Governor Frees Two Who Shot Up Court Room, Killing Judge, Prosecutor, Sheriff, a Young Woman, and Injuring Court Clerk, Several Jurors, Oct. 20, 1922

Pardons For Two Gunmen. . . Governor Frees Pair From Group that “Shot Up” Court Room. . . Says Men Have Been Model Prisoners, Have Learned Their Lessons, and Will be Good Citizens

Serving prison sentences for “shooting up” a court room at Hillsville, Virginia, and causing the deaths of several persons, Sidna Edward and Eriel Allen, two gunmen, have been pardoned by Governor E. Lee Trinkle. Two other men, implicated in the same affair, remain in prison.

All four men were sentenced for second-degree murder following the shooting, which was fatal to the presiding judge, the commonwealth’s attorney, the sheriff, and a young woman. The court clerk and several jurors were wounded.

There is no mark on the prison record of the two men who have been pardoned, the governor announced. Both will live law-abiding lives, he is sure. The governor added that he believed the purpose of the law had been fulfilled by the time the men served in prison.

From the front page of The News-Record, Marshall, Madison County, Oct. 20, 1920