Typed as spelled and written
Lena Stone Criswell
THE DAILY DEMOCRAT
Thirteenth Year - Number 6
Marlin, Texas, Thursday, April 10, 1902
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HISTORY OF THE CRIME
The crime for which John
Roan was sentenced to hang, was committed on the morning of December 18th, 1900,
on the Allen farm two miles south of Stranger in this county, Miss Maud Smith, a
white girl being the victim.
The girl was the daughter of a poor but
respectable family. Her father had died just a week before the crime was
committed and Maud was the oldest child.
On the morning of the commission of the
crime, Mrs. Smith, mother of Maud, went to the field, as was her custom to pick
cotton, a distance of about 300 yards and on the other side of a skirt of
timber, from the house. Mrs. Smith left her daughter to wash up the dishes
and milk the cows, and left with Maud her 6-year-old boy, the brother of Maud.
The girl testified that while she was at
the cow pen milking the cows that a negro rode up to the fence and getting down
entering the cow pen and sat his gun down against the gate.
When the negro did this Maud ran toward the
house but was overtaken by the negro and carried into the crib and assaulted.
At night while the family was sitting
around the fire Mrs. Smith noticed that Maud was crying and upon asking her what
she was crying for, told her what had happened that morning. Mrs.
Smith immediately sent one of the boys over to Jim Walker's, her nearest
neighbor, living about one-fourth mile away, and informed him what had happened.
He and Joe Lester came over and secured a description of the negro from the girl
who described him as a low heavy-set black negro with a moustache and wearing a
black cravat, riding a small bay pony and carrying a gun.
A search was at once instituted for the
perpetrator of the crime. Several negroes thought to answer the description were
brought before the girl but she failed to identify any of them until two weeks
after the crime when the defendant, John Roan, was brought before her. The
girl identified him as the party who had assaulted her and Roan was taken to
jail by a ciruitous route to avoid the vengeance of the citizens of the
community.
In her evidence in the trial of the case
the girl testified as follows as regards the identification:
I know the defendant is the negro * * *
and I cannot be mistaken in it. I have absolutely no doubt as to him being
the one. There were several negroes brought to our house to see if I could
identify any of them, and I told them each time the one they had was not the one
until Mr. Lester and Mr. Fannin brought the defendant and when I saw him I knew
he was the one and so told them. Mr. Lester and my mother told me to be
very careful and not condemn the wrong one."
The girl also testified that Roan told her
that if she told any one he would kill her and that was was the reason she did
not tell her mother until night when her mother asked her what she was crying
about. She said that she also remembered the scar on the defendant's
mouth.
Other evidence produced by the state is
here summarized as follows:
Walter Loper testified that he followed the
horse's tracks to the residence of Bob Smith, a brother in law of defendant's
and there found a small bay pony, claimed by Smith, that had a gap in his hoof
corresponded to the gap shown in the track and that the girl said that the pony
looked like the one rode by the negro.
______Spicer testified: Early on the
morning on the morning (sic) of December 18th I saw a heavy set black negro
riding a small black pony passing along the road near my house. I live
about one fourth of a mile from where the crime was alleged to have been
committed.
John Lester testified in substance that he
carried two negroes, Bob Smith and Green Hudson, before Maud and that she
promptly said they were not the ones. I arrested defendant and carried him
before Maud. I told her to be very careful and I noticed that she hesitated.
I looked around and saw defendant had his hat pulled down over his eyes and was
looking down at the floor. I punched him in the side and told him to look
up and take his hat off his eyes. He did so and Maud said he was the
negro. When Maud said defendant was the man I threw my pistol on him and
called for a rope and he fell upon his knees and begged the girl to look at him
good and said: "For God knows I never seed you before," when she did look at him
again and again announced that he was the man he then began to pray, saying "Oh
Lord has I got to die for dis white lady what I never seed before."
M. A. Daughtry, constable of precinct No.
2, in which the offense was committed, swore: "I talked with Maud several times
about this matter. She told me that he had a scar on his face and
otherwise suits the description she gave of him to me."
Warren Fannin testified to about the same
as Joe Lester.
Jim Walker, for the defendant, testified
that he "talked with Maud Smith about the matter before the arrest of Roan and
she said nothing about the scar, but she described him otherwise, I did not hear
anything about the scar until after his arrest."
The defense relied almost solely upn an
alibi, which was sought to be established.
The defendant's witnesses by whom he sought
to establish an alibi were Jim Hickman, Lee Mosely, Etta Mosely, Milton Pittman,
Henry Grant, Annie Taylor, sister of the defendant, Ben Roan, brother of
defendant, Allen Roan, father of defendant and Walter Rogers. The gist of
the testimony of those witnesses was to show that Roan staid (sic) all night
with his sister on the night before the crime was committed, some eight or nine
miles from the place of the crime and that he was seen at Henry Grant's near his
sister's, next morning about the time the crime was committed.
The defendant John Roan in his own behalf
testified: "I do not know this girl, Maud Smith, and never saw her before
the day I was taken before her in my life. I did not know where she lived
and was never on the farm she lived on. I picked cotton with my brother on
teh McCollum farm on the 17th day of December and that night I staid (sic) at my
sisters, Annie Taylor's, and next morning I went down to old man Henry Grant's
and on the 19th I went to Mr. McCollum's to get my pay for picking cotton.
I was down in the country all the time up until I was arrested and was dodging
no one and in fact did not know or suspect that anyone was looking for me.
When I was taken before the girl I pulled off my hat told her to look at me
good. When she said I was the one they threw a pistol on me and called for
a rope and I thought they were going to kill me and I began praying. I
never harmed or saw that girl before in my life. I was at H. Grant's
because after I was arrested I thought back and found out it was that date."
There were other statements made at the
disposition of the motion for a new trial and also in the form of affidavits
sent to the governor, but as they are not in the court record they are omitted.
The above, however, gives a fair history of
the case as it appears on record in the District Clerk's Office.
The defendant was transferred to the
McLennan county jail for safe keeping. He was brought back to Marlin and
on July 5th the case went to trial. He was defended by C. F. Cohron, an
able lawyer of Dallas. The State was represented by County Attorney Boyles
and Assistant County Attorney George H, Carter. The case went to the jury
on the nextday (sic) July, 6th, and after being out a short time the jury
returned a verdict of guilty and assessed the punishment at death. The
attorney for the defense entered a motion for a new trial but as that being the
closing day for the term the court held the motion in abeyance until the
September term when the motion was heard, several witnesses being introduced by
each side. After hearing the additional evidenceand (sic) the arguments
thereon, the court over ruled the motion and the case was appealed to the Court
of Criminal Appeals. The tribunal refused to hear the appeal, assigning as
reason that the court erred in holding the motion for a new trial over from one
term until the next.
The day of execution was set for Friday
March 28, but in the meantime parties who entertained doubts as to Roan's guilt
carried the case to the board of pardons, Gov. Sayers having granted a respite
for ten days. The board pardons, after considering the matter recommended
that the penalty be commuted to life imprisonment in the penitentiary. The
Governor refused to approve the recommendation of the board and on Saturday
April 5th wired Sheriff Carlton to proceed to execute the sentence on April 8,
at twelve o'clock.
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Copyright permission granted to Theresa Carhart and her volunteers for
printing
by The Democrat, Marlin, Falls Co., Texas
