The Jeffersonian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1907-1917, 1915-07-15

. refused new trial ON the extraordi-
nary motion for new trial. Where
upon I filed application before the
Prison Commission for pardon.
In this application, or rather in
discussing the case with the Prison
Commissioners, | made the state
ment that there was no halfway
ground in the McNaughton case, and
that if guilty, he deserved the Sc
verest punishment, and if legally in
nocent (Which, of course, includes
the doctrine Of the reasonable
When [ first presented the case, or
possibly the second time, or at the
second hearing, Judge Patterson, of
the Prison Commission, was willing
to recommend Communication of
McNaughton's sentence, when Mr.
Davidson and Mr.. Rainey made a
statement that they would never
agree to that; that if they did any,
thing it would be recommendation
for full pardon, if they were con-
vinced that there was a legal doubt
as to his guilt. Will this was going
on, Judge Moore, of Statesboro, Ca,
wrote me relative to some informa-
ton he had received in a converse
ton relative to this case, which hap
pened at ThomasviIle I immedi-
ately sent to Thomasvile for the wit
ncsses, fond them, and they testi-
fed that the last time the deceased
was in Thomasville, and just before
his death, he was taking medicine,
and stated to them at the time that
TO in cd nd hot h0 q
suffering with his kidneys. DR.. Nc
Naughton contended that he died
with a complication of acute ne
phritic and cholera morbus. These
witnesses appeared before the Prison
Commissioners and testified. The
case was argued by both sides at
length, and after due consideration
Messrs. Davidson and Rainey signed
recommendation that DR.. Nc
Naughton be pardoned, while Judge
Patterson recommended that his
sentence be committed. You can
readily see the marked difference in
the two cases in this particular. The
newly discovered evidence tended to
show that the small amount of
arsenic found came from taking
medicine containing crsenic, and was
sufficient not only to raise a reason
able doubt, but to convince any
fair-minded man of his innocense.
In addition to this we had the opin-
ion of every doctor in Savannah,
who said that from the symptoms
testified to, while similar somewhat
to arsenic poison, was so dissimilar
that after giving the matter careful
consideration, they could say that
deceased did Lot die from arsenic
poison.
In the Frank case, as you know,
Messrs. Davidson and Rainey re-
fused to make any re ;on4mendation,
and Judge Paterson made the same
recommendation in one as he did in
the other, and Governor Slaton,
after hearing the facts in both cases,
passed the same order. If you re-
member the reasoning of Governor
Slaton in the McNaughton case for
judgment of recommendation, and If
you have seen the reasoning given by
Messrs. Davidson AMI Rainey for
recommending a pardon, you will
note at once that the reasoning of
the Prison Commissioners for both
is not only rluch stronger, but CO.
incides with the newly discovered
evidence presented to them that did
not appear in the trial.
In addition to this, Governor
Brown committed DR.. McNaughton' s
sentence to try to force the State to
try the wife of the deceased. who
was Jointly indicted with DR.. Nc