Marshall E. Price
MSA SC 3520-13744
Lynched in Harmony, Caroline County on July 2, 1895
Biography:
Marshall E. Price was lynched in Harmony, Maryland for the murder of
Sallie Dean, a local school girl who lived near Harmony, about ten miles
from Federalsburg, Maryland. Sallie, aged 14, was on her way to school
less than a mile from her home on March 26. Her family realized that
Sallie did not make it to school when Mrs. Dean went to meet her daughter
in the afternoon and the other students asked "Did you keep Sallie at home?
She wasn't in school today." Startled, Mrs. Dean went to her husband,
Jacob Dean, and with their oldest daughter Florence, began to look for
Sallie at around 5:00 p.m..
Sallie left her home for school at 8:00 a.m. and
headed toward the home of Ulysses Grant Corkran, the older brother to James,
a schoolmate of Sallie's. Sallie Dean arrived at his farm around
8:30 a.m., but James Corkran was not yet ready to leave, so Sallie Dean
continued on her path alone. This would be the last time Sallie's
whereabouts could be confirmed by anyone, for Corkran and the other children
traveled the same road to school about 15 minutes after, and no one saw
her or suspected anything was peculiar.
As the Dean family walked on the road that Sallie
took to school, Mr. Dean noticed a handkerchief and a tin box used by Sallie
to carry her lunches was found at the top of a hill. A few feet farther,
Jacob Dean saw a pile of dead cedar branches piled up resting on something.
When he pulled back the branches, Mr. Dean found his daughter murdered.
There was a bruise on the left side of her head, a large gash across her
neck, and her clothes had been ripped. As detectives inspected the
scene, markings in the dirt road indicated a struggle that went from right
to left across the road near the top of the hill. It would seem the
way the girl lied, either the killer ran out of time to finish his attack,
or was afraid he would be noticed by travelers.
The scene of the murder was examined, and the atrociousness
of the attack became apparent. Sallie Dean's body was contorted in
such a way that only someone quite strong would have been able to position
her so. Arms and legs were extended at awkward angles, her head was
pushed down while a piece of wood propped her shoulders up, exposing her
throat as it was slashed. Sallie's face was bloodied and bruised,
and scratches were found all over her body.
A jury of inquest was assembled to gather any clues
about the crime. People believed that the killer was someone that
was a resident of Harmony and familiar with Sallie Dean to execute such
an act in broad daylight. Suspicion was directed towards a tramp
that was seen walking with a bundle near the road in the afternoon, but
had not been seen since. Another suspect was a young mulatto boy
about 20 years of age who was last spotted at the Federalsburg train station
on his way to Seaford, Delaware. He was arrested the next day but
was able to present an alibi to the jury which proved that he was not in
the area at the time of Sallie Dean's murder. A black man named Charles
Ross was arrested in Baltimore on a schooner at the request of Sheriff
W.J. Dukes of Talbot County because he was walking near the road where
the murder took place towards the Choptank river. Ross explained
that he boarded the ship at around 10:00 a.m. the morning of the murder.
As Ross was being questioned in Baltimore, he explained that his mother
had driven him to the docks between 7:00 a.m. and 8:00 a.m. Tuesday morning,
and it was confirmed. People began to suspect everyone; black and
white, young and old.
Detectives Selbold and Gault were appointed by State's
Attorney Jump and Deputy Albert G. Towers to conduct an investigation.
After reviewing what the inquest gathered, they suspected a local blacksmith
named Marshall Price. Price, 23-years-old, was the son of W. Joseph
Price, of Dover Bridge, a respectable wheelwright. Price was the
first person to present the tramp suspect to the jury of inquest, of which
he was a member. Price's actions around the parents of Sallie Dean
aroused suspicion, being quite accommodating and supportive towards their
loss. As the detectives interviewed Price, he said the last time
he went to the woods by the road was the day before the murder to collect
small trees that he used in his shop, but he was unable to produce an alibi
for his story. Later, Price's apprentice, and young man named German
Wright, testified that Price did indeed walk to the woods around 7:00 a.m.
the morning in question. When Marshall Price returned to his shop
at 10:00 a.m. with the wood, he walked into the building and got a pale
of water and a change of clothes. Price was always willing to help
the detectives solve the mystery, and at times seemed too cool-headed,
presenting a number of scenarios for the detectives to consider.
One day, the detectives were talking to Price when he explained that he
dreamt about the murder, and believed he knew where the murder weapon was.
At the scene of the crime, he walked over to where the victim lied, began
to dig, and unearthed a knife, covered with blood stains. He mentioned
that the knife was very sharp, yet it was unopened.
On April 4, Marshall Price and his wife were asked
to come to Denton, Maryland to present his testimony to the State's Attorney.
In the justice's office, Price retold his actions as was stated previously
to the detectives, verbatim. The detective's investigation ended
with a charge against Price for the murder of Sallie Dean; he fainted at
the surprise. Marshall Price was taken into custody by Sheriff Berry,
and placed in the Denton jail. Mrs. Price asked to visit her husband,
and with a police escort she visited the prisoner. "Mary, I am charged
with the murder of Sallie Dean, and the evidence is very strong against
me. I know they will hang me, but I am an innocent man!" The
other suspects were released from custody.
Price was removed to the Baltimore City jail for
fear that once word reached the people he had been accused of the killing,
a mob would try to lynch him. Once in Baltimore, Price explained
to Marshall Frey that he did witness the attack, and could be considered
an accomplice, but he was not the man who killed the Sallie Dean.
The person Price named was Mr. U.G. Corkran, who's younger brother was
to accompany Sallie to school on the morning of her death. Mr. Corkran
was a recognized teacher in Caroline County and was the last person to
see Sallie walking on the road. People who knew Mr. Corkran respected
him, including the Dean family, and felt that this was Price's attempt
to pin the murder on someone else. Price explained in front of Corkran
and the detectives that three weeks prior to the murder, Corkran approached
him and explained that Sallie had been talking about the two men in a suggestive
manner, but he had not acted. As the days past, Price watched the
girl travel to school, and a passion for her grew in him. On the
morning of March 26, when Price was walking on the path to cut trees, he
saw Corkran following Sallie, alone. "Now is our chance," Corkran
said to Marshall Price. Price continued to testify that Corkran picked
up a rock and hit Sallie Dean on the side of her head, knocking her to
the ground. The two men, according to Price, then dragged the girl
over to the bushes, where Corkran asked him for his knife. Corkran
then cut the girl's throat and wished to violate her, which apparently
Price would not allow, saying he would kill Corkran if he tried.
The two men then buried the body under the brush and hurried away.
Corkran countered that he was working on a horse
collar all morning, and once he finished, plowed his field until about
4:00 p.m.. "You are lying and you know it...Why do you wish to drag
me into this thing?" Corkran continued that Price was not an associate
of his, and would conduct no such act with him. The two men were
both members of the jury of inquest, but Price seemed to know more about
the murder than any innocent man should. Mr. Corkran said that during
the inquest, he had caught Price telling a number of lies, but did not
lead on that he knew. Mr. Jacob Dean, the murder girl's father, was
even told about the testimony of Mr. Price, and said that he also witnessed
Corkran plowing his field the entire day his daughter was murdered.
An autopsy was conducted, and aside from the bruises and scratches on the
girls arms and legs, further evidence suggest that Sallie Dean was in fact
violated during the attack. Corkran was soon released, and cleared
from all connection to the rape and murder, and the murder trial against
Marshall Everett Price was set for April 30 in Caroline County.
As the trial was to begin, talk of a lynching was
dismissed by the people of Caroline County. They thought it an insult
to themselves and to the legal system they trusted. Citizens of Caroline
County felt the courts would bring Price to justice with a fair and thorough
trial, and the speech of lynching that came from neighboring counties was
premature. The trial date was set for May 1, and a large crowd of
300 people was expected to be present. Price and his council chose
to have their case heard by the court, presided by Judge Wickes and Judge
Stumps, without a jury. This was due to the fact Marshall Price's
council could not get a change of venue to Baltimore City for the trial,
hoping to avoid any pre-existing prejudices jurors might have held against
the accused. A psychologist interview by Dr. Morris stated that Price
was fixed in his innocence, and without a motive, it would be easy to assume
his mental instability, and hard to convict.
Mr. George H. Russum, Price's lawyer, entered a
plea of not guilty to the charges against his client. Marshall Price
listened to the testimony from 14 witnesses, with little reaction to each
story. All speculative evidence, but the witnesses all figured Price
could be capable of such an act. The most damaging testimony against
Price however, was his own confession recorded when he was interviewed
by police in Baltimore City. On the second day of the trial, the
crowd was not as large but just as rowdy, and the judge had to bring order
to the court numerous times to hear the witnesses' testimony. Mr.
Russum and Price's defense team had only one defense, and it was that they
had nothing to present. One of Marshall Price's lawyers, Mr. Thomas,
wished to have the confession thrown out because if the judge ignored the
parts about Mr. Corkran's involvement, the entire statement should be void;
he was overruled.
The defense could do little during the trial to
prevent the guilty verdict handed down on the morning of May 2. It
was peculiar that almost all the witnesses for the defense, mostly doctors
used to show Price's unstable mindset, were never asked to take the stand.
Price had been composed throughout the trial, but showed worried emotion
as he was found guilty of first degree murder. This decision brought
a sense of calm to the small Eastern Shore town, for the community was
satisfied that justice was delivered, and fear of lynching was avoided.
Price was still convinced that he was not alone
in the killing. "I think it is hard...that the man (Corkran) who
suggested the whole thing and who struck her and cut her throat should
go free while I go to the gallows." That night, while talking to
his father at the jail, was asked by his father in honor of everything
that he held sacred, not to try to drag an innocent man into the case.
Price, by his father, was asked to be a man, and if he was guilty, to say
so. But Price persisted he was not alone in the murder. The
next day, the attorneys for Marshall Price concluded that they would not
request an appeal. When asked by the judge if he wished to say anything,
Price rose and continued to plead his innocence. The judges then
sentenced Price to death by hanging. "But painful as that duty is,
we know that you have committed an atrocious and brutal crime and that
you deserve to suffer the extreme penalty of the law." Governor Brown
would ultimately set the execution date.
While Marshall Price sat chained and awaiting his
execution, many people pleaded that he come clean and tell the truth about
Corkran so that he might receive mercy from the powers above, but Price
continued with his story. Over the weekend, Price spent most of his
time reading The Bible and a prayer book a woman sent him from Baltimore.
Finally, after days of weeping and not eating, he called the Sheriff and
guards into his cell, and confessed that he alone committed the murder
of Sallie Dean. He even drew a map of the murder scene to illustrate
how he committed the act. On the morning of March 26, Price said
he did go to the woods to cut trees, and once he saw Sallie walking by
herself, struck up a conversation. He asked her why she did not go
to school the day before, and as she answered, he hit her on the head with
his axe. As she woke up, Sallie tried to speak, but before words
escaped, Marshall Price took his right hand and slashed her throat.
Price continued that the reason he chose to indict Mr. Corkran was because
some time before, Corkran had gotten the best of him in a trade where he
lost a watch and knife. Price was again taken to Baltimore where
he would remain until his execution.
Price's council would continue to try to have the
case dropped. The defense confessed that Price did not have a trial
by jury (the defense wished to have the case heard by the court), the confession
was made without council present (Price was warned not to talk without
his lawyer present, but told anyway), the defense argued they wished to
have a change of venue (they asked for this without completing the necessary
affidavit, so no change of venue was granted), and finally that the confession
presented in court was not the original confession made by Price in the
Marshall's office. The doctors that interviewed Price petitioned
to Governor Brown to consider the material, and if he be found mentally
insane, to reduce his sentence to life in prison. This prolonged
the time Price would face the gallows for it was not until June 29 that
the appeal came back with the same concluding remarks, and Marshall Price
was scheduled to be executed by the state on July 5.
On the night of July 2, a mob of masked men approached
the Denton jail house, and their reason was clear. Once Marshall
Price was informed by other inmates about the crowd and their intentions,
Price screamed for help. "For God's sake let me out. I will
hide. I will not run away!" But the Sheriff was convinced that
all the entries were well guarded, and did not wish to remove Price.
The mob found no struggles entering the jail as it was made of wood, quite
old and not very secure. At 11:00pm, a messenger handed a note to
Sheriff Berry that his wife was ill, and as he headed towards home, he
heard the back door being slammed. As Sheriff Berry tried to get
in between the mob and Price, he was hit as the door burst open, and held
at gunpoint until the deed was done. The mob was able to find Price
quickly on the ground floor, and dragged him out of his cell, lead him
to a tree 50 feet from the jail, and hanged him. The crowd felt that
the reprieve to the Governor was a kind of pardon, or at least would delay
the hearing and execution until fall. They felt it was unfair given
that the prisoner and his defense council got all they asked for and received
a fair and impartial trial. Apparently, M.F. Taylor feared for his
clients life and suspected a lynching would occur, but since he did not
sign the note, Sheriff Berry ignored the warning.
As the corpse was examined, it was found that Price
was not beaten, tied or tortured, and by the shape of his throat, he may
have been unconscious when he was hanged. Sheriff Berry was only
able to get to Marshall Price after the lynching occurred and people were
collecting pieces of the rope as mementos. Like many lynching victims,
burying him was a problem as well. Even though Mr. Price had paid
for a plot in the local cemetery, he was not allowed to bury his son there.
Marshall Price was finally laid to rest on July 5, 1895, with the ceremony
being read by Rev. Z.H. Webster in front of the victims parents in the
back plot of the cemetery, bringing the Marshall E. Price trial to a close
as the excitement of the trial soon left the small Eastern Shore town,
and the pace of life was restored once again in Harmony.
Link
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