HISTORY

OF

LAWRENCE, ORANGE

AND

WASHINGTON COUNTIES

INDIANA.

FROM THE EARLIEST TIME TO THE PRESENT; TOGETHER WITH INTERESTING
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES, REMINISCENCES, NOTES, ETC.
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ILLUSTRATED.
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CHICAGO.
Goodspeed Bros. & Co., Publishers
1884

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THE BOLLS-GILLILAND MURDER CASE.

    On the 30th of December, 1826, a short distance west of Paoli, Benjamin Bolls and John Gilliland became engaged in a fight, during which the former drew a knife and stabbed the latter in the groin, inflicting a wound about two inches long by two inches deep, from the effects of which Gilliland died in a few minutes.  Bolls was indicted and the case came up for trial the jury returned a verdict of murder in the first degree, but upon a technical point a new trial was secured, and the case was continued until the July term, 1827. At this time the jury returned a verdict of guilty of manslaughter and fixed the punishment at sixteen years in the penitentiary, and a fine of $1 and costs. Soon after this, for some unknown reason, Bolls was pardoned by the Governor. John Law was prosecutor, John R. Porter, Judge, and it is probable that Dewey was attorney for Bolls. Altogether the trial lasted eight days, and seems to have been hotly contested.

-transcription by Kate Maynard, 2013