- Title
- State
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-
- Date
- June 05 1948
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-
- Place
- ["North Carolina, United States"]
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State
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One of the Most Unusual
Cases Ever Tried in Court
Two men deliberately murdered a neigh¬
bor. It was a eold-blooded affair and they
were found guilty. And yet. upon appeal
to tin* Supreme» Court, it was decided that
they eould not be held for the crime.
THERE have been many interest¬
ing lawsuits in North Carolina,
but to our way of thinking,
none surpasses the case of State vs.
William Hall and John Dockery.
which was in the courts in 1892-94.
Here’s what happened:
Hall and Dockery were residents
of Cherokee County, which is
located in the extreme western
part of the state. One of their
neighbors was a man by the name
of Andrew Bryson A falling-out
occurred among the men. Hall and
Dockery were so mad with Bryson
that they decided to kill him.
“We’ll get you!" they told him
one day when they ran across him
in Murphy.
Bryson sneered. “You-all don't
need to think that I’m scared of
you." he told them as he walked
away.
Feeling among the men became
intensified Hall and Dockery de¬
cided that there was only one solu¬
tion of the problem, and that was
to get rid of Bryson.
The Ambuscade
One day. they got their guns.
They knew that Bryson usually
passed along a certain pathway at
the same time every day. They took
their positions in a patch of woods
near this spot.
They did not have long to wait.
Bryson came along, walking slowly.
The two men waited until he got
within easy shooting range. Then
they came out of their place of
concealment.
"All right!” cried Hall. “You’ve
been asking for it. and now you’re
going to get it!"
Bryson stopped in his tracks. He
looked about him rather wildly,
but he realized that there was no
escape Nevertheless, he started to
run. Hall threw his gun to his
shoulder. Dockery held his in
readiness in case his companion
should miss. Hall fired. Bryson
staggered blindly and then fell to
the ground.
The men left him there.
The body was found. It was well
known throughout that section
that there had been feeling among
the men. Hall and Dockery were
indicted and were put in jail.
The trial took place. Mr. G. S.
Ferguson was principal attorney
for the defendants. Most people
were of the opinion that he was
wasting his time. All the evidence
indicated that the affair had been
cold-blooded murder and that Hall
and Dockery were bound to be
hanged.
A “Trivial" Point
During the course of the trial.
Mr. Ferguson brought out a point
which everybody in the court
thought was trivial.
“I wish to call the attention of
the court to one important thing,"
he said. "I have had a survey
made of the spot where the killing
took place. As a result of this
survey. I am in a position to prove
that Hall and Dockery were in
North Carolina and that Bryson
was killed in Tennessee. There¬
fore. Your Honor. I contend that
this court has absolutely no juris¬
diction in this case."
There was some laughter in the
courtroom. "Proceed with the
case!" ordered the Judge.
The trial continued. After all
the evidence had been presented
and the case had been submitted
to the jury, everybody in town
waited with great eagerness to find
out what the verdict would be.
They did not have long to wait.
"Guilty of murder in the first de¬
gree!"
Mr. Ferguson apoealed to the
Supreme Court. The Supreme
Court ruled that no murder had
been committed within the borders
of North Carolina; that the actual
killing had taken place across the
state line in Tennessee. The
opinion, written by Judge Shep¬
herd concluded as follows:
"We may further remark that,
while it is true that the criminal
laws of the State can have no extra¬
territorial force, we are of the
opinion that it is competent for the
Legislature to determine what acts
within the limits of the State shall
be deemed criminal, and to provide
for their punishment. Certainly,
there could be no complaint where
all the parties concerned in the
homicide are citizens of North
Carolina. It may also be observed
that in addition to its common law
jurisdiction, the State of Tennessee
has provided by statute for the
trial of an offender under the cir¬
cumstances of this case.
"For the reasons given, we are
constrained to sav that the prison¬
ers are entitled to a NEW TRIAL "
Further Developments
Some further developments then
took place in Cherokee County. A
murder had been committed. The
persons who committed the crime
should be punished. The North
Carolina courts were unable to take
action. Judge Shepherd’s opinion
intimated that Tennessee had a law
to handle such a situation.
And so. steps were taken to have
Hall and Dockery extradited to
Tennessee.
Once more the case went to the
North Carolina Supreme Court,
and turning to the North Carolina
Reports. Vol. 115, we find this in¬
formation concerning what hap¬
pened the next time the Supreme
Court had to deal with the case:
"The petitioners. Hall and Dock¬
ery. were incarcerated in the jail
of Cherokee County on a warrant
issued by a justice of the peace,
charging them with being fugitives
from justice from Tennessee for
killing in said State one Andrew
Bryson.
"The Judge refused to discharge
the prisoners and recommitted
them to jail to await the warrant
of extradition, and they appealed.
"After setting out the affidavit
and the warrant of the justice of
the peace, and their arrest there-
30
THE STATE. Juni 3 1 948