PAROLE GRANTED TO LAST OF MEN CONVICTED OF CHILDREN’S MURDER
Milton Rawlins, Serving Sentence for Murder of Carter Children, is Paroled by Governor Hardwick
Atlanta, Ga., June 26.—Governor Thomas W. Hardwick today paroled Milton Rawlins, the last of five men convicted in the murder of the Carter children in Lowndes County some years ago.
Milton, Leonard, and Jesse Rawlins were given life sentences, while their father, who instigated the crime, and a negro accomplice were hanged.
A petition for a pardon was made before Governor Terrell for the two Rawlins boys, but it was declined. Jesse and Leonard Rawlins were pardoned by Governor Smith, while Governor Dorsey later declined to extend clemency to Milton, the older of the boys.
The trial showed that old man Rawlins forced the boys to participate in the murder, which was one of the most brutal in criminal history in the state. Rawlins, his boys, and a negro accomplice went to the Carter home in the country, hid in ambush, and fired on the house. When Carter’s two young children ran out of the house, they were shot and mortally wounded, left in the yard dying and crying for water while the Rawlins party continued firing on the house where Carter and his wife were barricaded.
Governor Hardwick’s order in the case follows:
“During the eleven years that have since elapsed, the prison commission of Georgia, acting as a board of pardons, has unanimously recommended Milton for either pardon or parole three times—the last recommendation being made to me under date of August 21, 1921. Since then, I have given this matter the most earnest and painstaking consideration. Every reason that can be given for the commutation of Leonard and Jesse Rawlins applies with almost as much strength to Milton Rawlins. True, he was 18 years old, while they were 16 and 15, respectively, but it appears he was as much under the domination and control of his father as either of them, and had no more to do with the actual commission of the crime than they did, especially Leonard. Furthermore, he has served more than three times as long in the penitentiary as they were required to serve, and has demonstrated the strongest possible showing of good conduct during this time.”
Declines to Approve
“In his order of May 18, 1926, declining to approve a parole recommended by the prison commission, Governor Dorsey said: ‘It seems to me that if he is ever extended any clemency, it should be after nothing less than fifteen or twenty years of service.’
“Applicant was sent to the penitentiary on December 11, 1906, and has therefore served a little over sixteen and a half years. If he were allowed the usual commutation for good behavior (given in all sentences except those for life), he would be entitled to four and a half years of allowance, so that he would be credited with more than 21 years of service.
“Under all the circumstances and for all the reasons given, I approve the recommendation of the prison commission, and it is ordered that Milton Rawlins be paroled as recommended.”
Conviction and Crime
“Applicant was convicted at the July term, 1905, of Lowndes Superior Court for the offense of murder. The evidence undeniably showed his guilt, and the jury’s verdict was sustained by all reviewing courts.
“The crime for which he was convicted was horrible and atrocious, but it was clear that the crime was planned entirely by his father and largely carried out by a negro named Alf Moore. Milton Rawlins and his two younger brothers were present, aiding and abetting, and to some extent actually participating in the commission of the crime.
“J.G. Rawlings, the father of the applicant, and Alf Moore, the negro hired to commit the murder, have already paid the death penalty for their involvement in this crime. In commuting Milton Rawlins’ penalty from death to life imprisonment, Governor Terrell, in his order of September 6, 1906, stated that he was convinced that Milton (and his brothers as well) was under the complete domination of his father, who was brutal, forceful, and cruel. It appears they all lived in constant fear of their father and were raised to obey his commands, under threat of the most severe punishment.”
Those Convicted
“The three Rawlings boys convicted of this crime were, respectively, Milton, aged 18; Leonard, aged 16; and James, aged 15, at the time of the homicide. On November 15, 1911, after only five years of service, Leonard and Jesse were pardoned by Governor Hoke Smith on the unanimous recommendation of the prison commission, due to their extreme youth, their domination by their father, and their good conduct in the penitentiary.”