Wednesday, 19th November 1913: First Murder Trial Before Judge Hill, The Atlanta Constitution

Will Burnett, a negro, was convicted of

manslaughter in Judge Ben Hills division of the superior court on Tuesday. He

was given a twenty-year sentence.

The negro made a statement to the jury

in which he declared that in altercation with another negro, he was getting

beaten by a club and, in self-defense, he pulled a knife and stabbed the negro

through the abdomen. His statement saved him from sterner fate.

The negro was the first man charged

with murder to be tried by Judge Hill since his appointment to the criminal

branch of the Fulton county superior court.