A special from Atlanta says “Guilty of murder with recommendation for mercy,” was the verdict returned tonight against Philip E. Fox, Ku Klux Klan editor, who killed William S. Coburn, a klan attorney, in Atlanta on November 5.
The verdict, under Georgia laws, provides a life imprisonment. After hearing evidence and arguments for more than a week, the jury received the case late last night.
At the request of the defense, the jury was polled. It was unanimous.
Fox stood up. He shook his head in the negative when the judge asked if he desired to say anything.
“You shall spend the balance of your natural life in the penitentiary of this state,” the judge said.
Fox trembled and his head drooped heavily on his chest.
Judge Howard directed the defendant to sit down. Two bailiffs steadied the trembling man as he sank into his chair. The court then cautioned all spectators to remain seated. Twenty or more policemen, headed by Chief of Police Beavers, and the bailiffs surrounded Fox and he was escorted from the court room.
Neither Mrs. Fox nor her 8-year-old son was present when the verdict was read. Mrs. Coburn, widow of the slain man, and her daughter, Zoe Coburn, also were absent.
There was not a stir in the court room when the verdict was read. Seven minutes were required for the entire procedure to take place. As the verdict was being read, Fox sat at table, his head resting in his hands. He was pale. His face twitched and his legs shook.
From the front page of the Reidsville Review, Monday, Dec. 24, 1923
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