Evening star., 1924-11-03
WINS NEW
TRIAL FOR MURDER
Justice Robb Bases Decision
on "Third Degree" Method
in Getting Confession.

Third degree methods have no place
in our civilization, declared Justice
Robb of the District Court of Appeals
today, when he granted a new trial
to Edgar Randolph Perrygo, % years
old who was convicted of murder
in the first degree in connection with
the killing of Mrs. Emily Faithful al
her home on Congress Heights in
February, 1920.
Perrygo was II years old at the
time of the tragedy and has been in
jail nearly five years, most of that
time in the death cell, as his execu-
ton has been postponed from time
to time. The youth probably will be
taken from the death cell this after
noon and given another cell.
The only assignment of error on
which the appellate court acted in
reversing the conviction and orderin e
a new trial was the introduction OF
confession by Perrygo, said to have
been obtained by the police through
the use of so-called third degree"
methods.
Protection Is Demanded.
while it is to be expected" said
the court, that police officers will
manifest zeal in the detection of
crime, the citizen is entitled to the
protection secured to him by our Con-
stitution and laws. 1t is apparent
that the defendant, in a case like the
present, not only is at a serious dis
advantage during a gruelling exami-
nation by several police officers, but
that this disadvantage attends him
at the trial, when the officers may or
may not remember all that occurred
at the examination"
The judgment of the lower court
was reversed and the case was re-
manded for a new trial Attorney
James A. O'Shea and John I. Sacks
appeared for Perrygo. These two
lawyers also obtained a reversal OF
the Wan case recently in the United
States Supreme Court, in which this
tribunal ruled out a confession which
Wan is supposed to have made under
the third degree" method.
Justice Robb, in the course of his
lengthy opinion, referred to the Chi.
nese case, saying that lin that case
as here, the question whether the
confession was voluntary had beer
submitted to the jury The court
ruled, however. that the testimony
of the superintendent of police, three
detectives and the chief medical Of.
ficer left no room for a contention
that the statements of the defendant
were, in fact. voluntary since the
'undisputed facts showed that COM
pulsion was applied. ~
Reviews His Confession.
In the present case, according tc
the evidence for the Government, saws
the court, the defendant, within :
few hours of his arrest, confessed
he had murdered a helpless old WON.
an and turned over to the girl he was
about to marry the money he hat
obtained thereby. After his arres,
he complained that he had a head
ache and felt sick and, unless he
was utterly bereft of human emo.
tlonS, that was a mild characterize
ton of his condition. In addition
he was but II years old and of low
mentality. We do not mean to in.
dicate that he could not understand
right from wrong, but we do NEAR
that his age and mentality are i'm
portant factors in determiuins
whether, in the circumstances ad
mittedly surrounding him, his con.
fession was voluntary.
Surrounded as he was" continued
the court, by four and at times fiy,
police officers, who all questioned him
he persisted in his denial of gull
for more than an hour and a half
and it was not until the girl Mabe
Hill, was brought into the room tha
he made an inculpatory statement
The undoubted purpose o.
confronting the defendant with tn,
Hill girl. was to induce him to max,
an incriminatory statement NJ
other purpose could have been sub
served by her presence"