A Gratifying Result

The Supreme Court of Appeals reverses the decision of the Circuit Court to decline to grant a writ of error and a new trial to three women who were wrongly accused of murder.

The action of Judge S. L. Coleman of the Circuit Court in declining to grant a writ of error and a new trial in the cases of Mary Abernathy, Mary and Pokey Barnes, has been promptly followed by a virtual reversal, for a full bench of the Supreme Court of Appeals awarded the writ of error and supersedeas.
It has been contended that a case in which the defendants had no counsel and accordingly no exceptions have been made could not be gotten…[Illegible]
Messrs. Wise, Flournoy and [Illegible] contended, and in this contention were supported by some of the ablest attorneys in the state, that exceptions were taken only in order that alleged errors in the ruling of the court might appear upon the face of the record. If those alleged errors appeared there any way, no exceptions need to be taken, and the appellate court could take recognition of and pass upon them.
So convinced was Judge Coleman that this contention was erroneous that after the presentation of the argument in the case, he did not wait to examine the authorities cited by counsel for the for defense, but began to announce his decision before Mr. Wise had taken his seat.
The case is a unique one, ant eh argument adduced as able as any which has been heard in the courts of Virginia.
It is needless to say that the counsel for the defense are gratified over the result. They had steadily maintained that they would win and were utterly astounded when the Circuit Judge failed to rise to the dignity of the situation and take cognizance of the record in the case and the law.

“A Gratifying Result,” Black Virginia: The Richmond Planet, 1894-1909, accessed March 15, 2026, https://blackvirginia.richmond.edu/items/show/1463.