Talk:Frank B. Gary

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Frank B. Gary was also appointed as special judge in Lexington County in the 1903 trial of James H. Tillman (nephew of "Pitchfork Ben Tillman, and then lieutenant governor of South Carolina) for the murder of N.G. Gonzales (founder and then editor of The State, Columbia, SC's newspaper).

Some have intimated him as a Tillmanite, although no real allegations of Gary being partisan in the trial have been found by this author. However, the jury was considered highly rigged and partisan considering Tillman shot Gonzales in broad daylight with many eye witnesses. He was acquitted ostensibly on a very shaky self defense theory, but more likely because the jury believed Tillman was right in taking justice into his own hands. Gonzales had waged a virtual crusade against Tillman in the newspaper, helping ensure his defeat in the 1902 Governor election.