Williams v. Commonwealth

Upon an indictment against William Williams and Tobe Bligh for the murder of Charles Childs, the appellant Williams was tried, convicted, and sentenced to be hanged, and this appeal is prosecuted by him for a reversal of the judgment.

From the evidence, as shown by the bill of exceptions, it appears that Bligh, Williams, Childs, and others — colored as well as white laborers — on the line of the Cumberland & Ohio *275Railroad, and others, including women, were assembled together in August, 1872, at what they called a “picnic,” at which there were dancing and drinking, as well as much violence and…