Tuesday, 26th August 1913: Judge Stays Sentence New Trial To Be Asked, The Atlanta Georgian
The Atlanta Georgian,
Tuesday, 26th August 1913,
PAGE 4.
Luther Rosser, chief of counsel for Leo M. Frank, convicted of the murder of Mary Phagan, announced Tuesday that he would make a motion before Judge L. S. Roan during the day asking a new trial for his client.
Rosser declared that if the motion was denied he would at once make preparations to carry the case to the Supreme Court of the State of Georgia.
Judge Roan announced Tuesday that he had held up the sentence of Frank temporarily and that he had not definitely decided at what time he would pronounce the penalty for the crime of murder of which Frank was found guilty Monday afternoon.
It is known that Luther Rosser and Reuben Arnold, attorneys for the convicted man, are preparing for a fight for his life through the highest courts, although they would issue formal statement Tuesday.
The two lawyers are resting for a few days from the exhausting struggle in which they engaged for four full weeks, but within a short time they will resume their efforts to prove the young factory superintendent an innocent man.
The report that Attorney Rosser had collapsed proved untrue. He told the newspapermen Tuesday that aside from a severe hoarseness he felt as lively and belligerent as ever.
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.
Mob Influences Jury, He Says
"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 other friends were in the office of Sheriff Mangum, Dr. Rosenberg arriving some minutes after the verdict was known at the courthouse.
Rabbi Marx and Dr. Rosenberg went with the news to the man and his wife.
"The Jury has found you guilty, Leo," 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.
Persuades Her To Leave Jail.
Within a few minutes he persuaded her to leave the jail in company with Rabbi Marx and Dr. Rosenberg. The traces of the fears were still on her face when she came through the corridor. With the aid of her escort she
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FRANK'S ATTORNEYS TO CARRY PLEA FOR A NEW TRIAL TO HIGHEST COURT
Continued from Page 1.
avoided the newspaper men and entered the waiting automobile.
Dr. B. Wildauer came down shortly after. "I am an 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 over night.
Judge Must, Under Verdict, Pass Sentence of Death
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 of his deputies was the signal for a little flurry and the rumor that a verdict had been reached.
Frank's Presence Waived.
Several newspaper men sat on the sixth floor of the uncompleted new courthouse and calmly watched the proceedings of the jurymen on the fourth floor of the old building. The election of Winburn as foreman was noted, as well as other retails incident to the deliberations. Finally, it became known that a verdict had been reached. This was an hour before the jurors came down stairs. Judge Roan was sent for. An effort was made to get Solicitor Dorsey, but he could not be reached at once.
Assistant Solicitor E. A. Stephens and Frank Hooper, Dorsey's associates in the case, entered the courtroom and immediately were inserted in conference with Judge Roan. The discussion was in regard to the waiving of the prisoner's presence in the courtroom.
The two attorneys did not wish to speak definitely for the Solicitor on the matter, but neither could see any objection to this procedure - if the waiving was formally made by a representative of Rosser's firm. A little later the spectators were disappointed by the order to clear the courtroom. Dorsey entered just as this order was given. Within five minutes the jury was in the courtroom and the verdict had been returned.
Frank's Friends Hopeful; 'I'm Vindicated' - Lanford
Though he has been convicted or the most terrible crime in the history of the South, the friends who have stood steadfastly by Leo Frank during the four long months since Mary Phagan's body was found have not deserted him. They still persist that he is innocent and declare that time will uncover the guilty person and give the young factory superintendent his freedom.
Rabbi David Marx, one of Frank's staunchest supporters, who has been with the convicted superintendent almost constantly since he was first arrested on suspicion of being connected with the crime, was one of the most surprised men in Atlanta when the verdict was returned. He had confidently expected an acquittal, but even with the sentence of death hanging over Frank's head, the devotion with which Rabbi Marx has stood by Frank-which has been the admiration even of those who believed Frank guilty-does not falter.
Rabbi Marx Astounded.
Dr. Marx was with Frank when the latter was notified of the verdict, and he suffered almost as heavily as the convicted man.
"I am stunned and surprised," Dr. Marx said. "I can not believe it. I know Leo Frank is innocent-I know he is incapable of such a crime. My faith in him has not been shaken by the verdict of the jury. I ask that the public suspend final judgement until an appeal for a new trial is made."
Shortly after Frank had been notified of the verdict Dr. Marx left the jail for a conference with Frank's attorneys. He returned later to lend what comfort he could do to the prisoner, and remained with him in his cell until a late hour.
Fair Trial, Says Lanford.
Chief of Detectives Newport Lanford, head of the department which aided in securing the evidence that convicted Frank, has issued a statement declaring that the trial of the factory superintendent was the fairest he had ever seen.
"I have never figured in a case where the prisoner was given more privileges and liberties than Frank has received," Chief Lanford declared. "A body of twelve men in high standing in the community have found him guilty of the murder of Mary Phagan, and, in my opinion, the verdict was a just one. I think nearly everyone who is familiar with the case believes him guilty."
"It is very gratifying to the members of my department that the jury, after careful deliberation, found Frank guilty. I am not surprised at the verdict, however, nor are any of the detectives who have worked on the case."
"We have worked very had since little Mary Phagan was murdered and have tried to get at the truth regarding the terrible crime. We have been severely condemned by a few persons, most of whom are unfamiliar with the case and with police methods of obtaining evidence, but the verdict of the jury is a complete vindication of our department. We feel that we have received the greatest reward possible-the conviction of the man responsible for the death of Mary Phagan."
Phone Worked Overtime.
The interest in the residence sections of the city was fully as great as downtown when the verdict came in Monday. Officials of the Southern Bell Telephone Company have made the statement that never in the history of the company have the city telephones been in such universal use as Monday afternoon. Three times as many calls were registered between 3 and 6 o'clock, when the excitement was at its greatest height, as have ever been registered before during an entire day. A special corps of operators was on duty at the exchanges, but they were swamped with the volume of the calls and were unable to attend to more than half of them.
FRANK ENTERING JAIL AFTER ROAN'S CHARGE
Leo M. Frank
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.