Wilkesboro, N.C., Oct. 13—W.B. Cole, acquitted last Sunday of murder, walked from a little red brick courthouse here today a free man, after proving to Judge T.B. Finley that he is sane and not a menace to society.
Cole’s family and a score of friends accompanied him here from Rockingham, where since August 15 he has been in jail for the killing of W.W. Ormond.
Cole pleaded not guilty at the trial and based his defense on two pleas, self defense and transitory insanity. The jury did not specify which of its contentions guided its verdict, but Judge Finley exercises the court’s discretion in applying the statute that provides that a man acquitted in a capital case on an insanity pleas must show cause why he should not be committed to the State Hospital for the Insane.
Cole Not Questioned
The hearing was perfunctory. Cole testified in his trial that he had gained his mental balance, and members of the prosecution counsel argued to the jury that Cole was a sane man. Neither Cole nor any member of his family was questioned today.
James H. Pou, Raleigh; A.L. Brooks, Greensboro; and James A. Lockhart of Charlotte, all the defense counsel, presented to the court some 40 affidavits from townspeople of Cole declaring that he is a sane man. The state was represented by Solicitor F. Don Phillips, prosecutor in the trial. The solicitor presented the testimony of Mrs. Cole, in which she had told of describing her husband as “crazy,” and of others who had testified to Cole’s queer actions.
Because Cole was cited to show cause why he should not be committed to the hospital for the insane, the burden was on him, and members of his counsel presented their arguments. The hearing lasted less than two hours.
Finley Says Cole Guilty
Judge Finley told the court that in his opinion the jury that had acquitted Cole “used the heart more than the head.”
“In cases of this kind it is a difficulty matter to separate sympathy from law, but I do not hesitate to say that I would have returned a different verdict.”
Exonerates Jury
The Union County jury that acquitted Cole was not censured, however. “They were a splendid group of men,” said Judge Finley, “and acted conscientiously. Seven out of 10 juries would probably have returned the same verdict.”
Will Visit Resort
The Rockingham manufacturer will not return immediately to the presidency of the Hannah Picket Mill. Accompanied by Mrs. Cole, his brother, Dr. W.F. Cole of Greensboro, and his three children, Elizabeth, Catherine and Robert, Cole left late today for Greensboro. After several days’ rest there, he will visit some resort for a longer period.
The affairs of the mill will be managed by W.B. Leath, treasurer, and J.W. Jenkins, superintendent, both of whom were here today. They both testified at the trial in Cole’s behalf.
The family of W.W. Ormond, who was killed while he sat in his car near Cole’s office in Rockingham, was not represented today.
From page 3 of The Concord Daily Tribune, Oct.14, 1925
newspapers.digitalnc.org/lccn/sn92073201/1925-10-14/ed-1/seq-3/
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