October 1906
State of Mississippi vs. James Whitt
Case #1862
Judge – J.B. Boothe
Prosecution – W.A. Roane
On October 26, 1906, testimony began in the final trial of James “Jim” Whitt. Unfortunately, I was unable to obtain the transcripts to this particular trial. However, the Senatobia Democrat – November 2, 1906 edition reported that “the evidence in the case was the same as brought at the former trials.” Belle Brown, Henry Wilson, and Charlie Rochelle were all witnesses for the state again along with several members of the mob that killed Sheriff Poag – R.T. McConnell, Alex Nelson, and J.H. Thomason. I have to assume that something was very different at this trial because on October 31, 1906 – the jury announced a verdict of NOT GUILTY.
The November 2, 1906 edition of the Senatobia Democrat disclosed the decision by the jury in this article:
WHITT
Acquitted – Twice Tried for Murder and Convicted
“The lawyers in the Whitt case concluded their arguments late Tuesday afternoon and the case was given to the jury for final disposition. The twelve men were out all of Tuesday night and Wednesday morning brought in a verdict of not guilty.
The history of the Whitt case is fresh in the minds of our readers, hence there is no reason to publish it here. He was tried twice before. The first trial resulted in conviction and he was sentenced to hang. The case was appealed to the supreme court and reversed. He was convicted in the second trial and sentenced to the penitentiary for life. The case was again appealed and reversed in acquittal.
Whitt left Senatobia Wednesday morning on the south-bound train.
The result of the Whitt case closes a chapter in the criminal history of Tate County that, doubtless, has no parallel in the south. It is hoped that it will forever stay closed and that this county will never have to experience a similar case.”
In March 1907, Louisa Morris Whitt filed a petition to the Chancery Court of Tate County requesting a divorce from James “Jim” Whitt.
In the first paragraph of the document, Louisa stated “that she and the defendant were pretendedly married.” Furthermore, Louisa charged that after Whitt had been incarcerated in jail, she was advised that he was married to Bell Whitt and he had not been legally divorced. Therefore, the assertion made was that the marriage between Louisa and Jim was illegal and void because he had been married to another person.
As alluded to in the previous trials, the petition indicated that some time prior Whitt’s incarceration…Louisa had heard rumors of his marriage to another person. When she had asked Whitt about his previous marriage, he completely denied the rumors. However, Whitt did admit that he had been married before, but assured Louisa that he was legally divorced. Unfortunately, Louisa was living in Alabama which was hundreds of miles away from her family and unable to consult anyone for advice about this revelation.
In addition, Louisa mentioned the fact that Bell Whitt had began the process to divorce Jim Whitt in November 1902. Louisa stated that she was aware of a summons for Jim Whitt, but did not understand exactly what the document meant until after her husband was placed in jail. Upon consulting her attorney and examining the summons, Louisa learned the truth about Jim Whitt.
I obtained a copy of the summons for James Whitt that was sent to Madison County, Alabama on March 12, 1907. Regrettably, it took until the next term of the Chancery Court for Louisa Whitt to be granted a divorce on September 10, 1907. Thankfully, Louisa was able to find happiness again by marrying a man named John T. Butler. As far as I can tell, Louisa and her three children by Jim Whitt never heard from him again.
As far as Jim Whitt, well, he married Bell Whitt again before his divorce was final from Louisa on July 20, 1907. He lived the remainder of his life with Bell in Madison County, Alabama.
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