Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1922-08-26
The Innocent Prisoner

Less than two months ago, life
term prisoner was released from
federal prison by the efforts of Con-
gresswoman Alice Robertson, who
had already served twenty-three
years as a convict, who was entirely
innocent of the crime for which he
was sentenced. A woman, the wife
of the murderer, who killed James
Brown, in 1898, died, and on her
death bed made a statement that
her husband had killed this man
and the 17-year-old boy, who was
falsely charged with the killing, was
convicted of the crime, purely on
circumstantial evidence, and con-
demned for life to the federal prison.
For twenty-three years, this inno-
cent boy has suffered the agony and
degradation of this sentence. This
boy served these twenty-three years
in the Atlanta federal prison; and
there are numbers Of people who
heard this poor boy tell Of his inno-
Icence-but there was nobody to care,
and but for the remorse suffered by
that dying woman in Oklahoma,
that poor boy would have been bur-
led in the prison grave yard-and
with nobody caring a cent as to what
became Of him. ~r .
I do wonder IL any Of that jury
are still living? I wonder If the
judge who uttered the sentence is
within reach?
This friendless youth goes out into
hard world with nothing left to
him of the twenty-three years,
where a serious error was commit
ted by both Judge and jury-except
fIon re NE iY1h al
to man." ....>. ,..
Another man, convicted Of enor-
nous thefts, so heinous and ag-
gravating that a judge and jury
condemned him to the same federal
prison in Atlanta, a few years ago.
The money he stole hired lawyers
and they got him out Of the Federal
prison by appealing to the maudlin
United States.
He was immensely rich, and the
money that he had procured by
graft, took him out of the Atlanta
prison.
While poor unfortunate Charlie
Tidwell was serving a life sentence,
which he did not deserve this bloat-
ed bondholder walked out free.
They did not fare the same in the
Federal prison; one was without
friends, although innocent. The 9TH
err had troops Of helpers, and they
are even now fighting his case, a
later offense, before the govern
ment and the supreme court in
Washington city.
I say it here, without hesitation
that the 17-year-old boy, now a
man Of forty, should be able to sue
the government for a pension, to
be paid during the remainder of his
life, and the stolen money in the
hands Of the man pardoned, al.
though proven guilty, should be
used to pay the pension of the in
nocent youth, as mere act of com.
mon Justice.
Has Georgia No Courageous Men
Left?
The late Georgia legislature was
the limit" Fully acquainted as were
the members Of the financial condi.
ton Of the state, they met late in
June, and remained in session to the
18th Of August-and simply made
"spectacles of themselves, with do
nothing propositions and went home,
leaving the states business in chaos,
and 81 per diem in their jeans,
I have studied it over very careful
ly. I am satisfied their failure grew
out of the fact that so many were
prospective candidates, that they
were afraid they might lose a vote
IL they attempted to reorganize dis
ordered public business. They were
so afraid of criticism, so afraid Of
offending the big chiefs now in au-
thority that they lodged corners un-
til the allotted time had expired by
limitation. The "big interests" had