The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1904-08-14

constitute the pest OF evidence IN SUD
| sanitation of the statement that hun
| dreds of persons are falsely accused of
| crime every year. While some of the
| acquittals are no doubt due TO lack of
| sufficient evidence to convict rather
| than to the innocence of the accused,
| the proportion of such cases in rela-
| ton TO the aggregate acquittals is
small indeed. Therefore, it behooves
every member of the body polite to
| know what to and what not to do in
case he is ever falsely accused of a
| felony, an untoward event that may
befall him as Unexpectedly as it has
| many another Self-respecting, reputa-
BILE and innocent man.
The one pre-eminent thing. then,
| for the person falsely accused of muir
| der, burglary, theft, arson or any
| other of the grave offenses against the
| people which constitute a felony, is
| to preserve an unbroken silence in the
| presence of his accusers, after he has
| said to them: Gentlemen, | am not
guilty. Now send for my lawyer as
the law explicitly requires you to do"
But that is the course generally
| pursued by guilty man. Am, |, an
innocent man, TO assume a similar
| role?' some one may ask.
The Safe Way to Act.
1t is the only safe way to act; it is
the course the law itself prescrihes.
In effect the law says to the accused:
| mo human being on the face of the
earth has any right whatsoever to
| question you in relation to any crime
| you may or may not have committed.
| No officer of the law, whether he be
| policeman or judge, has the slightest
scintilla of right to endeavor to make
you say something that will tend to
| incriminate you, or to lead the Grim
| inal authorities to draw the inference
| that you have so enmeshed yourself.
You have one indisputable right from
the time you are accused until the
| charge against you is finally disposed
| of-you need not answer a single
| question put to you by anybody; you
| need not make a single statement one
| way or another in relation to the
offense with which you are charged. !"
The Police "3d Degree"
Yet it is common practice in this
day and generation for the police the
moment they have made an arrest in
felony case, particularly if it be
murder, to put the suspect through
what has popularity come to be known
as 1.-The third degree" The man is
| dragged before a half dozen or more
high officials, respondent in the uni
form and badges allowed them by the
law; he is seated in their midst, and
they tower threateningly over him as
he is mercilessly quizzed and subtle
and hypothetical questions are put to
him in an ATTEMPT to make him so
commit himself that the inquisitors
can say: aha, we have caught the
murderer. Behold in us great detec-
tives, to ferret out the criminal so
soon after the commission of the
crime!"
Faced with Evidences of Crime.
The police have even gone so far
in numerous instances as to suddenly
confront the suspect with the instru-
ment with which the murder was
committed, or the victims bloody
clothing, and in not a few instances
with the mutilated corpse itself. This
they have done in the hope that the
suspect brought unexpectedly before
| smething linked with the crime, win
| give some evidence of his guilt
through shock, at least enough for the
purpose of basing formal charges
against him, and so leading the public
to believe that its police force is of
the finest. Indeed, it is not to be
doubted that the police are not always
careful to inform a suspect of his legal
right not to answer any question that
may he put to him If he does not care
to do so; and frequently, after he has
been so instructed in none too inn
pressive manner, the poor man is lit
orally brow-b beaten into making re-
plies to his inquisitors' questions.
Frequently, the police idea seems to
be. although there are bright excep-
tons, Convict some one, anybody
no matter who, If we can't get the
criminal himself" They take an in
tense personal interest in making out
cases, knowing that If they are sue
cessful credit will rebound to them;
I 1noA c
them to do many things not in sym
pathy with the law; for example, garb-
ling and twisting to their advantage
any statement that a suspect may
have made.
"Refuse to Say Anything"
Therefore, / say, when you are ar
rested, charged with committing a
felony of which you are innocent, alb
solutely refuse to enter into conversa-
ton with any authority of the law:
do not answer a single question asked
you by the policeman arresting you,
the station house sergeant who as
signs you to a cell, or the captain who
may have you brought into his office
for inquisition. Remember that the po-
lice have frequently displayed alto
gether too much personal zeal before
now, and that they may not be
sdueamish about refraining from ex-
| eIclSllR lIt SdIAtb ltiANICSb III SOul SoHS
If they think their ends will be further
ed thereby.
Tell Your Lawyer the Truth.
On the other hand, when your law
yer has come in response to your sum-
mons, proceed to tell him everything.
Do not make the mistake of hiding
anything from him. Lay bare your life
to him, even though you expose your
family skeletons thereby If he deems
II necessary for his guidance. Answer
all Of his questions fully and without
evasion, and give him all the assistance
you possibly can.
A lawyer has TO depend largely or
almost solely upon his client for the
scheme Of defense; and that client who
conceals this thing or that may be
sealing his own doom, innocent though
he be.
The disastrous results that not infre-
quently follow such treatment OF coun-
sci by a client is well exemplified in
the remarkable case Of the people OF
the state of New York VS.. Howard G.
Benham.
Kept Back the Trnth.
Benham was accused OF numbering
his wife by poisoning her with prussic
acid. The evidence tended TO show
that shortly before his wife's death
he had been guilty of marital inhdel-
ity. had quarreled with her, and was
known TO have bought connection
containing prussic acid at drug store.
In view Of all this damf1ing evidence