Tuesday, 26th August 1913: Frank To Die October 10 Will Appeal, The Atlanta Georgian

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'I AM INNOCENT,' HE SAYS: 'MY CASE IS IN MY LAWYERS' HANDS'

Almost before the dread verdict of "guilty" had ceased ringing in his ears, Leo M. Frank, convicted of slaying Mary Phagan, heard Tuesday the still more terrible words, "sentenced to hang by the neck until dead," before the echo of his own words, "I am innocent" had died away.

Frank will pay the penalty for the murder of Mary Phagan, which the jury Monday agreed he had committed on October 10, unless the efforts of his two lawyers, who already have started a new fight for his life, are successful in postponing the execution or ultimately in cleaning their client. There is little doubt that the execution will be put off, as an appeal will act as a stay.

Sentence had hardly been pronounced by Judge L. S. Roan at 10:40 o'clock Tuesday morning in his courtroom in the Thrower building before Attorney Reuben Arnold was on his feet to make a motion for a new trial.

Judge Roan said that he would set October 4 as the date for hearing the arguments on the motion. It is known that Solicitor Dorsey is most vigorously opposed to any movement looking toward the reopening of the case. He asserted repeatedly during the last days of the trial that the claim of the defense that Frank was not receiving a fair trial was ridiculous on its face.

Wife Waits Outside During Sentence.

While the death penalty was being imposed upon the factory superintendent, his young wife sat outside the Thrower building in an automobile. She had followed her husband in the car, waiting for him as he was taken into court between two deputies and again following him when he was conveyed back to the Tower.

Frank displayed no more emotion than he did during the progress of the long trial. He perhaps, was a trifle paler than usual and his face a bit more haggard, but aside from this none would have known as he stepped firmly down from the Thrower building steps that he was a man on whom the death sentence had just been pronounced.

The fight for Frank's life, which may consume many months, arouses a question as to the disposal of Jim Conley. It is the general supposition that Conley's case will be held in abeyance until Frank's fate definitely is determined by a new trial or the decision of the appeal to the Supreme Court.

Newt Lee Released From Custody.

Newt Lee, material witness in the Frank trial and at one time a suspect, was released from custody Tuesday morning after spending exactly four months in jail.

A long and notable legal fight is certain over the effort to save. Frank from paying the penalty fixed by the court. The case will be carried to the highest courts if Judge Roan refuses a new trial.

There was the hush of horror as the dreadful "Hanged by the neck until dead, and may God have mercy on your soul," were uttered by the judge. The signs of Frank's emotion were few as ever. A few minutes later he was asserting, clearly and calmly, his entire innocence.

Frank heard his sentence with but a slight show of nervousness. He stood leaning slightly against the railing in front of the judge's bench looking straight into Judge Roan's eyes. Occasionally he moistened his lips, but otherwise he was calm. His eyes though, were bloodshot and his skin more pronounced white than ever before.

Frank Again Protests Innocence.

Judge Roan addressed him:

"The jury which has been trying you for the last several weeks has found you guilty. Have you anything to say why sentence should not be passed on you at this time?"

Frank leaned slightly against the railing and placed one hand behind his back before replying. Then he said in calm even voice:

"Your Honor, I say now as I have always said: I am innocent

Continued on Page 2, Column 1.

PAGE 18

JURY THAT CONVICTED FRANK AS SLAYER OF MARY PHAGAN

J. T. OSBURN

J. H. HENSLEE

F. E. WINBURN W. F. MEDCALF A. L. WISBEY W. M. JEFFRIES M. JOHENNING

DEPUTY HUBER M. S. WOODWARD E. V. L.

SMITH D. TOWNSEND C. J. BOSSHARDT J. F.

HIGDON DEPUTY LIDDELL

WIFE, MOTHER EMBRACE FRANK AFTER SENTENCE

Continued from Page 1.

innocent. Further than that, I will state that my case is in the hands of my counsel."

The prisoner's voice was so low that for a moment his hearers were not aware that he had finished and a deathly silence reigned. Then Judge Roan spoke:

"Your counsel informs me that they will move for a new trial," he said, addressing Frank, "but in the meantime, it is my sworn duty to pass sentence on you."

"I have tried to give you a fair trial. I may have erred, but I have done my duty as my conscience dictated."

Judge Roan then picked up from his desk the sheet of paper upon which his sentence was written. As he did so, through some slight misunderstanding, the crowd arose to its feet.

"Take your seats; take your seats," said Judge Roan, then read the sentence. In legal form, it was this:

"The State against Leo M. Frank; indictment for murder; Fulton County Superior Court, May Term 1913. Verdict of guilty, July term, August 25, 1913."

"Whereupon it is considered ordered and adjudged by the court that the defendant, Leo M. Frank, be taken from the bar of this court to the common jail in the County of Fulton, and that he safely there kept until his final execution in the manner fixed by law;"

"It is further adjudged by the Court that on the tenth day of October, 1913, that the defendant, Leo M. Frank, be executed by the Sheriff of Fulton County in private witnessed only by the executing officer, a sufficient guard, the relatives of the said defendant and such clergymen and friends as he may desire;"

"Such execution to take place in the common jail of Fulton County, and that said defendant on that day, between the hours of 10 o'clock a. m. and 2 o'clock p. m. be by the Sheriff of Fulton County hanged by the neck until he shall be dead, and may God have mercy on your soul."

"In open court, this 26th day of August, 1913. L. S. Roan, Judge of the Stone Mountain Circuit, presiding."

"When Judge Roan had finished reading the sentence Frank sank back into a chair between his two friends, Leo Strauss and Julian Boehm. His face had grown a bit paler, but the calm stolidity which characterized his attitude throughout the grim proceeding remained.

Attorney Reuben Arnold, who had defended Frank at the trial, arose and addressed Judge Roan.

"Your honor," he said, "we make a motion for a new trial."

"I will hear the arguments on the motion on October 4," replied Judge Roan.

Luther Rosser, Frank's chief of counsel, as heard to remark, aside when this date was fixed: "Well, that will extend the time of execution then."

At 10:40 o'clock Frank took his place between two deputy sheriffs and was escorted down to an automobile waiting below and whisked off to the jail. At the doorway to the Thrower building another automobile containing Mrs. Leo Frank was waiting. When Frank emerged from the building, he exchanged glanced with his wife, but no words were spoken.

When the machine with the prisoner moved out into the street towards the jail Mrs. Frank's automobile fell in behind and followed.

No Women Hear Sentence Passed.

But a few persons-not more than 30 in all-heard the passing of the sentence. Amongst them there were but two of Frank's friends, Strauss and Boehm. The other witnesses were made up of Sheriff Mangum, half a dozen deputy sheriffs, numerous court attaches and newspapermen. There were no women in the courtroom.

Frank came in before this counsel. Smilingly the nodded to those in the room. Shortly after he had taken a seat Rosser and Arnold came in and took seats close by Frank.

To Arnold, Frank leaned over and whispered:

"What shall I say?"

"That your case. Is in the hands of your counsel," replied the attorney.

Sheriff Mangum escorted the judge to his bench and stood during the reading of the sentence with his back to the window near the bench, facing the crowd. He did not look at Frank throughout the proceedings.

At the close of the sentence there was no demonstration of any kind. Quietly the crowd filed out behind Frank and waited until the elevator, descending from the fourth floor with the prisoner and his captors only, returned for them.

Wife and Mother Embrace Prisoner.

The automobile bearing Frank, with the fateful words "sentenced to hang by the neck till dead" still echoing in his ears, arrived back at the grim old Tower at 10:40 o'clock. Frank stepped out between Deputies Burdette and Owens. His face was a bit sallower, hie eyes a little wider open. Otherwise he was the same astoundingly cool prisoner.

The trio walked to the jail door and Frank asked his escorts to wait a moment. A minute later another car drew up and the devoted wife of the convicted slayer alighted, Deputy Scuttles at her side.

Frank's face lighted up. Mrs. Frank smiled-the tragic smile of courage and loyalty-and they were clasped in each other's arms, the young wife showering kisses on the man who had just heard his doom pronounced.

They disappeared into the gloom of the jail corridor, Mrs. Frank's arm around her husband's shoulder-a shielding, motherly embrace that touched the men who walked with averted faces at Frank's side.

A moment more and Frank was in his mother's arms at the cell screened from foreign eyes and words of hopes showered upon him to drown the echo of the terrible pronouncement of a brief while back.

The young woman was dressed in black, relieved only by a white lace collar. She looked composed, but the traces of a night and weeping were in her eyes. The mother was pale and worn. Neither would talk to newspaper men.

Mob Influences Jury, He Says

Emil Selig, the father-in-law of Frank, brought him his breakfast Tuesday morning. The convicted man, if he suffered any shock from the verdict Monday, was said to have recovered entirely from it by the morning. He was as stoical as ever and even while in the shadow of the gallows he expressed himself as just as certain that he ultimately would be exonerated of the terrible crime as he was on the first day he was suspected.

"'My God'. Even the jury is influenced by mob Law," were the words with which he greeted the news of the verdict Monday afternoon.

Frank was with his wife at the Tower when the intelligence came Rabbi Marx, Dr. Rosenberg, the Frank family physician, and a number of their friends were in the office of Sheriff Mangum, Dr. Rosenberg arriving some minutes after the verdict was known at his courthouse.

Rabbi Marx and Dr. Rosenberg went with the news to the accused man and his wife.

"The jury has found you guilty, see," said the physician.

Mrs. Frank screamed and broke into hysterical weeping. It was her husband who calmed her and assured her that everything would be all right in the end.

Within a few minutes he persuaded her to leave the jail in company with Rabbi Marx and Dr. Rosenberg. The traces of the tears were still on her face when she came through the corridor. With the aid of her escort, she avoided the newspaper men and entered the waiting automobile.

Dr. B. Wildauer came down shortly after. "I am as innocent today as I was a year ago," was Frank's comment on the verdict, according to Dr. Wildauer.

The blinds of the Selig home at No. 68 East Georgia avenue, where Frank and his wife lived with her parents, were closed Tuesday morning. Neighbors said that Mr. and Mrs. Selig and their daughter had stayed with relatives overnight.

Attorney Arnold left for Bedford Springs, Pa., Tuesday afternoon for a month's rest. Mr. Arnold will return to Atlanta in time to participate in the argument for a new trial for the pencil factory superintendent, which has been set for October 4.

'I'm as Innocent as I Was A Year Ago,' Asserts Frank

Just four months after the murder of Mary Phagan, Leo M. Frank stands convicted of the slaying of the slaying of thee 13-year-old girl in the National Pencil factory.

No recommendation for life imprisonment was made by the jurors, this circumstance making it imperative, according to the charge by Judge L. S. Roan, that a sentence of death by hanging be passed upon him. Judge Roan declined to say Tuesday the exact time when he would pass sentence.

Neither the prisoner, his relatives, friends nor any of his counsel appeared in the courtroom when the dread verdict was rendered. The sole representative of the defendant was Stiles Hopkins, a member of the firm of Rosser, Brandon, Sigton & Phillips, who was designated present and na"ive for Attorneys Rosser and Arnold the presence of the prisoner. A motion for a new trial will be made by Rosser and Arnold.

Populace Cheers Verdict.

The jurors were quick in arriving at their ballot. The case was given into their hands at 12:49. They went immediately to lunch and returned to the courthouse at 1:35. They proceeded to the election to the election of Fred Winburn as foreman and entered upon an informal discussion of the merits of the case. It was apparent that the jurymen were practically of one mind. They cast their ballot. At 3:21 it was known that the verdict was "guilty." At 4:56 the result was announced in the courtroom.

To avoid any sort of a demonstration, the courtroom was cleared of all spectators when it became known that the jury was ready to render its verdict. Everyone was excluded except Solicitor Dorsey, Attorney Hooper and attaches of Dorsey's office, several other members of the bar and newspaper man.

Hardly had Foreman Winburn read the words which branded the young factory superintendent a murderer before a mighty shout went up outside the building. The great crowds surging on all sides of the courthouse seemed to have had occult knowledge of the verdict at the very instant it was given utterance.

The news spread like magic. While the cheers still were rending the air, newsboys swooped down upon the courthouse and radiated in different directions from their offices, crying the extras on the verdict.

Frank was in the Tower with his young wife when the verdict was returned.

"My God! Even the jury was influenced by mob law," was the exclamation with which the accused man met the news of the verdict of guilty."

"I am as innocent as I was one year ago," be continued.

Frank would not talk at length to the newspaper men. His wife, who had shown the strain of the last hours of the trial throughout the day, collapsed in tears. Rabbi Marx and other friends of the family were at the tail when the fateful news came. They declared that nothing had developed since the beginning of the trial to shake their belief in Frank's entire innocence.

After the concluding words of the judge's charge Monday afternoon, the jury fled from the courtroom and several score of persons took advantage of the leniency of the court deputies to crowd inside the doors.

In a haze of smoke from innumerable cigars and cigarettes and from the explosion of flash light powder, the motley roomful of spectators waited impatiently for some sign that jurors were ready to return to the room. Any unexplained move on the part of Sheriff Mangum or one

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PAGE 19

'WE ONLY DO OUR DUTY', SAYS MAN WHO HELPED CONVICT FRANK

Dorsey's Plea of Great Weight - Only Wondered at Prisoner's Statement

JUROR'S STORY OF HOW EVIDENCE WAS WEIGHED AND VERDICT REACHED

The Georgian today reveals some of the innermost secrets of the jury which convicted Leo M. Frank of the murder of little Mary Phagan. This inside story of the greatest criminal case in the South's history is an intensely interesting revelation of the workings of men's minds.

It casts upon the various points made by the defense and the prosecution the light in which they were viewed by the twelve men who were chosen to act as the judges. It ends with the last memorable meeting of these men on the top floor of the courthouse Monday afternoon which culminated in the fateful verdict: "We the jury find the defendant guilty."

The information is given herewith as it was obtained by a reporter for this newspaper from one of the jurors late Monday night while the full weight of his grim burden still rested upon him. It is told in his own, impressive words.

"It was the only thing we could do. The evidence was against Frank from start to finish. And so, we did our duty, as we had sworn to do."

Dorsey's Youth and Sincerity Won.

"It would be hard to say what, of all the trial, made the greatest impression on the jury. It was probably the Solicitor General himself. He was a marvel. His youthful appearance, coupled with his sincerity, made a wonderful hit. There wasn't a minute of the hours that he spoke that he didn't seem to mean every word that he uttered."

"Dorsey is a forceful speaker. He puts emphasis behind his words. And he drives his points clear in and clinched, them on the other side. They had stuck with us. They had the evidence behind them to make them stick."

"His theory of the murder was the one we accepted. It was the one the evidence upheld. That was the way Frank killed that girl."

"While the negro watched downstairs, he took the little girl back into the metal room and struck her, and then with a cord strangled her to death. Then those notes were written as the negro told us and placed beside the body."

"In the Dorsey's argument there was one little sentence which seemed to imbed itself in the minds of every man on the jury, when he was speaking of the agreement between Frank and Conley that the negro should come back to the factory and burn the body. The sentence was this: 'And if the smoke from that little girl's burning body had gone curling up into the air, old Jim Conley would have hanged for another man's crime.'"

Hooper's Action Had Its Effect.

"Those words went a long way toward keeping Jim Conley from Hanging, probably. They drew a contrast between right and wrong which made us look again into the evidence before us. And the narrow escape which the negro had made us shudder."

"There was another thing which impressed that jury. It was Frank Hooper's sacrifice to Dorsey. We called it that. Hooper had the chance of his lifetime there to make a wonderful speech when he opened the State's argument. We were half expecting one. His reputation was known to us. And when he ended there was some disappointment. We said he had not done his best.

"Then we saw his sacrifices. He had only made a plain statement of the State's case and left for the Solicitor General whatever fame and fortune there was to be won by the State's counsel."

"The jury heard none of the cheering for Dorsey outside the courtroom at any time. We heard the crowds in the courtroom laugh at times, and we laughed, too, but that had no effect."

"Probably the hardest job we had was to sit there and face Frank's mother and his wife with the slowly growing feeling of the defendant's guilt. Some of the jurors cried when Frank's wife broke down following his speech. It was an impressive thing to us. Yet it didn't effect the evidence."

Frank's Speech Caused Wonder.

"The trouble with Frank's speech was the same as the trouble with the entire defense. The evidence declared to us that he was guilty and no words of his could disprove that fact. Everybody felt the weight his wonderful calm and dispassionate manner carried while he was talking. Yet the marvel was that a guilty man could do it. That was all."

"The defense made a wonderful fight with the evidence they had. Mr. Arnold was admired for his skillful work by every member of the jury. We saw every point that he brought out, and yet they all lacked weight."

"Probably nothing else in the whole case was of more interest to us that Luther Rosser's cross-examination of Conley. We thought it was a master's display of human ingenuity. Yet in the jury's mind it was like skyrocket, soaring up into the heavens to cast its fountain of brilliance about and then die out. The negro's story remained as he had told it. That had a tremendous effect in the verdict."

"Then there was that cabbage. It was astonishing the amount of knowledge was displayed by the members of the jury when the technicalities of medicine were brought out. We understood it all. The specimen of cabbage taken from the little Phagan girl's stomach was passed around amongst us in the jury room and we could easily see that it had not been digested."

"That also had its effect. There were men amongst us who luckily were well up on digestion. The experts said very little that we did not understand. But I will venture to say that few of the men of that jury will ever eat cabbage again."

Full Force of Deputy Strikes Home.

"It is a terrific thing to be on a jury which holds a man's life in its hands. The weight seems heaviest during the early days of the trial. You are struck with the somber faces of your fellow jurymen first; then in the mirror you see that your own face is as somber as the real, and the full force of the duty in front of you strikes home. You realize that before you become a freeman again you shall have disposed of the life of a fellowman."

"Yet, strange to say, there wasn't one among us who tried to flinch from his full share of the work. Each seemed eager from the start to do what he had sworn to do, and the determination seemed to grow as the days passed. When we left the courtroom this afternoon with the judge's charge there wasn't a doubt in the mind of anyone of us that justice would be done. I think that thought, in a great measure, was the cause for our quick decision."

"Of course, we didn't dream that the case would last as long as it did. Some of us hadn't prepared for it. It meant a loss of a great deal of money to many of the men. Yet when this was brought up along in the second week, when no end was in sight, it took only one mention of the task before us to make all else look infinitesimally small. Jurydom is a sphere where money is not known."

First Week Was Longest of All.

"The first week of the trial was longer than all the rest put together. It was a bit difficult for us to get acquainted. We were all a little bit suspicious of each other. Outside of a few comments on immaterialities, practicality nothing was said about the case. We didn't care to talk about it, even to our roommates."

"Then somebody brought in a checker board and someone else a deck of cards. The social life in jury quarters blossomed out in full blast."

"It was a most welcome diversion, too. We had little enough exercise as it was and there was nothing left but to brood on the case."

"And by the middle of the second week, there wasn't a more sociable and jolly set of men this side of heaven, I don't believe. There were checker matches and setback tournaments and a great rivalry for the championships. I don't believe that there was an amateur among the bunch which went into that jury who didn't come out an expert. With nothing else to do much at night, one can learn a great deal about cards and checkers in three weeks."

"There was no gambling. And each Sunday we read from the Bible and sang religious songs. In fact, we held regular services every Sabbath day. It didn't matter what churches we belonged to; each was as fervent as the other. While in Rome we did

Trial a Farce, Say Attorneys

L. Z. Rosser and Reuben Arnold, counsel for Leo Frank, issued the following statement this morning:

"We deem it not amiss to make a short statement, as the attorneys of Leo M. Frank, to the public."

"The trial which has just occurred, and which has resulted in Mr. Frank's conviction, was a farce and not in any way a trial. In saying this, we do not make the least criticism of Judge Roan who presided. Judge Roan is one of the best men in Georgia, and is an able and conscientious judge."

"The temper of the public mind was such that it invaded the courtroom and invaded the streets and made itself manifest at every turn the jury made; and it was just as impossible for this jury to escape the effects of this public feeling as if they had been turned loose and had been permitted to mingle with the people."

"In doing this we are making no criticism of the jury. They were only men, and unconsciously this prejudice rendered any other verdict impossible."

"It would have required a jury of stoics, a jury of Spartans, to have withstood this situation."

"The time ought to come when this man will get a fair trial, and we profoundly believe that it will."

"The final judgement of the American people is a fair one. It is sometimes delayed in coming, but it comes."

"We entered into this case with the profound conviction of Mr. Frank's innocence. The result has not changed our opinion. Every step of the trial has intensified and fortified our profound conviction of his innocence."

"L. Z. ROSSER,

"H. R. ARNOLD."

As the Romans do. Seriously, though, I think that the proposition we were up against in judging of a man's life had a good deal do with that fervor."

Same Word On Each Jury Slip.

"As for the judgement witnessed, there is little to say. As weighty as the task may seem, it was simple. There was but one ballot and on the twelve slips which were handed into Foreman Winburn the single word 'guilty' was written. Yet, no one seemed surprised. There was an unanimity of feeling amongst us."

"Don't think that we had not considered the case fully. And don't think that there was a man amongst us that wanted to do what we did. Yet, day after day, the pressure grew heavier, as the case was put before us. From a slight head it became an oppression; then a nausea and at last a sickening scene of the grim fact-that, Frank was guilty and we were going to give the world that verdict."

"It was horrible-that time we spent in deliberation. Everyone knew what was going to be done, though hardly a word was spoken, until we had agreed. We were spellbound with dread. Then someone suggested a drink. That enlivened us and we began to breathe again."

"You ask what brought us to our verdict so readily? I have told you. It was the only thing that could be done, and we knew it, even as we ascended the stairs to the jury this afternoon. No argument was needed."

Pierce Loses Pinkerton Job By Actions in Phagan Case

As a result of the charges made by the police of unfair dealings by the Pinkerton operatives in the investigation of the Phagan case. H. B. Pierce, superintendent of the agency in Atlanta, tendered his resignation. It was promptly accepted by A. K. Corwardin, general superintendent, of New Orleans, who arrived in the city Monday.

Insubordination to the agency's rule demanding the co-operation of its operatives with the local police in criminal investigations was charged against the superintendent.

The specific charge which brought about the removal of Pierce grew out of the finding of the blood-stained stick on the first floor of the pencil factory by Pinkerton operatives. It was claimed by the police that the stick was withheld from them by Pierce, to whom it was turned in by the finders, and the butt of a buggy whip substituted. The stick itself was turned over to the defense.

"This action by Mr. Pierce was in direct opposition to the rules of the Pinkerton Agency," said Mr. Corwardin. "Our charter to operate in Atlanta carries the agreement that our men withhold nothing from the city police which they may secure in investigations of criminal cases."

"Explicit orders demanding that this agreement be carried through to the letter have been in effect in the Atlanta office since the agency was started here, and when Mr. Pierce disobeyed them, there was but one thing left to do."

While no intimation was given by General Superintendent Corwardin as to who would be Pierce's successor, it is generally reported that Harry Scott would be appointed to fill the position. The report is founded on the withdrawal of Scott's appointment to the superintendency of the Houston, Texas, office, which was made shortly before the charges against Pierce were made public. This promotion of Scott was made as a result of his work in the Phagan case investigation, in which he was the field marshal for the Pinkertons.

Mr. Corwardin admitted that Scott would stay in Atlanta.