Mr. R.S. Pickens, editor of the Statesville Ledger, who is in Rockingham reporting the Cole trial, has the following in Sunday’s issue of his paper:
Cole undoubtedly felt that he would never come to trial The attitude of the entire Cole connection since the trial began has been one of annoyance. They apparently felt when Mr. Cole explained that he shot Ormond for certain reasons, Rockingham and North Carolina would resume its customary poise and say “that’s all right, Bill. We knew you had a good reason for the killing.”
The Cole connection has been banked behind the press table during the trial and women have been heard to overheard to remark “Bill is certainly doing splendidly.” This when the accused was on the witness stand telling a story that meant his life or death.
Today when Clyde Hoey began to press Cole into an uncomfortable position regarding some of his testimony one very large woman with an unusually impressive front was heard to say “That lawyer is the nastiest man I ever saw in my life. Why doesn’t he let Bill alone?”
It is generally reported around Rockingham that Miss Elizabeth Cole told a close friend a week or so after the shooting that she thought it was about time people quit talking about the killing. That has been the attitude of the entire connection since the killing, according to report, and certainly the attitude since the trial began has been much the same as that of a family whose head had run over a neighbor’s dog, and the neighbor was actually nasty about it.
When Cole took the stand early this morning he appeared calm and unmoved. He had much the same appearance as he had yesterday when he told his story on direct examination. When the first question of Mr. Hoey was fired at him, he became the cotton mill owner and hard-headed business man. His first answer was snapped back at Mr. Hoey much as if he had been in conference with a group of men he controlled in a business way. His answers continued to snap and at times he almost snarled at the smiling, questioning attorney who sat directly in front of him. Mr. Hoey’s examination was adroit, clever and piercing. Mr. Cole’s answers were evasive whenever possible and when forced to answer directly he did so with impatience and annoyance. At times the minds of the two men clashed, but not often.
Cole today repeated his statement of yesterday that he had prayed for three months and finally had reached a consciousness that he had a perfect right to protect himself and his family.
Much speculation is in the air as to what the verdict of the jury will be. Numbers of newspapermen have asked their correspondents to give them stories on the probable final decision of the case. Nothing more impossible can be imagined. The jury is composed of men far above the average jury intelligence. In covering more than 10 capital cases in the course of the past seven years, the writer has never seen a jury half as intelligent, or seemingly more fair. Roland Beasley, who had edited the Monroe Journal for over 30 years, remarked today that the case had a jury that would take the evidence and the judge’s charge and render a verdict on the merits. He said that it was nothing unusual for Union county to furnish juries and that Union County juries would not hesitate to convict and send to the chair a man proven guilty of a capital crime. Mr. Beasley smiled regretfully as he said it, for North Carolina has no stronger advocate of abolishing capital punishment than Roland Beasley. He has fought the noose and electric chair for a quarter of a century, yet the Union count juries continue to send men across the “bridge of sighs.”
If Cole thought he was not going to be tried for the killing of Bill Ormond he has most certainly changed his mind since sitting through the court sessions the past week. He has seen nine capable lawyers smashing into his carefully built defense and has seen nine other capable lawyers fighting back the tide that seems to be pouring in. The letters heralded as the major defense of Cole failed to create any great uproar. It seems that hundreds of copies of the letters have been typed and scattered carefully over this section of the state in order that sentiment might be swung to Cole. This is the open accusation of the state and efforts are going to be made to have this fact introduced into the evidence. Several efforts already have been made. The letters failed to cause a great uprising of sentiment for the defense. Some have been heard to express the opinion that it might have been all right under the circumstances for Cole to have horsewhipped Ormond, but to shoot him—never. Only one man has been heard to remark that he would have done the same thing. He was a newspaper man from the land of the Ku Klux Klan.
The real sensation of the trial is coming when the state re-opens its case Monday or Tuesday and introduces as evidence the letters from Miss Cole to Ormond. There is little doubt as to Judge Finley allowing them to be introduced as he is letting anything that remotely touches on the subject of Ormond’s death, his family or anything else that might have a slight chance of being considered competent evidence. The Judge seems to be determined to see that nothing remains under cover if there is any disposition on the part of the other side to introduce it. That is the reason the trial is being cluttered up with such stuff that makes but little difference either one way or another.
That Miss Cole wrote letters to Ormond that are considered to be “the hot stuff” is not doubted by anyone who has an inkling of what the package contains. She penned him many letters during her affair with him, and they were all treasured by the dead man. They came to light shortly after the killing.
The Cole defense is up in the air over the probably contents of the letters and the probable effect of the jury and the young lady’s good name.
From page 3 of The Concord Daily Tribune, Wednesday, Oct. 7, 1925
newspapers.digitalnc.org/lccn/sn92073201/1925-10-07/ed-1/seq-3/
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