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Show JIBHI1G SLAYER KILLED II POSSE FIGHT Birmingham Manhunt Ends in Death of Two Convicts Con-victs and Injury of Third. FUGITIVES MAKE STAND IN SUBURB Murderer of Probate Judge Leads Prisoners in Effort Ef-fort to Escape Death Sentences. BIRMINGHAM, Ala., March SO David D. Overton, the former couaty cjerk under death sentence for the murder mur-der of Judge W. T. Lawler, was shot to death in a Birmingham suburb tonight to-night hy a sheriff 's posse sent out to capture him a.nd six other prisoners, who had escaped from the county jail early in the day. In the battle between the posse and the prisoners Tony Ma-lino, Ma-lino, another convicted murderer, also was killed, and J. L. I.ethem, held on. a forgery charge,, was seriously wounded. The other convicts escaped. About fifty shots were exchanged during the fight, -which took place in a briar thicket near Birmingham college. col-lege. The posse, notified by a negro that the prisoners were hiding there, sent six deputies to round them up. Overton and his companions at first attempted at-tempted to escape, and then at a command com-mand to halt began firing. The first shot, the deputies say, came from Overton Over-ton 's rifle. The posse replied with a volley and several minutes of firing followed before the convicts retreated into the darkness, leaving their three wounded behind. Dramatic Jail-break. i The battle was scarcely more sensational sensa-tional or dramatic than the jail delivery to which it was a sequence. The seven men, throe of them under death sentences sen-tences for murder and three others held on murder charges, in a concerted revolt re-volt overpowered and disarmed the jail guards, tumbled into an automobile waiting near by ajid were gone before an alarm could be given. Within a few minutes armed posses were sent out in all directions and an all-day man hunt through the city and the surrounding countrv followed. Officials predicted that by morning the last of the fugitives would be ac counted for. Overton was the central figure in a murder case which has been accounted one of the most sensational in the history his-tory of Alabama. He was a candidate for probate judge at an election last summer, and was defeated by Lawler. Overton Disappeared. A few days later Lawler 's body was found weighted down in the Tennessee river and Overton disappeared. Weeks later he was captured in Tennessee and brought to lluntsville. At the trial he testified that Lawler, in a night conference con-ference on the river bank regarding alleged al-leged election frauds, had attacked him. lie killed the judge, he said, in self-defense, self-defense, but the jury refused to accept the story. The suicides of two prominent Hunts-ville Hunts-ville residents, a lawyer and the coun-tv coun-tv sheriff, were attributed to ramifications ramifica-tions of the political feud, but their exact connection with the other developments de-velopments was not clearly revealed by Overton in his dramatic story in court. Apparently none of the shots fired bv the convicts tonight in their desperate des-perate stand against the sheriff's posse took effect. Overton was the only one armed with a rifle, but several of the others had revolvers taken from tho jail gna rds. Shots Bring Crowds. The first shots brought to the scene several students from the college near bv, and before the batlle was well over crowds began to pour in from the adjoining ad-joining residential section. lu.stily summoned ambulances and patrol wagons wag-ons added to tho confusion, which aided in covering the retreat, of the convicts. Soon the entire district around the briar thicket was filled with armed deputies, dep-uties, who advanced warily in their pursuit, of the fugitives because of a rumor that political friends of Overton had orjraniwd to aid his escape. The officials balieve that Overton u (Otnrttnrjed on Paj?s Three.). JAMMER KILLED 1 POSSE FIGHT (Con-tinned from Page One.) and Malino, the two who lust their lives were the leaders in planning the jail delivery. |