Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1913-10-30
FRANK COUNSEL
PREPARED To
APPEAL
lawyers Announce They Will
Garry His Fight to the
Last Ditch.
Continued From Page I.

including Speaker Burwell, Of the
state House Of representatives,
swore to the veracity, responsibility,
,rustworthiness and general standing
Of some Of the atlantis, a circum-
stance, Franks attorneys contended,
which left no room for doubt that
Henslee had been correctly quoted
and was violently prejudiced against
their client. However, the State be-
Ileves it has fully proved Henslee I'M
biased.
Judge Roan's attitude on this con-
tention will not be known until Fri
dav morning. Any attempt to fore
cast his final decision at this time is a
mere guess, as he will give no hint
Of his stand in the matter. 1t is be-
leved that much Of his time until he
announces his decision will be devot-
ed to a close investigation of this i'm
portant ground for a new trial.
Judge Roam, as soon as he renders
ais decisions in the matter. will resign
from his position on the Stone Noun
tain Circuit and will become mem
Der Of the State Court of Appeals, to
which bench he was appointed some
time ago by Governor John M. Slaton.
Judge Ben Hill, now OF the Appel
ate bench, will become the judge Of
the new Atlanta Circui =. Solicitor
Reid, of the Stone Mountain Circuit,
will become presiding judge and
George n. Napier, of Decatur, will act
as Solicitor &enesal.
FIGHT to Last Ditch.
An immediate appeal to the Su-
preme Court of the State will be
made by Franks attorneys in the
event the motion for a new trial is
denied. Attorney Rosser asserted in
his closing argument Wednesday aft
ernoon that he was in the case until
he drew his last breath or so long as
his positive conviction in Franks in
nocence remained. The lawyer in
timated that the fight in the courts
would be prolonged until every legal
recourse had been tried. No advan-
tage will be overlooked in the deter
mined battle to save the factory SUI
perintendent from the gallows.
His lawyers and his friends main
;ain their assertions of belief in his
innocence and in his absolute guilt
iessness of the charges of immoral
conduct made against him, accusa-
lions which are regarded as having
had large part in obtaining his con-
viction on the murder charge.
While l believe in his innocence"
said Attorney Rosser, 81 shall stand
in his defense as long as l live and
as long as I have a breath of life.
There will come time when the
people will wonder how such things
could have taken place as have &C.
Cured during the trial of this man.
Dismiss from your mind, your honor,
the anarchy which the Solicitor Cen
eral threatens if another trial is
granted. I dispute, your honor, that
a new trial would be such a blow to
the judiciary that future trials would
have to be under the guard Of the
militia, with bayoHets and rifles
standing for the preservation of the
courts of justice"
Convicted on Perversion Charge.
Attorney Rosser made the startling
statement to Judge Roam that Frank
was not convicted on the evidence
that he was the murderer of Mary
Phagan, but that he was tried and
convicted solely on the unsupported
and utterly false" tale of perversion
that was told by the negro, Jim Con-
ley, on the stand. t
You damned him the instant you
brought in that false and filthy testi-
mony," Rosser shouted at Solicitor
Dorsey. "Degeneracy is the matrix
Of all crimes. Once instill in the
minds of the jurors the idea that a
prisoner is a degenerate and they will
tumble over themselves in their ca
gerness to believe him guilty of muir
der or any other crime in the whole
calendar.
The law guarantees to a man the
privilege of being tried only for the
crime with which he formally Is
charged and on the charge which he
IS brought into court to answer The
law specifically declares that no evil
dence may be brought in of an indie
pendent, distinct and wholly disso-
ciated crime
Yet this was done in Franks case
TO his extreme injustice and irrepar-
able harm. Crimes were charged
against him for which there was no
warrant in fact and of which there
was no evidence except that of the
miserable, lying negro.
The testimony was inadmissible.
There is no question about that. We