00:00Governor Brown on the Fagan case let the law take its course. He says guilty will be punished.
00:04Innocent free. Atlanta Constitution. Sunday, May 4th, 1913. I desire to commend with all the
00:12emphasis at my command the Hearst newspaper's timely suggestion to the people of Atlanta and
00:16Georgian that they remember the sanctity and majesty of the law of the land and the sure
00:22operation of justice through the courts in contemplating a recent horrible and unspeakable
00:27murder in our midst. I desire to offer the Hearst newspapers a word of praise in that they leading
00:32newspapers of the South while being brave enough to print the news as it developed from day to day
00:36still were brave enough to caution their constituency that it was after all merely the news of the day
00:41and not evidence that might considered competent in a court of law.
00:45Governor Joseph M. Brown. Georgia's executive gives high praise to Hearst newspapers for their
00:51stand for law and order and fair trial for accused. Joseph M. Brown, governor of Georgia last night
00:57gave to Hearst Sunday American the following ringing and significant interview in respect
01:02of the Fagan murder mystery by Governor Joseph M. Brown. I desire to commend with all the emphasis
01:07at my command the Hearst newspaper's suggestion to the people of Atlanta and Georgia that they
01:13remember the sanctity and majesty of the law of the land and the sure operation of Jusik through the
01:19courts in contemplating a recent horrible and unspeakable crime committed in our midst. I commend all
01:26newspapers and persons and influences and things that hold fast to the law in times of anxious
01:31suspense and when wild and irresponsible rumor runs riot in a community. We must hold ever in mind
01:38that the people have established the processes of law and that those processes work through the courts
01:43with judges and juries. Trials of criminals must not be conducted in the newspapers, on the street
01:49corners, in the cafes, not even in the homes. Trials must be conducted in the authorized temples of
01:55justice and not elsewhere. They must not be based upon suspicion or hearsay, but upon competent evidence
02:01sworn to by the mouths of creditable witnesses or established upon such combinations of circumstances
02:07as legally prove the guilt or innocence of the accused. No elements of class favoritism or race
02:13prejudice should operate either for or against a defendant or suspect. The law requires, and jealously,
02:19the conviction of a criminal beyond a reasonable doubt, and neither disconnected nor fragmentary
02:25evidence will do in cases involving the life and liberty of persons charged with infractions of the
02:30law. A recent dreadful crime in Atlanta has shocked the entire state beyond expression. It is known that a
02:37young girl, fresh in the flower of youth, has been foully murdered. That fact and the place and some of
02:42the
02:43primary circumstances of the crime are settled, beyond dispute, but no more. Certain suspects are in jail within
02:49the state's custody, safe and secure. As yet no one has been indicted by a grand jury. That point in
02:55the
02:55consideration of the matter will be reached in its place. Suspicions, street gossip, rumor, it makes no difference
03:01how seemingly plausible, have no place in shaping a verdict for or against anybody now. The process of the state's
03:07law has been
03:08promptly inaugurated, and is proceeding in order. There is no reason whatever to doubt that it will go
03:13forward in dignity, and with all due haste, to the conclusion of the investigation. The coroner's jury now
03:19has the Fagan case in hand, and is intelligently and fairly sifting the testimony. Where the coroner
03:26leaves off, the solicitor will take it up, and thus on through the grand jury to the courthouse, the judge,
03:31and the jury. This process has been evolved of the long experience of the Anglo-Saxon race,
03:36the highest type of humanity on earth, and the ultimate aim of that process is, and ever has been,
03:42the firm and certain establishment of the truth, and consequently the intelligent and thorough
03:47application of justice. In passing, and in further emphasis upon the necessity of preserving calm and
03:52poise in the situation discussed, I desire to offer the Hearst newspapers a word of praise in that they
03:58leading newspapers of the South, while being brave enough to print the news as it developed from day to
04:03day, still were brave enough to caution their constituency that it was, after all, merely the
04:09news of the day, and not evidence that might be considered competent in a court of law.
04:14That was a manly thing to do. It renewed and rejuvenated my persistent faith in the fairness of
04:19Georgians, and in their ever-present desire to work justice to all and injustice to none,
04:24no matter how high or how low, or of whatever creed or cult, sect or faith, color or condition.
04:30The law holds the scales evenly between the State and the accused, and at all times its eventual aim
04:36is justice. The State exacts justice for herself and accords it to the accused. I have been moved
04:41to say this much to you and through you to the public, in the interest just now of fair play,
04:46of law and order all so dear to my heart, and to the hearts of a vast majority of Georgians.
04:51We must bear in mind that the State is quite as anxious to fix upon the right party the
04:56responsibility for this great crime as any man can be, and that the State is infinitely better
05:01equipped to do this than any individual of his own motion could be.
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