News: Mrs. Nancy WILSON, Van Zandt County, Texas, 2003 http://www.usgwarchives.net/tx/vanzandt/vanzantoc.htm http://files.usgwarchives.net/tx/vanzandt/newspapers/nwilson2.txt *********************************************** This copy contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by: Susan Burns May 2003 *********************************************** Newspaper Article - Mrs. Nancy Wilson Canton Herald 30 April 1920 & Wills Point Chronicle 6 May 1920, Van Zandt County, Texas Wills Point MRS NANCY WILSON CONVICTED OF MURDER Mention was made last week that the trial on the charge of murdering her husband was in progress. The case went to the jury Thursday afternoon and they reported Friday morning, finding the accused guilty and assessing her punishment at five years in the penitentiary. Motion for new trial was made and talk of an appeal was heard, but on Monday morning Mrs. Wilson came into court and withdrew these and accepted sentence. She told Judge Bond that she did not kill Mr. Wilson and that some day the truth would come out. She said in effect, both to her attorneys and Judge Bond, that if she had sworn she had to kill him in self-defense the evidence would be untrue, that she did not kill him and would live out the remainder of her days in prison before she would perjure herself. Judge Bond frankly told her that if she is innocent it was painful for him to sentence her, and at the same time reminded her of the damaging testimony of physicians indicating that Wilson was evidently murdered, but she offered no further explanation of the condition of her husband when he was found dead. She and her sister both swore that the man was lying down when he killed himself and were flatly contradicted by Isham, who said he saw Wilson shoot himself and that he was standing up when he fired the pistol. The Isham girl, who during the first investigation of the killing insisted that she saw Wilson shoot himself, contradicted herself at the trial and crossed her father , mixing the testimony so badly as to indicate that a crime had been committed and they were trying to conceal the fact. The girl swore at the trial that she heard the pistol shot and told her father, who being not only dumb, but deaf, and of course could not hear the fire of the pistol The physical condition of the convicted woman is worse than that of her mind and she is to be pitied, but her actions indicated that she was glad to get off as lightly as she did, and if she is to suffer the shame and mortification of a term in prison as an innocent woman, she can blame no one but herself. ********************************************************* USGENWEB ARCHIVES NOTICE: Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm *********************************************************