Newark leader. ([Newark, Ohio]) 1917-1946, 1918-03-22
MOONEY DEFENDED BY
BOURKE COCHRAN.

At a mass meeting in New York
city, called in the interest of Thomas
]. Mooney, who has been refused a
new trial by the California state
supreme court, Boulke Cochran said
every one but the conspirators have
admitted that Mooney is the victim of
a conspiracy, but that he is fated to
die because the California state su
preme court held that nothing was of
Importance to it except that the legal
machinery of the state should func-
tion with smoothness and precision" }"
This reference to the court was be-
cause it refused to consider perjury
charges against the states chief wit
ness (Oxman) on the ground that as
the charges were developed after the
Mooney trial, and therefore were not
in the record Of the court that tried
Mooney, it could not consider the
question. 81 say to you," continued
Mr.. Cochran who aided in the Mooney
defense at San Francisco, "and
think | speak the language of modera-
ton, that, while there have been
miscarriages of justice under every
political system, which there have
been perversions of justice, while
innocent men have been condemned
not merely through mistake, but
through conspiracy nevertheless |
state deliberately that this conviction
of Thomas Mooney is the most 6 lar
ing perversion of justice in the whole
history of Jurisprudence in America
OF in England or in any othre country
in the world
every other execution or convic-
tion has been attended at least by cir
cumstances which justified the pre-
tense that the judges were executing
the law. Here the constituted au-
thorities themselves agree in declar-
ing that a conviction involving the
life Of a human being has been
brought about by perjury, and the
supreme court of the state declares
that it can only examine the record
of what occurred at the trial; that it
has no power to consider subsequent
disclosures, which show that that
record is a record Of perjury and
crime.
According to their decision, the
court, created to defend the lives and
liberties of the people, announce them
selves powerleSs to meet and over
throw conspiracy between a few
wretches of the underworld and some
leaders, so-called, of the upper world"
The following letter from Mr..
Mooney has just been made public:
81 am firmly of the opinion that
justice and truth will still triumph,
despite the decision of the Supreme
Court of California.
"The infamous verdict in my case
must be nullifed. If the conviction
stands, want death and l want no
Communication of my sentence to life
Imprisonment.
Speaking for my wife, at the time
of my conviction sh said: IF this is
the kind of a world it is, we do not
want to live in it. Even the grief of
my mother will not prompt me to
appeal for less than a pardon and a
retrial on another indictment.
"Since my conviction, my wife,
Rena, has been acquitted; Israel
Weinberg has been acquitted. Our
cases have been linked, but in those
two cases OXman failed to testify.
The people of America should de-
mand that / be given new trial and
my accuser, OXman, should testify.
The Oxman perjury letters, admitted
ly written by Oxman, in the opinion
of Judge Griffin, the trial judge in
my case, are sufficient to give me
that right, despite the appeal of the
Attorney General of California and
my trial judge to the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court of California has
not seen fit to give an American
citizen simple justice.
Let me again say want new
trial. Failing in that, want to die
on the scaffold in California.
THOMAS j. MOONEY"
~ Maxwell McNutt, who directed
MONEYS defense, announces that he
will appeal directly to Governor
Stephens for pardon for Mooney.