The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1904-06-17
BELIEVES she is INNOCENT.
Gives Reasons on which His Judgment
is Founded.

To Ny Friends and Aeqnantanees Of Shia-
1oaSSee County:
Having been elected and reelected
to position of trust on a number of
occasions, and knowing as do that
these positions could be acquired
only through your confidence and
support, / have right to believe,
and do believe, that / have your
confidence and esteem both as a
man and an official, and while L
have no desire to have my name
to appear in the newspapers, yet as
they have already mentioned my
name in connection with the Collins
case, deem it my duty at this time
to say to you that the quotations as
to what / have said and done APP
pearing in the Argus and Press
American of June Ii are correct.
EaI do believe that Mrs. Collins is
innocent and should have been
acquitted, and my judgment and
decision are not based upon rumor
or hearsay, but upon the evidence
as given in the trial of the case
together with the judges charge to
the jury, which L heard. And in
view of the fact that l am friendly
with all the attorneys engaged in
the case and that the defendant was
an entire stranger to me, never hav-
ing seen her until the beginning of
the trial, 1 am sure that / could
have rendered a fair and impartial
verdict and without prejudice. And
/ assure you that if the verdict as
rendered by the jury in this case is
carried out, my honest opinion is
that right and justice will have been
miscarried and the defendant made
to suffer a penalty far worse than
death and for that of which she is
innocent and in no way responsible.
That l haye wept while cOnversing
upon the subject with my friends, is
true, and 1t is also true that they,
too, have wept, and the friends
include both men and women and
are some of the very best citizens
of this city. That I have offered my
assistance in a financial way, If
necessary, is also true, because 1
cannot and shall not compare few
human being SO long as / bilieve
her innocent of the crime for which
she Is accused.
1 call your attention to that part
of the Judges charge to the Jury
where he said that If there was
reasonable doubt they must acquit,
and went on to say that 81 charge
you that the fact that the attending
physicians, one of whom conducted
the post norton examination, after
the post norton examination was
held gave death certificate that
the death of Leechman was caused
by double pneumania, is strong
factor to be considered by you in
favor of the respondent, and this
fact alone If true, would tend to
cause a reasonable man to doubt as
to whether or not Leechman came
to his death by arsenical poisoning
administered to him by Carrie
Collins"
Again L call your attention to the
sad fate Of Durant, young man
who was accused of numbering a
young women i'm the state of Cali
fornia few. years ago. He was
tried, convicted and hanged. He
paid the penalty by giving his life
for that of which he was innocent.
The evidence in the case was cir
cumstantial but the true facts were
not revealed until too late, and the
innocent suffered the penalty of
death.
One of our most esteemed and re-
spected citizen has said, twelve men
have said that Mrs. Collins was
guilty, but hundreds of our people
say and believe she is innocent.
And believing as do that truth is
mighty and must prevail, together