0053 Page – Leo Frank Georgia Supreme Court Appeals Records, 1913, 1914

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or bias, either for or against the said Leo M.Frank, and that
was absolutely true; furthermore I stated that my mind was
perfectly impartial between the State of Georgia and Leo M.
Frank, accuse of Murder; that answer given under oath, was
absolutely true; my attitude toward the case was that of an im-
partial, unprejudiced man, seeking only to do my duty as a citizen
and as a Juror, with a due appreciation of the fact that a man's
life or liberty must not be taken except the State produce evi-
dence to overcome the presumption of innocence which I knew the
law gave to Frank, and which I - as a Juror - gave to Frank
at the time I qualified, and until the State, by an abundance
of evidence, carried the burden: THAT at no time or place
previous to the trial of Leo M.Frank did I ever express any
opinion that the said Frank was guilty; nor did I every say,
at any time or place, that it was my opinion that the said
Frank would be lynched should the jury acquit him of the murder
of Mary Phagan; I did casually, and on several occasions when the
crime was with different people the heinousness of the crime,
and I did assert on several occasions, positively, emphatically,
firmly and possibly vehemently, that the man whoever he might
be, who murdered that little girl, ought to be burned; I have said
since serving as a Juror in the case against Leo M.Frank for
twenty-nine days, without prejudice or bias and seeking to get
at the truth, that in my opinion Leo M.Frank is the murderer
of Mary Phagan, just as the jury said in rendering the verdict
of guilty; I read the newspaper accounts of the charge against
Mullinaux, Gantt, Newt Lee, Leo M.Frank and Jim Connelly for the
first week or ten days after the murder, and after that there was
so much of it that I discontinued reading the newspaper articles
fully, and limited myself to reading the headlines; at no time
did I ever have or express an opinion as to who the guilty party
was; I had no fixed opinion when I qualified and was sworn on the
jury; and I never had or entertained any un-
fixed or floating opinion founded on rumor, hearsay or newspaper
reports, except as above stated; I did not assert that whoever
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