Governor To The General Assembly Of Georgia June 23 1915 State Vs Leo Frank Page 42

at the time he was an escapee from the Fannin County jail under indictment for felony.

"I refused to interfere unless the judge or solicitor would recommend interference, which they declined to do. Finally, when on the gallows, the solicitor-general recommended a reprieve, which I granted, and finally, on the recommendation of the judge and solicitor-general, as expressed in my order, I reluctantly commuted the sentence to life imprisonment. The doubt was suggested as to the identity of the criminal and as to the credibility of the testimony of prejudiced witnesses. The crime was as heinous as this one and more so.

In the Frank case, three matters have developed since the trial which did not come before the jury, to-wit: the Carter notes, the testimony of Becker, indicating that the death notes were written in the basement, and the testimony of Dr. Harris that he was under the impression that the hair on the lathe was not that of Mary Phagan, thus tending to show that the crime was not committed on the floor of Frank's office.

While made the subject of an extraordinary motion for a new trial, it is well known that it is almost a practical impossibility to have a verdict set aside by this procedure.

The evidence might not have changed the verdict, but it might have caused the jury to render a verdict with the recommendation to mercy.

In any event, the performance of my duty under the Constitution is a matter of my conscience. The responsibility rests where the power is reposed: