1257 Sheet – Supreme Court Georgia Appeals of Leo Frank, 1913, 1914

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and my arms. I suppose he was trying to hunt when he could find any scratches. I stayed in there until about 12 o'clock when Mr. Rosser came in and spoke to the detectives, or to Chief Beavers. He was talking with Chief Beavers he came over to me and said that Chief Beavers thought it better that I should stay down there. He says: "He thinks it better that you be detained at headquarters, but if you desire, you don't need to be locked up in a cell, you can engage a supernumerary policeman who will guard you and give you the freedom of the building." I immediately acquiesced, supposing that I couldn't do anything else, and Mr. Rosser left. Now, after this time, it was almost about this time they took me from upstairs down to the District Sergeant's desk and detective Starnes-John W. Starnes, I think his name is, came in and dictated from the original notes that were found near the body, dictated to me to get a sample of my handwriting. Have you got those photographs there? (Photographs handed to the defendant.) I wrote this note (State's Exhibit K.) at the dictation of Mr. Starnes, which was given to me word by word, and of course I wrote it slowly. When a word was spelled differently they usually stopped-take this word "buy," for instance, the detective told me how that was spelled so they could see my exact letters, and compare with the original note. Now I had no hesitation in giving him a specimen of my handwriting. Now, this photograph (State's Exhibit K.), is a reproduction of the note. You see, J. N. Starnes in the corner here, that is detective Starnes, and then is dated here. I put that there myself so I would be able to recognize it again, in case they tried any erasures or anything like that. It is a photographic reproduction of something that was written in pencil, as near as one can judge, a photographic reproduction of the note that I wrote. Detective Starnes then took me down to the desk sergeant where they searched me and entered my name on the book under a charge of suspicion. Then they took me back into a small room and left there for awhile while my father-in-law was arranging for a supernumerary police to guard me for the night. They took me then to a room on the top of the building and I sat in the room there and either read magazines or newspapers and talked to my friends who came to see me until-I was about to retire at midnight. I had the cover of my cot turned back and I was going to bed when detective Scott and detective Black, at midnight, Tuesday, April 29th, came in and said: "Mr. Frank, we would like to talk to you a little bit. Come in and talk to us." I says: "Sure, I will be only too glad to." I went with them to a little room on the top floor of the headquarters. In that room was detective Scott and detective Black and myself. They stressed the possibility of couples having been let into the factory at night by the night watchman, Newt Lee. I told them that I didn't know anything about it, that if I had, I certainly would have put a stop to it long ago. They said: "Mr. Frank, you have never talked alone with Newt Lee. You are his boss and he respects you. See what you can do with him. We can't get anything more out of him, see if you can." I says: "All right, I understand what you mean; I will do my best," because I was only too willing to help.

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