The People v. Birger

Charley Birger, Art Newman, Conrad Ritter, Ray Hyland and Plarry A. Thomasson were indicted in the circuit court of Franklin county for the murder of Joe Adams. Ritter was never apprehended. Thomasson entered a plea of guilty and was sentenced to imprisonment in the penitentiary for life. Birger, Newman and Hyland were jointly tried and the jury found them guilty. The punishment of Birger was fixed at death and of Newman and Hyland at life imprisonment. After motions for a new trial and in arrest of judgment had been made and denied, judgments were rendered on the verdicts. By this writ of…