Murder Charge Against Jim Neal Dismissed, Feb. 13, 1923

Charge of Murder Against Jim Neal Is Dismissed. . . The Evidence Tended to Show that Wayne Tally Was Killed by Will Perry, A Negro Who Is at Large

In Superior Court on Friday at the conclusion of the State’s evidence in the case of Jim Neal, colored, charged with the murder of Wayne Tally near Wilson some months ago, on motion of counsel for the defendant, Judge Bond presiding, dismissed the charge, the evidence in the court’s opinion being insufficient to create even a suspicion of guilt against the accused.

The evidence tended to show that the killing was done by Will Perry, another negro who escaped and has never been apprehended. Two bullets of different calibre were extracted from the body of the dead man, indicating that he was shot with two different pistols, and the State contended that Neal was an accessory to the shooting, but such contention was unsubstantiated by the evidence.

On being discharged the negro thanked the court. He had been confined in the county jail since the killing of Tally.

From the front page of the Oxford Public Ledger, Feb. 13, 1923