Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1922-08-31

Two weeks prior to the governor S
hearing Of the case, the prison com,
mission, acting as a board of par
dons, heard arguments for and
against communication, and unani'
mously declined to recommend it.
History of Case
; DuPre was sentenced to the gal
lows for the murder of Irby G.
Walker, Pinkerton detective, shortly
jewelry store. His attorneys ap'
after noon on December Is, 1921.
after he had robbed the Nat Kaiser
pealed from the courts, decision on
the ground that four of the jurors
prior to the trial, expressed the opin'
ion that DuPre should be hanged.
The sentence was sustained by the
higher court
Supported by a petition said to
carry the names of SG%eral hundred
citizens of Atlanta, many of them
IsWomen, an appeal was then made 10
the state prison commission to
recommend commute ion of the sen
tence to life imprisonment. This
the prison commission declined to
do, and the case was carried to the
states chief executive.
Governor Hardwick, at a special
hearing held at the capitol last
Thursday morning, reviewed the
case. Arguments for and against
communication of sentence were pre-
scented by Attorneys H. A. Ain and
w. I. Hayward, representing D1-
Pre-, and Solicitor General John A.
Boykin, acting for the state. Graham
West, city comptroller, who was
twice shot by DuPre as the bandit
fled from the scene of the robbery
after killing Detective Walker, reiter-
ated his statement made previously
before the state prison commission
He asked that DuPre, in the interest
of law preservation and to protect
society, be sent to the gallows.
This summarizes the bitter legal
battle waged to save from death the
!: nineteen-year-old bandit whose dar
ing exploits and braggadocio prior
to his arrest for the murder of .Irby
G. Walker in December stirred the
entire state.
DuPre, the records in the case
show, entered the Kaiser jewelry
store on Peachtree street during the
| noon hour and snatched a diamond
| ring which he had requested a clerk
to exhibit. When Detective Irby c.
Walker attempted to halt DuPre in
| his flight from the store, the bandit
shot him down, killing him instant
| ly. DuPre then ran into the hall
way of the I<imball House, with q
| crowd pursuing him. There, firing
at random into the crowd, he shot
Graham West twice, critically in
| juring him.
| Woman in Case
| Betty Andrews, young woman
! from Gainesville, Ga, was the WON
an in the case. Frank DuPre de
| clared on her account he staged the
| diamond robbery which resulted il
| the death of the Pinkerton detective
After firing on Graham West, Du
| Pre- is said to have walked into 9
| haberdashery store in the Kimbal
House, bought gaily-hued necktie
| paid for it from a ten-dollar bill, re
! moved his sporty gray overcoat
folded it over his arm and walked
| leisurely up Pryor street. Near the
! Healey building, on Auburn avenue
! he is said to have engaged in con
Versation with a taxicab driver, ask
i ing him if he had heard of the shoot
| ing. When the tatxi driver replied
in the affirmative, DuPre is said tc
have declared, ut certainly takes 8
man with CUTS to pull a job like
that" DuPre, according to the evi
dence presented at his trial, then
/ proceeded to the Childs hotel, where
Betty Andrews was stopping, and
| attempted to persuade her to leave
the city with him.
Then he fled to Detroit, stopping
at Chattanooga to pawn the diamond
| ring. A letter written by him IL
| Detroit tainted Atlanta police fol
their inability to arrest him.
, A telegram addressed to a pawn
broker in Chattanooga requesting
| additional funds on the diamond
! ring led to his arrest and return tt
| Atlanta for trial. In Detroit liz
adopted the alias Of Frank Parker.
/ as shown in evidence obtained b.
detectives who arrested him.
Testimony presented during his
trial Indicated that DuPre had rec
ord of petty thefts extending over
a period Of sixteen months. 1t wa!
revealed that he had stolen a watch
and money from a cousin who haC
sheltered him for the night; later
the theft of diamonds from tla'
Davis & Freeman jewelry store ant
from the Strang jewelry store were
attributed to him.
| DuPre was admitted to the Epis
copal Church of the Epiphany ant
confirmed by Bishop H. j. Mikell ;
few weeks ago, while confined il
the Fulton county tower. Since hi
conviction he has displayed an eli
of optimistic confidence, asserting
his assurance that he would not b.
required to pay the death penalty
He expressed the hope that his sen
tence would be committed so h
could teach other boys to g.
straight