Tuesday, 14th October 1913: Dorsey Gathers Proof Against Bias Charges, The Atlanta Georgian

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Equips Himself for Bitter Fight Against New Trial Demand of Frank's Lawyers.

Armed with affidavits from A. H. Henslee and every other

member of the Frank jury whose fairness has been placed under

suspicion, Solicitor General Hugh M. Dorsey will return to Atlanta

Tuesday night to continue the preparation of his answer to the

motion for a new trial made by Frank's lawyers.

With his assistant, A. W. Stephens, the Solicitor has been

working day and night on the monumental task of reviewing the

hundreds of pages of typewritten manuscript submitted by the

defense in the elaboration of their 115 reasons for a new trial. The

work remaining to be done the Solicitor believes can be

accomplished most effectively in his Atlanta office. He may ask

for another week's postponement of the hearing on the motion.

Dorsey has equipped himself to make a bitter fight upon the

charges of prejudice made by Frank's lawyers against Henslee,

Marcellus, Johenning and other jurors. He anticipates that the

defense with lay greatest stress on this allegation and appreciates

that if they are able to establish any degree of bias on the part of

any of the jurors they will at once have a most important

advantage, possibly sufficient to win a new trial.

Henslee Denies Prejudice.

Henslee's affidavits deny categorically and emphatically

every separate charge of biased utterances that has been made

against him. They go into considerable detail in accounting for his

movements before and after the trial to support Henslee's

declaration that he expressed his belief in Frank's guilt after the

trial was over and not before it took place. He asserts that he had

no prejudice against Frank when he was drawn as a juror, but

that, in common with the other eleven jurors, he believed firmly in

his guilt after the evidence was in, and has so declared himself in

making his trips about the State since the conclusion of the trial.

Henslee's depositions will be backed up by sworn statements

of acquaintances, who will testify to his good character, his

reputation for truthfulness and his trustworthiness. The same

procedure has been followed by the Solicitor in respect to every

other juror. While he will not give out the contents of the

affidavits, he has expressed his confidence in his ability to show

that the defense has no ground upon which to charge bias and

prejudice against any of the jurors.

Frank Lawyers Also Active.

While Dorsey has been reviewing section by section the

defense's amended motion for a new trial. Frank's lawyers have

been fortifying themselves more securely in their contention of

bias and prejudice on the part of Henslee and other jurors. They

have the testimony of leading citizens in several cities of the

State to the effect that Henslee declared to them before the trial

that Frank was guilty and that his neck should be broken. The

depositions of these men have been bulwarked by a secondary

line of affidavits attesting to the good character, reputation and

trustworthiness of the originally affiants.

The attorneys for the defense feel assured that they have an

overwhelming mass of evidence showing prejudice, and that they,

therefore, must be granted a new trial.