ANOTHER MURDERER ESCAPES DEATH PENALTY--The most prominent murder in what may be called later years--having occurred March 16, 1882--was that of Thomas Edmonson, a well-known citizen of Good Hope, who was shot by Edward Gick, the only man ever sentence to death in this county, but who escaped, through the fact that Judge Shope, the presiding judge, did not want to sentence a man to die. To sum up the story of the killing which id still fresh in the minds of many, two men named Gick and Payne, and possibly another, named Davis, had been behaving in a shameless manner in Good Hope the day previous with a notorious woman. Edmonson was a law-abiding citizen and denounced the affair in strong terms, and it is said, threatened to have them arrested. On the night in question, Gick was looking for Edmonson, and boasted that he intended to "slug" him. Gick and Payne claimed they were going toward Dr. Sanders' residence, Gick having charge of his horse, when they met Edmonson, and Gick asked him in a friendly way "what he had it in for him for." At that Edmonson turned, and drawing his knife, said he would show him. Gick then shot three times, inflicting a wound from which Edmonson died in a few minutes. Jule Davis was with the other two, being on the way to his home, and had been on intimate terms with both. Other stories of the affair differed materially. There were two bruises on Edmonson's face which were made by some blunt instrument and could not have been inflicted when he fell, for he dropped into the arms of Mark Clark who had just separated from him. Edmonson called out after he was shot, "Oh, Mark, come quick, arrest that Gick, he has shot me. I'm dying." Mrs. Yeast, who lived nearby, said she heard Edmonson say, just before the shooting, "Don't you give a man a chance to defend himself?" >From these statements it was generally considered that Gick and Payne, and possibly Davis, had intended to slug Edmonson; that they had not intended murder; but the shot took effect, and death ensued. William Prentiss was the Prosecuting Attorney. The verdict of the jury was murder in the first degree and hanging the penalty. The judge did not sentence Gick for a few days thereafter, and the sentence was finally "the penitentiary for life". The murderer served a sentence of some six or seven years, when he wad pardoned, returned to the county and thereafter was a peaceable citizen.