The Palatka news and advertiser., 1915-06-11
FRANKS CHANCES
ARE SLIPPING AWAY
Georgia Prison Commission
Refuses to Recommend
Communication.


Prison commission on Wednesday de-
clined to recommend commutation to
life-imprioSonment of the death SEN
tence pronounced upon Leo M. Frank
for the murder of Mary Phagan. Com
missioners E. L. Rainey and R. E. Da-
wilson voted against recommenda-
ton for clemency. Judge T. E.
Patterson voted in Franks favor. The
commission submitted its report to
Governor Slaton shortly before noon,
its contents Immediately being made
public by the governor.
The matter now is in the hands of
Governor Slaton. The recommended
tion of the prison commission is in no
way binding upon the governor, who
it was stated, will conduct further
hearings before making his decision.
The majority report of the commits
sion was as follows:
"None of the grand jurors who
found the Indictment; none of the trial
jurors who heard the evidence under
have asked that the sentence be COM
muted. The judge who presided at
the trial and who had the right to ex-
ercise the discretion of fixing the pen
atty at either Unemployment or
death, imposed the latter sentence
and overruled a motion for a new
trial
Several appeals were taken to
both the appellate court of the state
and the supreme court of the United
States, all of which were denied and
the judgment of the lower court af-
firmed, thus assuring the defendant
of his legal and constitutional rights
under the laws of the land 1t fur
ther appears that there has been no
technical proposition of law or f-pro-
cedure that has prevented the peti-
toner from having his guilt or inno-
cence passed upon by a jury of his
peers and by the highest constituted
appellate authorities, and 10 new evil
Gence or facts in the bearing upon Lis
guilt or innocence having been shown,
we see no reason for taking this case
out of tie ordinary rules of law and
we feel constrained not to interfere
with the enforcement of the orderly
judgment OF the courts"
Commissioner Patterson Dissents.
Commissioner Patterson in his dis
senting report said that consideration
of the nature of the evidence against
Frank left the mind open to uncer-
tainty as to whether there is room to
doubt the story told by James Con-
LEY, the ne rro who was one of the
principal witnesses against Frank.
''If we take the evidence outside of
Conley and Frank" Mr.. Patterson's
report says, 1--WE find Frank and Con-
ley had equal opportunity and motive
for committino the crime, with the
possible added motive of robbery on
the part of Conley; that Conley W."
the notes found by the body; that
Conley made several conflicting affi-
davits as to his connection with the
crime and that Conley in making
these statements was trying to pro-
tect himself"
Mr.. Patterson also says that wbe
trial judge, the late Judge L. S. Roar,
* 4 in a letter which he au-
thorized to be used in this hearing,
concerning Conley's testimony says:
After months of continued delibera-
ton | am still uncertain of Franks
guilt. This state of uncertainty is
largely due to the character of the
negro Conley's testimony by which
the verdict was evidently reached In
the language of the supreme court,
this case depends largely upon circum-
stantial evidence. In my investiga-
ton | cannot find where the execu-
tive has allowed a man to be hanged
Iwbnn the trial iudra Voc NOT ro+;cGoJ