Evening star., 1949-06-05
Court Studies Request
For Edwards RefriaI; T.;
'Frame-u Charged
ey the kssoeiofsd Press

bAL11MOktE, june 4-AIJcT
hearing defense attorneys contend
that Thomas Alexander Edwards
was framed" by someone in the
Mahlan-Kline double murder last
November in Glen Burnie, the
Supreme Bench Of Baltimore to-
day took under consideration q
reqhest for new trial.
Chief Judge w. Conwell Smith
said the jurists will not meet in O
group again toe discuss the case
until Thursday.
Edwards, "a. colored, of Anne
Arundel County, was convicted of
first-degree murder by a three
judge court in the shooting of
John Mahlan and Mary Kline.
William J. McWilliams. counsel
for Edwards. today contended that
the case remains mysterious and
battling" and that the State had
not proved the mans guilt beyond
q reasonable doubt.
Refers to Confession.
He declared there had been q
deliberate attempt by a person or
persons to lead trail Of evidence
to the Negro communities of Free
town and Marley Neck, where Ed
wards lived.
Mr.. McWilliams said the de-
fense didn't claim the man was
framed by the police. But we do
say, however" he added, that
Edwards has been framed by some
body else" VI
Referring to a written confess
sion Edwards had given police, Mr..
McWilliams said he believed that
fear of lynching and mistreatment
by officials had a good deal to do
with it.
The attorney insisted the con-
fession docs not conform with
the facts"
"It was a parody of the police
theory of the way it happened"
he said. 1T could not have hap
pened the way the confession said
it happened"
One of the principal efforts made
by the defense to shake the con-
fession was directed at the part
which states that Mr.. Mahlan was
killed several miles from the clear
ing where the bodies were found
and Miss Kline was killed at the
clearing itself.
Mr.. McWilliams submitted that
Miss Kline and Mr.. Mahlan knew
of" the clearing before the murder.
He mentioned a statement he
said was taken from Miss Mar
garet Armstrong, formerly of Glen
Burnie, now living at the YWCA
in Alexandria, Va. and filed in an
affidavit earlier this week. The
statement, he told the supreme
bench, shows that Miss Armstrong
"had been there with a man who
was a friend of Mary Kline,
man who was very fond of her
and dated her.
so Mary Kline knew where
the place was and we have rea-
son to suppose-we almost have
to suppose-that Mr.. Mahlan
knew of 1t. too.
How are we to swallow the
statement that this Negro by
mere coincidence took them to
that very clearing? II we can
believe that. we can believe any
thing"
The States rebuttal was that at
least 16 points corroborated the
confession signed by Edwards. The
States arguments were presented
by assistant Baltimore Prosecutor
Anselm Sodaro and States Attor-
ney James c. Morton, jr., of Anne
Arundel County.
Mr.. Sodaro maintained that Ed
wards couldn't possibly have had
a fairer trial" He claimed that
the defense had not brought to
light any really new evidence.
The defense attorneys had made
the point that, five days after State
Trooper John j. Harbaugh searched
the area, a curiosity seeker found
O discharged shell near the spot
where the bodies had been dis
covered.
However, Mr.. Sodaro today ridi-
culed Trooper Harbaugh for at
tempting to search the ground "at
..,Ikt. Anvt 40 ch1i0f,f -