The age-herald., 1898-03-25
THE MRS. MOBILES CASE

From the Macon CGa) News.
 The supreme court of Georgia yesterday
 granted a new trial in the case of Flan- nagan, the DeKalb county murderer whose case has been in the counts so long, And in granting a new trial the supreme court makes it very clear that the question Of a
 criminals sanity is to be fully and fairly considered. The court especially holds that the trial judge must charge the jury upon ths insanity law where the plea of insanity is set up. .
 In ether words the state of Georgia Is not willing to convict any criminal be ms crime ever so black, until all doubt as uo his sanity has been removed.
 It will be borne iaD mind that Fiannac gan's sanity has been twice tested hrst on a proceeding lunatico de euqmrendo, and again on the first regular trial or ule case But the supreme court holds that the lower court erred in refusing to charge the jury on the insanity law. 50 thah the question of Flannagan'S sanity IS to De tested once more and this time he IS 10 have all the rights accorded him unher the law. ,,
 Here Is a man whose crime was as cold blooGled and nexcusabie-barring the pcs sfble question of his sandty-aS any ever committed. And yet the state Of Georgia is patient in the extreme in Its effort to have all doubt as to his mental condition removed.
 Let us compare this case with that of
 N. has to die without the question of her san ity ever having been enquired into. This statement may not fully impress tself upon those who merely understand that her case has been in the courts Tor the past ulree years.
 And yet it is a fact that if Mrs. Nobles is put to death on the gallows next week, she will be executed without all doubt as to her mental and moral responsibility hav- ing been removed And it is because the courts have persitsently refused to give
 her a hearing on the question of insanity
 that they have been appealed to so often And they have refused this hearing mere ly because her first attorney. appointed by the court failed to make the plea on the first trial of the case, and failed to move for new trial within the time allowed by law. In other words, because she then slept over her rights, it has been impossi- ble to have her case reinstated, and hearing on the plea of insanity granted her "a mere technicality by which tht state will defeat justice. Mrs. Nobles is unquestionably a" imbe- cie And yet the courts have repeatedly refused to give her attorney an opportunity to make such a showing to this effect as would convince any body of reasonable. un7 biased men. She, a woman, feeble- minded, helpless old woman, must go to the gallows, therefore, without having had the benefits of such a trial as the state Of Georgia guarantees to Flanagan and other criminals less worthy of consideration. It is with the pardon board and the gov ernor alone to prevent such a miscarriage of justice. She has been barred from the courts upon a mere technicality. It re- mains to be seen whether or not the gov- ernor and pardon board will save Georgia from the shame and disgrace of executing a Predetermined old woman, whose mental condition has never been investigated. It is for them to say, whether not she shall have the same rights the supreme court eagerly accords to other criminals