Durant Democrat, Wednesday, April 12,1922
Fate of Golden Will Be In Hands of Jury After Midnight Tonight
The fate of Mordacai Golden, charged with the slaying of Thomas Craighead, will be in the hands of the jury by midnight according to a statement by District Judge Geo. S. March, to the attorneys here today. The judge charged the attorneys they must have completed their arguments by midnight.
If immediate agreement is made by the jurors, Golden will know by morning if he has been pronounced innocent or guilty.
As a climax to the hardest fought case ever held in the district court here, the attorneys started their arguments with practically all of Durant’s criminal legal talent arrayed on one side or the other. Chas. E. McPherren, representing the state, spoke first. He will be followed this afternoon and tonight by the other attorneys in the following order: D. S. MacDonald, defense; Stanley Williams, state; William Semple, defense; Victor Phillips, state; W. E. Utterback, defense; Judge Jesse Hatchett, defense; J.T. McIntosh, state. Not time limit will be put upon the speakers, but they will complete their talks by midnight.
Expert Testifies
As stated in these columns yesterday, all of yesterday morning was taken up by an examination of experts on handwriting by which the defendant sought to establish that the unsigned letter received by Mrs. Golden on the day of the killing was in the handwriting of the deceased Thomas Craighead to establish this H. D. Neely, T. A. Blakeney, Frank Gibson of Durant testified that in their opinion it was in the handwriting of Thomas Craighead.
The next witness called by the defense was J. C. Shearman of Wichita, Kansas, who gave his occupation as that of “an examiner of questionable documents”. This witness was on the stand until late in the afternoon and demonstrated his conclusions with illustrations upon blackboard before the jury, pointing out a great many similarities between the hand writing of the unsigned letter and several documents and letters admitted to be the handwriting of Thomas Craighead; at the conclusion of which he gave it as his opinion that the handwriting of the unsigned letter was that of Thomas Craighead.
Mrs. Allen Manning was recalled and testified that she saw Thomas Craighead enter his home on the day of the killing about six thirty p.m.
Mrs. Julia Redmond testified that she sat down on the steps of the Methodist church about eight o’clock that night and while sitting there Brother Naylor came up and spoke to her, thinking it was his daughter, that shortly thereafter, she crossed Russell Street South and saw a man come down in front of the church and stop in front of Craighead house; that she then went west on Russell street and paid no further attention to the man and did not know who he was; that at the next corner she turned north and continued around the block and when she was coming down Manning Ave. she saw another pass the church, going in the direction of Thomas Craighead’s house.
Frank Naylor testified that at about eight-thirty, when starting down town, he happened to look down towards the Methodist church and saw a lady sitting on the steps; that he walked down there and discovered it was Mrs. Redmond; that he turned around and retraced his steps up Manning Ave., that as he approached Buffalo street, he saw Mr. Williams crossing Manning Ave. going east, that he had not seen Mr. Williams in front of him going up Manning Ave.
W.E. Theidman testified that on the day of the killing, he was conducting a confectionary in the front part of the Post Office building; that that night about nine-ten or nine-fifteen, Thomas Craighead stepped into the Post Office and as he came out, witness followed him on the outside and talked with him twenty or thirty minutes. This was the last witness put on by the defense.
State Takes Rebuttal
Thereupon the state called T. A. Alexander as the first witness in rebuttal who testified that he was constable on the day of the killing and that Golden surrendered to him; that on the way to Durant with Mr. Golden, Mr. Golden told him that Mr. Craighead had always been a good friend of his and stated that he wouldn’t have thought Tom would have done him like he did and told him about the letter and at least part of what was in the letter and that was about all the statement he made about the letter.
W.F. Dodd testified that Monday night of this week, in company with several other gentlemen, he made an examination of the physical surroundings of the Methodist church and other premises around there; that he took a position at the southeast corner of the little coal house south of the Methodist church near which Mr. Golden said he was standing when he said he saw Thomas Craighead enter his home the night of the killing; that from said corner the Criaghead residence was not in sight; that one would have to step out, at least three long steps east of that corner and off the sidewalk before he could see the Craighead house at all; that this coal house was about ten feet by twelve; that it was about 148 feet from the north end of the coal house to the south side of the church.
A.P. Braudrick testified to about the same state of facts as Mr. Dodd.
Shells in a Row
Riley Stevens testified that he searched the ground near where the body of Craighead lay the next morning after the killing for the shells of the gun used by Golden; that he found five of them; that they were found practically in a row north and south of the east side of the sidewalk; that the first shell was found about nine feet and eight inches east of the sidewalk and practically east of the center of the steps; that the other shells were found north of that point, the last one being about three or four feet north of the first one, nearly even with the body of the deceased.
This witness also testified as to the distance form the church to the little coalhouse, saying that it was about 160 feet from where the body lay to the south end of the coal house.
Dr. Henry C. Ricks testified that on the day of the killing he lived in Caddo, that he spent something over two years in the army and had experience in the use of automatic pistols and had quite a little experience with them; that he was shown a twenty-five automatic Monday morning that he was informed was the pistol that Golden used in killing Craighead; that he went out to the country with it and discharged it five times at a tree aiming at about the height of a man’s chest, at the same time walking forwards about four steps; that he watched the shells as they were being discharged from the pistol and they fell to the right and in approximate line form the first to the last in the same direction he was walking; that they fell about eight feet to the right and were about the same distance from the first to the last shell; that he walked while firing in the gun. Witness further testified as to the workmanship of an automatic pistol; he testified as to the distance form the church to the coal house corroborating the other witnesses above named.
Taught Them Penmanship
Geo. B. Morris testified that from 1904-1909 he was superintendent of schools at Caddo, that during that time both Thomas Craighead and Sadie Golden, then Williams, attended that school; that Mr. Criaghead was under his instruction most of the time and Mrs. Golden a part of the time’ that Mr. Craighead was taught the Spencerian system of penmanship and that Mrs. Golden was taught the vertical system a part of the time and Spencerian part of the time; that he was acquainted with the handwriting of Thomas Craihead; that from his examination of the unsigned letter in question he was of the opinion that it was not Mr. Craighead’s writing. He was then shown what was admitted to be the genuine handwriting of Mrs. Golden and by comparing the same with the unsigned letter in question, gave it as his opinion that the handwriting of the unsigned letter was the same as that of the letter shown him as being the handwriting of Mrs. Golden. Mr. Morris was still being cross-examined when the hour of adjournment was reached.
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