Evening star., 1933-09-27
STORY OF TORTURE
TOLD BY FUGITIVE
Declares He Was Strung Up
and FIogged in Prison
Camp.
BY the Associated Press.

BY the Associated Press.
LOS ANGELES, September PA
story of alleged torture, days without
food, of hours spend dangling on ropes
ends with his toes just touching the
floor, of f1ogging and threats to kill
him was told last night by Ben Jones,
"a, Jailed by Sheriff's deputies on Sus-
picion of being a convicted murderer
and a fugitive from a South Carolina
prison camp.
Jones, business agent for a motion
picture projectionists' union under the
name of c. D. Cooper, was seized by
authorities on the Threshold OF his
home while kissing his young wife,
Mrs. Irene Jones, before leaving the
city for few days.
The arrest was made, Charles Ellison
and Harry Zahn, sheriff's deputies said,
on a tip received from Mrs. 1sadore
said she recognized picture of Jones
in a detective story magazine as that
of Cooper, who worked for her husband
Admits Identity.
Jones at first denied he was Cooper
the deputies said, but when they
pointed to scar on his face where the
South Carolina description showed
mole, Jones admitted his identity and
told the story to deputies Ellison and
Zahn.
"A guard tipped me off that I was
to be killed for testifying at a legislative
investigation of the prison, so I built
rope and went over the WALL" the
deputies quoted Jones as saying. That
was 10 years ago. I came straight to
California and have lived here as an
honorable man ever since. I was mar
ried three years ago and my wife has
no knowledge of the shadow of my
past"
Mrs. Jones collapsed when the dep
Uties closed in on her husband as he
was leaving their home.
Its all so unbelievable" she CRIED
''I know there isn't anything to 1t. We
have been so happy"
Back in 1919" Jones said, 'I was
charged with beating to death young
fellow had befriended by helping him
get from Birmingham, Ala, to Colum-
bia. S. C. 1t was a month after last
saw him before I heard of his murder
and months later before I was arrested.
Declared Circumstantial.
''My first trial was declared a mis-
trial. but my money had run out and
I could not hire an attorney for my de-
fense and I was convicted the second
time 1t was all circumstantial evil
dence and I'm telling you it was wrong.
I hadn't thing to do with the boys
death.
AT the prison camp I worked in
fiber factory and somehow they seemed
to think was an agitator Every once
in while they'd put me on bread and
water for infraction of rules I knew
nothing about. Sometimes they'd even
forget the bread and water. Two or
three times they tried to get stuff from
me that I couldn't tell them and then
they strung me up by my arms with my
toes just touching and leave me Tor
half day. A couple of times they
fogged me with strap till the blood
came
"One day the captain of the guards
ordered all our pictures of mothers, sis
ters and sweethearts taken away from
us. A young fellow asked him to re-
scind this order and the captain had
him hauled away to be whipped for in
subordination. The gang in the fiber
mill heard about it and walked out in
a body. There was a riot and it re-
suited in legislative investigation.
L was one of the chief witnesses and
the prison doctor tried to pull a revolv-
er and shoot me in the investigation