenced to death in Dooly County for murder. The other is that of Mims Devereaux of Baldwin, also sentenced to be hanged soon. In addition to these cases, the usual minor petitions will be reviewed.
The commissioners are also optimistic about obtaining a favorable price for the 500 bales of cotton raised on the prison farm, which they have been holding for better market conditions. Chairman Turner is confident they will receive at least 11 cents per pound and possibly 12 cents.