00:00justice aim in fagan case says hooper the atlanta georgian saturday june twenty first nineteen thirteen i have not been
00:07employed in the case to prosecute leo m frank but to help find and convict the murderer of mary fagan
00:12if the trial proves we are wrong we will begin work on another angle we have but one object and
00:17idea it is that justice and the law be vindicated we are however convinced we have a strong case against
00:24the accused frank a hooper attorney mrs mina formby and her sensational affidavit will not be used by the state
00:30in the trial of leo m frank according to a statement saturday from attorney frank a hooper assisting the prosecution
00:37mr hooper said the state had never attached any importance to the affidavit
00:41except for the first few days and that when mrs formby mysteriously disappeared from the city the state eliminated her
00:48from the case entirely and made no effort to locate her he said time set forth in the affidavit and
00:54the alleged facts were at too wide a variance with anything the state expected to prove and there had been
00:59no trouble in making the case without her affidavit did not fit the woman's affidavit did not fit in anywhere
01:06in our case said mr hooper if it had we would have looked around a long
01:09time for witnesses to substantiate it before we put her on the stand when she left atlanta we considered her
01:15gone for good and built without her mr dorsey and myself discussed her statement several times and we decided she
01:22could not be used to any advantage
01:24mr hooper said it has been decided to put the frank case on the calendar for the week of june
01:2930th and the state would be ready for trial on that day when mr dorsey returns from new york tonight
01:35or sunday
01:36we will go into a conference and definitely outline the case to be presented by the state said mr hooper
01:41we had decided to have it called monday morning june 30th unless the defense asks for a continuance the case
01:48will probably be tried then
01:50no weak points remain he said that he had been acquainted with every bit of evidence that was in the
01:55hands of the state and had studied it carefully with the solicitor for one week he said he and mr
02:01dorsey worked incessantly on the sworn statements secured from the probable witnesses
02:05where there was a weak point we either strengthened it or eliminated it entirely we have not depended on the
02:11evidence of any one person alone to build our case on make it stand up
02:15we are prepared for any emergency and feel that we have left no stone unturned in our investigation
02:21we are confident there are no more mysterious witnesses to be heard from for we feel that we have questioned
02:26everyone who could possibly know anything of importance
02:30mr hooper would not discuss the many conflicting statements of the negro jim conley
02:35and the part he was expected to play in the state's case
02:38the strong probability that leo frank will not be called for trial june 30th was discussed saturday by persons interested
02:45in the case
02:46the attorneys for the accused man have stated that they were prepared to go into court at any time
02:51although it is not usual to give the defense so little time in a capital case
02:55frank was arrested april 29th if his case is called june 30th only two months will have elapsed since he
03:02was seriously suspected of being involved in the crime
03:05more time than this ordinarily is given the attorneys for the defense to investigate every circumstance and story which may
03:11point to the innocence of their client
03:13continued on page two column four state to ignore form b frank affidavit attorney hooper
03:19prosecutor's aide declares justice's aim in fagan case
03:22continued from page one it is known that judge ls roan who will preside at the trial will be free
03:28the weeks of july 14th and july 28th
03:31this is interpreted to suggest the possibility that the trial will be postponed to one of those dates
03:36reuben arnold the probability of whose participation in the frank trial was indicated by the american three weeks ago
03:43is at atlantic beach and will not return to atlanta until monday
03:47it was said at his office however that definite arrangements for his becoming one of the counsel for the defense
03:53had not as yet been made
03:54chief lanford said that the great sheaf of affidavits procured by his department had no use except to guide the
04:00memory of his men in their investigations
04:02and to hold as a protection in the event of an emergency
04:06such as the sudden change in the testimony of a witness or a disappearance of a witness from the jurisdiction
04:11of the court
04:12some question had arisen as to the purpose of the large number of affidavits
04:16when none of them would be permitted to be introduced as evidence in the trial of leo frank
04:21so long as the affiant appeared to testify
04:23the chief explained that it had been the design of the department to protect itself at all points
04:28and that in case a witness changed his testimony on the stand it would be possible to proceed against him
04:34on the charge of perjury
04:35the affidavits also were obtained to be used in the event that a witness dies before the trial or leaves
04:41the jurisdiction of the court
04:42defense also has many
04:44it is known that the defense has in its possession as many affidavits as the prosecution
04:49the attorneys for frank carefully have investigated every story that has come to their ears
04:54and when it has appeared reliable they have obtained the sworn statement of the person telling of the circumstances
04:59the main difference in the case of the prosecution and that of the defense
05:03is that the contents of most of the affidavits obtained by the detectives are known to the public
05:09while the revelations made to the defense have been most carefully guarded
05:13luther z rosser attorney for frank made one public statement
05:17but in it he carefully avoided giving any hint that would aid the prosecution
05:21in determining who his witnesses were to be or what they would testify
Comments