On Monday, April 17, 1905, roughly five days after the murder of Sheriff J.M. Poag, the spring term of the Tate County Circuit Court began. Due to the magnitude of recent events, Judge J.B. Boothe wasted no time in selecting the grand jury and informing them of their duties.
Because of the excitement surrounding the sheriff’s murder and the second trial of James “Jim” Whitt, there was an unprecedented number of spectators in the courtroom. I can only imagine that it was clear to everyone that this session would be like no other. As a result, I feel certain that Judge Boothe seized this opportunity to address the audience and grand jury. His eloquent speech was published in the April 24, 1905 edition of the Senatobia Democrat:
“I am not here to eulogize J.M. Poag. He needs no eulogy from me here. A sheriff has been shot down. There are eight sheriffs in the district: there are none whom the court could more implicitly rely on than Mr. Poag. He has been stricken down – by whom the court does not know. It is your duty to find out. His death is the natural outcome of mob violence and unless this is checked your children and my children will become its victims. You let your children see these ghastly crimes and believe them to be right and just, and soon neighbors will array themselves against neighbor. If you teach your boys that they may take the execution of the law in their own hands, you had as well tear down your courthouse. If this madness is allowed to go on, Breathitt county, Kentucky will be regarded as a haven of refuge compared to Tate County, Mississippi. Unless you keep this oath inviolate you will call down the maledictions of the great and just God. Unless you pause and consider, unless this course is checked. Tate county and this grand state of Mississippi will soon be rife with evil feuds and brothers will shed brothers’ blood. If a conspiracy is formed to violate the law and in this attempt an innocent man is killed, the man who did the shooting is a murderer, the accessories are none the less murderers, and all engaged in the conspiracy are guilty of murder. This is the law in Mississippi.”
The powerful message heard in the courtroom was needed that day and no one was better to deliver it than the unassuming judge whose “armless sleeve attested to his own valor as a solider.” Judge Boothe obviously regarded Sheriff J.M. Poag with the same honor as a fallen comrade.
On Monday, May 1, 1905, the eleven men charged with the murder of Sheriff Poag were arraigned. The crowd was the largest seen in years at the Tate County courthouse. People from all over Tate County came to witness this important event. The May 3, 1905 edition of the Senatobia Democrat reported that “perhaps never in the history of the state were eleven men brought before the bar of justice charged with murder of the same man.” J.H. Thomason, Tate McConnell, Sam Howell, Tom Vincent, Alex Nelson, Henry Hunter, Will Sinquefield, Oscar Manning, Dave Smith, William Still, and Norman Clayton stood before the court to answer for the indictments brought against them. All eleven of the men plead not guilty.
The defense attorneys were J.H. Farley, R.E.L. Morgan of Hernando and J.W. Lauderdale. District Attorney W.A. Roane and J.F. Dean appeared for the state.
After the defendants’ plea, the defense made the request for a change of venue. The prosecution offered no objection. However, the state had one stipulation that no one county would be burdened.
After making this request, Judge Boothe “made a thorough investigation as to whether the court had the power to perform such a distribution of the cases.” Obviously, this was new territory for the judge. After careful consideration, Judge Boothe made the following ruling to distribute the defendants:
Holly Springs, Marshall County – J.H. Thomason, R.T. McConnell, Sam Howell, and Tom Vincent
Oxford, Lafayette County – Alex Nelson, Henry Hunter, Will Sinquefield, and Oscar Manning
Batesville, Panola County – Dave Smith, William Still, and Norman Clayton.
Several of these men were dispersed to different jails across Northwest Mississippi to alleviate crowding in the Tate County jail while awaiting trial. I love the statements made in the May 3, 1905 – Senatobia Democrat about the crowd control at the jail, “The capacity of the little jail that stands west of the courthouse has been tested during the week. There have been more than 20 prisoners confined within the walls. Sheriff Lowery remains careful. No apprehension has been felt on the part of the officers that the unexpected might happen, but in order to be on the safe side every precaution has been taken to prevent any further history in connection with our now famous “lock-up” Every night a strong force of officers has been stationed at the jail.”
The first of the three mob trials began on September 1, 1905 in Holly Springs – Marshall County, Mississippi. However, before I continue with the mob trials, I would like to take you back to 1903 and the murder of O.R. “Buster” Thomason. The murder of Buster Thomason caused a desperate father to organize and carry out his own version of justice which resulted in the murder of Sheriff J.M. Poag.
Next post: The Murder of O.R. “Buster” Thomason
Statements in italics/quotations were taken directly from the May 3, 1905 edition of the Senatobia Democrat.
There are several interesting people involved in this story. Being the nerd I am, I tried to find out as much as possible about each one. In fact, I can most likely tell you where everyone is buried and I have probably visited their graves! After I read Judge J.B. Boothe’s speech featured above, I wanted to know more about him. The following is a short synopsis of his life:
James Benjamin Boothe was born in Gates County, North Carolina on March 1, 1844. When he was very small, his parents moved to Mississippi. In 1861, Boothe entered the Southern army. He was involved in several battles in Virginia and lost his right arm in the battle of the Wilderness. When he returned home to Mississippi, Boothe taught school before being admitted to the bar and eventually practicing law. Around 1874, J.B. Boothe moved to Sardis where he became interested in politics. He served as State Senator from 1886 to 1890. After serving in the senate, Boothe practiced law in Sardis and was made circuit judge in 1903. In 1907, he either retired or did not seek reappointment as circuit judge. Boothe died on February 8, 1932 in Lexington County, Mississippi.