095 Sheet – American State Trials 1918 Volume X Leo Frank Document

Search for:

Reading Time: 4 minutes [585 words]

Here is the translated text as follows:

EDWARD D. WORRELL, 63

The symptoms were violent and more frequent in the forenoon. Sometimes they would begin with drowsiness. He became restless if things did not go right. He would then have a peculiar look in his eye, and then he would faint away. His pulse would flutter and then intermit. I sometimes thought he was going to die. All of a sudden, he would have a most violent spasm, and I thought he would break every bone in his body. His eyes afterwards would become fixed and glazed like the eyes of a dying man; then he would gradually revive, mutter, mumble, froth at the mouth, show that the voluntary muscles were out of the reach of the will, and gradually come to himself. The manifestations were not always the same. Sometimes he would walk about with his eyes staring, and generally, he would lie down when dizziness and sickness began to come upon him. I have seen him misconceive what did not exist. He thought he saw flying gnats, which did not prevail; there was nothing of that. Dr. Davis, besides myself, treated him for epilepsy. He occupied the cell in the northeast corner of the jail on the third story—I think No. 25. Either my wife or myself have been with him every day since. We often went together, but alternation was the rule we established; she in the morning and myself in the afternoon. We changed as near dinner as would accommodate the officers of the jail. We had a stove in his room warmed by alcohol fuel, by which he would cook his food.

Cross-examined by R. W. Raisin

R. W. Raisin married a cousin of Mrs. Worrell, the mother of the prisoner. Samuel Ringold is a brother to Mrs. Worrell; he is 50-odd years old; I suppose about 56 years old. I know nothing of Dunn. Blocher is no relative whatever. There are no other persons whose depositions have been read, related, or connected. I guess Raisin is 50 years old. From when Edward left Louisville until I saw him at Dover, I don’t recollect he said he had left the army. The newspapers stated, and Lieut. Clark wrote me, that he was dead in the manner expressed here today. My impression on his arrival was that he had deserted. I either asked him or took it for granted; I don’t recollect it. It was heard sometime in Dover that Gordon was killed before the news was communicated to me after his arrest by Dr. Bates. His previous letters had shown great dissatisfaction with the army. He had none of these fits at Dover. He was about the same as usual. I am astonished now that he then maintained his normal condition of mind and equanimity, knowing what we did not.

Mrs. Elisabeth S. D. Worrell

My son is 28 years old; he was born in Wilmington, Delaware. When he was only 4 or 5 years old, he exhibited irritability and a want of self-control. I think he had less self-control than children of that age generally have. He was not injured in the region of the head that I know of at that time. This want of self-control continued to increase. The first violent fit he had was in July 1845, as related by my husband. The next attack was when he was brought home by Mr. Watson, as my husband related. In Baltimore, the talking was not in his sleep; it was before and after.

---