Frank James guilty of murdering David Paul, 1920
New Jersey Mirror 22 Dec 1920
It took the jury only twenty minutes to find Frank J. James guilty of the murder of David S. Paul, at he conclusion of the sensational trial in Camden on Monday night.
The verdict carried with it the infliction of the death penalty upon the self- confessed slayer of the bank messenger, the jury refusing the appeal of the prisoner's counsel to exercise clemency and recommend life imprisonment instead of capital punishment. The verdict came at the end of the five-day trial, during which the defendant's oral and written confessions were admitted in evidence in the face of counsel's strenuous objection.
Dapper and apparently self-possessed, James entered upon his ordeal last Wednesday but as the trial wore on and damning evidence piled up against him his confidence petered out and several times he collapsed, once having to be taken from the court room in order to allow him to regain his composure. The Camden court house was besieged by a great crowd which clamored for admission to the court room in which the trial was held but the greater number of curiosity seekers were turned away. James offered insanity in his own defense but the evidence sought to be introduced to show that insanity existed in James' family was ruled out and after this failure the insanity defense was virtually abandoned, lawyer Harris admitting to the court during his argument that acquittal would not be asked on the ground of the prisoner's mental irresponsibility. Emphasis was made of the jury's right to find the prisoner guilty of first degree murder with a recommendation to life imprisonment instead of simply finding him guilty of fist degree murder, which without the recommendation mentioned carries with it death by the electric chair.
A stirring appeal was made by lawyer Harris to the sympathy of the jury and the counsel was visibly affected by his own feelings as he spoke. He had known James from boyhood and his appeal for clemency evidently came from the heart. At the conclusion of argument Supreme Court Justice Katzenbach delivered his charge to the jury in part as follows:"It now becomes your duty to render a verdict on the question of the guily of Frank J. James. You must be governed by the evidendce; in determinging questions of fact sole responsibiblty is upon you. Any commment I may make on the evidence is only to aid you. If there be in your minds a reasonable doubt you must acquit the defendant. 'reasonable doubt' however, is not a 'possible doubt', because everything in human affairs is open to possible or imaginary doubt. "You will therefore, be justified in assuming that a criminal homicide was committed. The law provides that all murders committed in attemting to commit a robbery shall be of the first dgree. You have three choices-of declaring James not guilty, of rendering a verdict of murder in the fist degree with no recommendations, or of rendering a verdict of murder in the first degree with recommendations that he be sentenced to life imprisonment at hard labor, and under the law I must be guided by your recommendation if so made.
The jury was then sent from the court room and a recess was taken.This was at 4 o'clock. Upon resuming, an hour and a half later,the jury was summoned, it having been announced to the court that a verdict had been reached. When the foreman spoke for the twelve men composing the jury there was a tense stillness in the crowded court room. Jones seemed to be the most self-possessed of any of the principals in the trial.He presented a picture of composure although the grim set of his jaw indicated the great mental stress under which he was laboring. When the verdict of guilty of murder in the first degree was announced many of those in the room were visibly affected by the words which meant death to the accused man but James, who had almost miraculously recovered his nerve after the break-down during the early stages of the trial,was unmoved. As he was led away to his cell he turned and cast a searching glance over the crowded court room, looking for his relatives but they were not there, having anticipatea what the verdict would be and wishing to avoid any more distressing scenes.
As he passed out of the court room, to which he will be returned for sentence to the electric chair, James said to the officer who had him in charge, "It is no more than I expected." Counsel for the defense at once filed application for a new trial, and was given ten days in which to file his reasons. It is understood that his appeal will be based on three exceptions to the rulings of Justce Katzenbach. The crime for which James is believed to be certain to pay the death penalty, was one of the most brutal in the criminal annals of Camden county. According to James's confession he conspired with Raymond Schuck to decoy the bank messenger with whom they were both on friendly terms, into an automobile , while Paul was on his way from his place of employment to another financial institution with a large sum of money for the latter.
Accordingly they timed their movements so that they met Paul soon after he had left the Central Trust Company on Broadway, and offered to take him to the Camden ferry. When they had entered the almost deserted driveway which parallels the iron shed on Market street leading to the ferry house, james struck Paul from the rear with a heavy piece of automobile spring, repeated blows rendering him unconscious. Paul was pulled back into the rear part of the car and Schuck it is claimed, at James's direction, stared out of the city. On the way Paul partly recovered consciouness and pleaded for his life but Jame again struck him and later fired two shots into his victim's head with the latter's own revolver. The flight of the murderers with their victim's body then led them over int Burlington county. They kept going until they reached a lonely spot at Irick's Crossing near Tabernacle where they pulled the dead man out of the car and tying his feet threw the body into a shallow stream.
It took the jury only twenty minutes to find Frank J. James guilty of the murder of David S. Paul, at he conclusion of the sensational trial in Camden on Monday night.
The verdict carried with it the infliction of the death penalty upon the self- confessed slayer of the bank messenger, the jury refusing the appeal of the prisoner's counsel to exercise clemency and recommend life imprisonment instead of capital punishment. The verdict came at the end of the five-day trial, during which the defendant's oral and written confessions were admitted in evidence in the face of counsel's strenuous objection.
Dapper and apparently self-possessed, James entered upon his ordeal last Wednesday but as the trial wore on and damning evidence piled up against him his confidence petered out and several times he collapsed, once having to be taken from the court room in order to allow him to regain his composure. The Camden court house was besieged by a great crowd which clamored for admission to the court room in which the trial was held but the greater number of curiosity seekers were turned away. James offered insanity in his own defense but the evidence sought to be introduced to show that insanity existed in James' family was ruled out and after this failure the insanity defense was virtually abandoned, lawyer Harris admitting to the court during his argument that acquittal would not be asked on the ground of the prisoner's mental irresponsibility. Emphasis was made of the jury's right to find the prisoner guilty of first degree murder with a recommendation to life imprisonment instead of simply finding him guilty of fist degree murder, which without the recommendation mentioned carries with it death by the electric chair.
A stirring appeal was made by lawyer Harris to the sympathy of the jury and the counsel was visibly affected by his own feelings as he spoke. He had known James from boyhood and his appeal for clemency evidently came from the heart. At the conclusion of argument Supreme Court Justice Katzenbach delivered his charge to the jury in part as follows:"It now becomes your duty to render a verdict on the question of the guily of Frank J. James. You must be governed by the evidendce; in determinging questions of fact sole responsibiblty is upon you. Any commment I may make on the evidence is only to aid you. If there be in your minds a reasonable doubt you must acquit the defendant. 'reasonable doubt' however, is not a 'possible doubt', because everything in human affairs is open to possible or imaginary doubt. "You will therefore, be justified in assuming that a criminal homicide was committed. The law provides that all murders committed in attemting to commit a robbery shall be of the first dgree. You have three choices-of declaring James not guilty, of rendering a verdict of murder in the fist degree with no recommendations, or of rendering a verdict of murder in the first degree with recommendations that he be sentenced to life imprisonment at hard labor, and under the law I must be guided by your recommendation if so made.
The jury was then sent from the court room and a recess was taken.This was at 4 o'clock. Upon resuming, an hour and a half later,the jury was summoned, it having been announced to the court that a verdict had been reached. When the foreman spoke for the twelve men composing the jury there was a tense stillness in the crowded court room. Jones seemed to be the most self-possessed of any of the principals in the trial.He presented a picture of composure although the grim set of his jaw indicated the great mental stress under which he was laboring. When the verdict of guilty of murder in the first degree was announced many of those in the room were visibly affected by the words which meant death to the accused man but James, who had almost miraculously recovered his nerve after the break-down during the early stages of the trial,was unmoved. As he was led away to his cell he turned and cast a searching glance over the crowded court room, looking for his relatives but they were not there, having anticipatea what the verdict would be and wishing to avoid any more distressing scenes.
As he passed out of the court room, to which he will be returned for sentence to the electric chair, James said to the officer who had him in charge, "It is no more than I expected." Counsel for the defense at once filed application for a new trial, and was given ten days in which to file his reasons. It is understood that his appeal will be based on three exceptions to the rulings of Justce Katzenbach. The crime for which James is believed to be certain to pay the death penalty, was one of the most brutal in the criminal annals of Camden county. According to James's confession he conspired with Raymond Schuck to decoy the bank messenger with whom they were both on friendly terms, into an automobile , while Paul was on his way from his place of employment to another financial institution with a large sum of money for the latter.
Accordingly they timed their movements so that they met Paul soon after he had left the Central Trust Company on Broadway, and offered to take him to the Camden ferry. When they had entered the almost deserted driveway which parallels the iron shed on Market street leading to the ferry house, james struck Paul from the rear with a heavy piece of automobile spring, repeated blows rendering him unconscious. Paul was pulled back into the rear part of the car and Schuck it is claimed, at James's direction, stared out of the city. On the way Paul partly recovered consciouness and pleaded for his life but Jame again struck him and later fired two shots into his victim's head with the latter's own revolver. The flight of the murderers with their victim's body then led them over int Burlington county. They kept going until they reached a lonely spot at Irick's Crossing near Tabernacle where they pulled the dead man out of the car and tying his feet threw the body into a shallow stream.
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