Governor Commutes Death Sentence of Robah Baity, Jan. 8, 1921

Raleigh, Jan. 8—Holding with Rev. T.A. Cauble, who was with Sheriff Zachary of Yadkin county when the latter was killed by Robah Baity, that the boy was not guilty of murder in the first degree, Governor Bickett today commuted the sentence of the Yadkin county blockader to 30 years imprisonment. In his reasons, the governor called attention to the fact that Baity served with the heavy artillery in France and that in getting his honorable discharge from the army he returned to his home where his people looked upon the making of liquor as an “inalienable right.” The governor does not believe that Baity was guilty of murder in the first degree since there was no premeditation shown in his part when the sheriff came up on him in the woods and placed him under arrest. (From the front page of the Hickory Daily Record, Jan. 8, 1921)