Schley County GaArchives News.....Charles Blackman's Third Trial for the murder of Stonewall Tondee July 1 1887 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/ga/gafiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Carla Miles http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00010.html#0002476 October 15, 2004, 3:32 pm The Marion County Patriot The Marion County Patriot, No. 26 July 1, 1887 Page Four Charles Blackman’s Trial Judge Fort has called an extra session of the Superior Court of Schley County to try criminal cases, to convene on the thirteenth inst. The noted case of the state vs. Charles Blackman will be called for trial. Blackman is the alleged murderer of Stonewall Tondee, who was assassinated on the 5th of November, 1885. Blackman has been twice convicted of murder by juries in that county and twice sentenced to be hung by Judge Fort, and twice granted new trials by our supreme court on technicalities. There is still two hundred and twenty-five jurors left from which to get a jury, after taking out those who have tried him, and the coroner’s and grand jury. The Marion County Patriot, No. 29 July 22, 1887 Page One Ellaville The Blackman Case Our county has just gone through with the third trial of Charles Blackman, for the murder of Mr. S.Z. Tondee. The verdict was the same as those of the previous trials – guilty. He is sentenced to be hanged on August 19, but it is likely he will not be hanged at that time, as it is understood that his counsel will appeal the case for a new trial. The case cannot be tried again in the county, as the jury list has been exhausted. The evidence in every trial has been conclusive of his guilt, but new evidence in the last trial made it clearer than ever before. He has had three fair and impartial trials, and yet it is probable his counsel will appeal the case, when they can certainly hope for nothing, unless it is to increase the indebtedness of the county. The Supreme court has never sent the case back on anything that would intimate their opinion to be that Blackman is innocent. It has always been sent back on a technicality. I do not know how long it will be, but Blackman will eventually hang. So it seems to us that lawyers would sometime get where their responsibility would cease. C. The Marion County Patriot, No. 29 July 22, 1887 Page Five Blackman Sentenced Again We stated last week from the best information that we could get that the probability was that a jury in the Blackman case would not be obtained in Schley County, and it was likely that the case would have to be tried in another county, but a jury was obtained and the case disposed of after a four days’ session of the court. The jury brought in a verdict of guilty at 9 o’clock Saturday morning and Judge Fort sentenced Blackman to be hung on the 19th of August. The attorneys for the defendant have signified their intention of carrying the case to the Supreme court again. File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/ga/schley/newspapers/nw1584charlesb.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.poppet.org/gafiles/ File size: 3.3 Kb