Letter from James T. Coleman; June 8, 1870

Documents
Letter from James T. Coleman; June 8, 1870

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Document Metadata

Each transcribed document contains links that connect it to other documents on the same topic in the collection.

People

Coleman, James T.Lacey, Parker Unknown, Unknown

Events

Crime Crime--Retailing without a license Crime--Robbery Crime--Threat Criminal Procedure--Arrest Criminal Procedure--Convicted Intoxicated Trial

Organizations and Businesses

Bars (Drinking establishments)Courts Courts--Courts-martial and courts of inquiry

Occupations

Farmers Selling--Liquors

Places

Jackson (Miss.)Vicksburg (Miss.)

Social Identifiers

African Americans

Page 1

Vicksburg, Jan 8^th '70

Gentlemen

Your letter, reques-ting information in relation to Parker Lacey's case, has duly reached me this morning, and, I hasten to reply, as the case was one in which I think great injustice was done in his conviction. The facts, as nearly as I can re-member them, proved upon the trial, were as follows—

Parker Lacey had recently come to Vicksburg, from his little farm some-where in the interior, and had got a little money from the sale of some cotton. He put up with some relatives or acquaintances on the Jackson road near a little grogery or "hell" kept

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by a fellow whose name I dis-remember, and his wife. While here, he gave one of his companions a five dollar bill to get changed, for the purpose of lending him fifty cents out of it—The boy repaired to this groggery to get the change, but, while there, this fellow managed to get him drunk on some very bad whiskey, and wheedled him into spending the five dollars for nothing. The boy, late at night, returned, tolerably drunk, to Parker and his other companions, and told them how the money had been spent for bad whiskey and how hed been drugged and intoxicated. Whereupon, Parker, the half drunken boy, and a couple of others, I believe brothers of Parker, re-paired to the groggery for the purpose of making the fellow refund the five dollars—They found it closed, but, after some rough knocking at the door, and

noisy calls, it was opened.

Parker immediately demanded the five dollars, claiming it as his own, using some rough language in his demand, according to the statement of the man and his wife, the only witnesses against Lacey, and threaten-ing them with a criminal prose-cution, in case of refusals, for selling liquor without a license—Upon this, the fellow returned the money or a part of it, and some months afterward had Parker and his com-panions arrested tried and con-victed. These are the principal facts developed in the case, but the jury thought proper to give more credit to the white witnesses than to the black—

I was convinced on the trial and am now that there was no intention on the part of the party to rob the

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fellow, but simply to make him refund the money out of which he had swindled the boy in their estimation I do not pretend to justify their conduct, but surely the punish-ment was far beyond the offense—

I am very Respectfully yr
obt svt

Jas T. Coleman

Parker Lacy
N^o 238

N^o 238