Gainesville Daily Sun

The Tampa Tribune reports Thursday's proceedings of the court did not come up to that of The Sun, the former paper failing to give the tests means of the state in its sincere effort to establish the guilt of defendants. The defendants represented by the best legal talent obtainable and the verdict is a distinct victory for State Attorney Rivers. In one of the hardest contested murder trials in the criminal annals of Florida he handled the case in an able manner from beginning to end, being rendered valuable assistance by C. B. Wilson of Tampa, one of the very best lawyers in Florida, and the verdict of the jury is not only a victory for these gentlemen but for the peace and morals, law and order of this section of Florida.

Judging from the statement of Kelley just before sentence was passed upon him Saturday evening, it is evident that the jury made no mistake in their verdict so far as he is concerned - except that they recommended him to the mercy of the court. Evidently he fired the fatal shot, else how could he know, as he says, that Davidson is innocent of any connection with the crime, and if he (Kelley) is alone responsible for this cold blooded murder he owes it to Davidson and the public to make a clean breast of the whole affair.

This is the second time Kelley has been sentenced to life imprisonment for taking human life, having been granted a pardon for the first crime after serving only a few years of his sentence. Evidently the man has a mania for taking human life, for we cannot conceive of the motive which prompted him to so cruelly murder Sellars, whom he had never met personally and who had never harmed him.

We repeat, that it is strange that the jury recommended this man to mercy after being convinced that he committed this foul, cold-blooded murder.