00:00State sure Lee will not be released. The Atlanta Georgian, Tuesday, July 8, 1913. Dorsey confident
00:07that move, which may confront Frank with Conley, is futile. Solicitor General Hugh M. Dorsey said
00:12Tuesday he was confident the state would be able to defeat any attempt to get Newt Lee out of the
00:17tower where he has been confined since April 27, first as a suspect in the Mary Fagan murder case
00:24and later as a material witness. He said he had advised Lee's attorney not to take the action
00:29as the Negro was regarded as an important witness in making a complete chain of evidence against
00:34Leo M. Frank. No petition was filed in behalf of the Negro Tuesday forenoon. There was no judge before
00:41whom the petition could be brought in the afternoon, although in rare instances writs of habeas corpus
00:46are filed with the ordinary of the county. Lee's counsel has until Friday to file the application.
00:52It was the announced intention to subpeña both Frank and Jim Conley to appear at the hearing on
00:57the right. Editor's note, the following text is also included in a previous article entitled
01:03Grant's Right to Demand Lee's Freedom, Defense's Attitude Secret. The plan of bringing Conley and
01:09Frank together may meet an insurmountable obstacle when it comes to getting the permission of Frank's
01:14attorneys. The law allows an indicted man to testify or to refuse to testify. Frank has been willing to
01:20appear as a witness at any time, but he has placed himself under the instructions of his lawyers,
01:25and the matter is entirely in their hands. Attorney Rosser is out of town, but Reuben Arnold,
01:31associated with Mr. Rosser in the defense, said Tuesday that no thought had been taken of the
01:37possibility that Frank would be asked to appear in the habeas corpus hearing, and that therefore he
01:42could not say what the attitude of the defense would be. The sentiment of the new grand jury, which is
01:48said to favor an investigation into the Fagan mystery with a view of indicting Conley, also opens a most
01:54interesting possibility in that the defense will be called upon to make known for the first time
01:59the evidence which it has against Conley. Rosser guards. His evidence. Luther Z. Rosser, chief of
02:07counsel for the accused man, has stated publicly that he believes the Negro, and not Frank, guilty of
02:13the terrible crime. He has narrated a number of suspicious circumstances that point to the guilt of
02:19Conley, but he has carefully guarded the contents of the scores of affidavits in his possession,
02:24which are said to weave the strongest sort of a net about the Negro. If an effort is made by
02:29the grand
02:30jury to indict Conley, Attorney Rosser, as well as members of the detective department, probably will
02:36be asked to lay their evidence before the jurors for an impartial determination of whether it is
02:41sufficient to warrant the action. This will be the first time the defense will have been led into any
02:46show of its real strength. Every attorney working in the interests of Frank has closed his lips tightly
02:52when questioned as to the really vital pieces of evidence in the hands of the defense. It is regarded
02:58as likely, however, that they will welcome this opportunity to assist in the indictment of the
03:03Negro, particularly as their evidence will be given behind closed doors and in the presence of men sworn to
03:09secrecy.
Comments