The Hartford herald. [volume] (Hartford, Ky.) 1875-1926, 1914-12-16
Cries Frank, In Tragic
Statement
BEFORE HIS DEATH SENTENCE
The Remarkable Speech Of a
Man Three Times Con.
demned To Die.
LAST SKETCH OF FAMOUS CASE

Atlanta. Ga, Dec. Though
dramatically declaring his innoeenc;
and asserting that he is a victim OF
"the mob spirit" Leo. NJ. Frank 10.
day was sentenced to be hanged Fri
day, January %, 1915, for the mur
der of Mary Phagan.
As Judge Ben II. Hill finished
pronouncing sentence on Frank tht
big clock in the court house tower
concluded the final stroke of ~.
Franks statement was remarka
BILE both in what he said and in the
manner of his delivery.
The proceeding was Witnessed by
crowd which packed the court
room. The crowd preserved almost
absolute silence, and appeared to be
deeply impressed by the condemned
mans words.
Looking into the eyes of the
Judge. Frank made his statement
Once ne clenched his hands and
raised them above his head. Two or
three times he gave emphatic ges-
lures with his arms. And two or
three times he took his eyes away
from the Judge and turned them on
the crowd.
The statement follows:
MAY it please Your Honor. this
Is momentous day-a day of far
greater importance to the State OF
Georgia and TO the majesty of the
law even than to myself, for. under
the guise of law, Your Honor is
about to pronounce words that will
condemn to death an innocent man.
Transcending in Importance the loss
of my own life is the indelible stain
and dishonor resting upon the name
of this State by reason of its judic-
tally numbering an innocent man.
THE jury's verdict of August %.
1913, finding me guilty of the death
OF Mary Phagan, did not then and
does not now speak the truth.
declare to Your Honor and to the
world, that verdict was made in an
atmosphere seething with mob vio-
lence and clamor for my life-a YER
dict based on evidence absolutely
false. which under other circum-
stances would not have been given
a moments credence.
Your Honor. l deeply sympathize
with the parents of Mary Phagan.
The brute that brought SO much
grief upon them has plunged me
into sorrow and pisery unspeaka-
BILE. and is about to accomplish my
undoing.
But this | know, my execution
will mark the advent of new era
in Georgia, where a good name and
stainless honor count for naught
against the word of vile criminal;
where the testimony OF Southern
white women of unimpeachable
character is branded as false by the
prosecution, disregarded by the jury
and the perjured vaporings of a
black brute alone accepted as the
whole truth where a mob crying
for blood invaded the courtroom
and became the dominant factor in
what should have been a solemn jul
dicial trial Oh. shame-that these
things be true.
Life is very sweet to me. Ii is
not an easy thing to give up the love
of dear ones. OF wife and parents. of
ever-loyal friends. Though this be
true, death has no terrors for me. |
go to my end In the full conscious
ness of innocence and in the firm
conviction that as there is God in
heaven, my full yindication must
come some day. With the dawn OF
that day there will come to the peo-
pie of Georgia a full realization of
this horrible mistake. mistake ir-
retrievable-th execution of an In
nocent man, a victim of perjury,
prejudice and passion"
After finishing he hung his head
and looked as II he had an impulse
TO say something more. The i'm
pulse changed to one last appealing
look into the eyes of the Judge.
Then he sat down.
Then the Judge passed the death