The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-05-30
CONLEY, NOT FRANK,
 IS MARY PHAGAN'S
 s L A Y E R, DECLARES HOOPER ALEXANDER
Continued from Page One,

and conversations with Frank after the. murder, occupied. according to him. only s4 minutes, they could not have occurred within two hours. According to the tes- timony of the detectives, 1t would have taken more than an hour to prepare the notes, alone. but reduce that estimate to half an hour"
 MT. Dorsey's letter was In response to notice from the commission of the pending application. He wrote; "The court rec ords of the case, which doubtless will be considered by you, present the details of the crime for the commission of which Frank was convicted by the courts of this county, and illustrate the conditions and circumstances under which the crime was committed l do not understand the application for executive clemency to set up any newly discovered evidence. or other grounds not heretofore consid- cred and finally adjudicated by the va rious judges of all the courts, state and federal which have declined to interfere with the verdict finding Frank guilty of the murder of Mary Phagan
 This is therefore, an application for amelioration of the penalty of a crime"for the commission of which the courts have finally adjudicated the applicant guilty. Indeed, the application does not pray for a pardon, but asks that the applicant be punished by life imprisonment instead of the penalty imposed by the trial court
 Mercy Not Invoked
 "The facts and circumstances surround ing the commission of the murder of Mary Phagan do not invoke the exercice of mercy or offer inducement to temper the penalty of the law to one who has beNs finally convicted of the crime. I do not believe that the education, opportunities and influence of the applicant, or the inn portunities of his friends should be per mitted to affect the expression of an of- ficial opinion, and l confess myself un- able to find in the record of this case & single ground upon which to justify the solicitor general charged with the en- forcement of the law, in asking that the decree of the courts shall be overridden by the governor, upon whom also the state constitution enjons the sacred ob- ligation to take care that the laws are faithfully executed
 The very fact that the conviction of the applicant by jury of 12 citizens has been affirmed by the judges of all the courts, state and federal, by whom the case has been reviewed, despite the cir cumstanees of the defendant and the ur- usual and indefatigable exertlons of his in fluential friends in and out of Georgia, confirms my sincere respect for the in- tegrity Of our courts and 1ustifies my deep conviction that in this case the ends of justice have been accomplished by the processes of the law"
 A letter to the prison commission from Spencer R. Atkinson of Atlanta. former justice of the state supreme court stated that during Franks trial Judge Roan. from the bench handed him an anony- nous letter threatening Judge Roan and Franks lawyers with death If Frank were acquitted. Judge Roan at that time expressed doubt to whether 1t was possible to give Frank fair trial" MT Atkinson wrote
 Other letters in Franks behalf were re- ceived today from United States Senator Vardaman of Mississippi, Congressman Gregg of Texas and Congressman Chip perfield of Illinois; Governor Hanna of North Dakota and former Rabbi David Marx of Atlanta, who was Franks pas tor.