No Liquor Seen

Although Ben Johnson admitted that he saw no liquor bottles, the argument of the prosecution was that the Sheriff couldn't have possibly arrested Charlie Ware and Hayes arbitrarily. If he had been unfair to Charlie then why wasn't he equally unfair to Hayes who was released the next morning while Ware was kept in jail on the charge of public drunkenness.

At this point Atty. Hollowell asked the Judge to order the Sheriff away from the judge's bench, where he had been lounging casually. The judge announced that the Sheriff, as an officer of the court, could stay wherever he wanted. This was Johnson's bailwick, and it was not difficult to see who was in command of the proceedings as he talked to the State's attorneys and joked with the judge during the progress of the trials.

The jury also took its responsibility quite casually: several of its members looked out to the audience and grinned at the testimony of Ware and his Negro companions. Since the word of one or even three Negroes can hardly outweigh the word of a white man, a verdict convicting Charlie Ware of public drunkenness was returned after the jury deliberated for but fifteen minutes. The first day was over.

Jury Impanelled

The second day began with the impanelling of the jury for the trial of Charlie Ware on charges of public drunkenness in a ball park and assault with intent to murder. The defense was allowed twenty strikes, which they used judiciously.

Drawing upon information given to them by local Negroes, they eliminated persons who were notoriously vicious. There were only two or three though, who were known at one point or another to have shown some slight sign of humanity toward a Negro. Since the defense had also learned that there was an anti-Sheriff faction in Baker County, they hoped to get some members of this group on the jury. Even so, it was difficult to see the standard used for weeding out the diabolical from the simply evil. The State, represented by B.C. Gardner, used three of its strikes against Negroes.

The counsel for the State, in its opening argument to the jury, stated the prosecution's main contentions. He argued that on July 4, 1961, at the barbeque held at Ichauway Plantation in Baker County a spat occured between a Negro man and his wife, and her son. Ware, attempting to break up the fight got into a tussle with the son, and, being very drunk, cursed loudly when the white overseer of the plantation, Guy Touchstone, asked him to leave. This was the basis for the indictment of drunkenness in the ball park. Guy Touch stone was then alleged to have called the law, but by the time Ben Johnson, the deputy sheriff arrived, almost everyone, including Charlie Ware had left.

After an extended search, Johnson finally located Ware at his house, where he was ready to go to sleep. Johnson ordered Ware into his car, searched him--finding only a small pen knife which he confiscated--and headed back towards Newton to the county jail.

At the end of the trip, the Sheriff contended, Ware suddenly grabbed him around the neck with his right arm and said: "I cut your goddamned head off." The 6 ft. 2 in. Johnson felt no knife, but not stopping to ask questions, knocked Ware off him with his left arm and then proceeded to shoot him three or four times in the neck and shoulder with his 38 Smith and Wesson.

Some Came Running

Two men came running over, Jim Watson, the night policeman, and a man named Jack Minter. Watson allegedly found "a knife of some sort under Charlie's left leg." The knife was removed and the men went with the Sheriff to take Ware to the hospital in Camilla. According to the prosecution, Ware bit the Sheriff on his right arm and later in the thigh during the trip to the hospital. Minter, supposedly enraged, put a gun against Ware's neck and said: "I'll blow your brains out." The Sheriff then allegedly told him not to shoot. From this incident the State reasoned that if the Sheriff had wanted to kill Ware he wouldn't have taken him to the hospital or restrained his companion from shooting him in the car.

As the State developed its case, a number of contradictions and impossibilities emerged from the witness stand. Touchstone, the first witness, gave a particularly revealing show; he asserted that Ware was drunk, but admitted that he was never closer than 15-20 ft. to him. He swore Ware cursed at him, although he had never seen Ware before and didn't know the sound of his voice. He did admit Ware appeared to be a peacemaker in the fight.

Why did Touchstone want to get Ware? The answer to that question, provided by rumor, never was brought out at the trial. Apparently Touchstone had been living with a Negro woman for several years and had seen her talking to Ware at the barbeque.

Johnson Takes Stand