Court To Hear Torch Murder Retrial Plea
Court To Hear Torch Murder Retrial Plea
Oliver May Testify During Hearing Here Tomorrow Morning
Frank Oliver, Marquette Prison lifer convicted in the 1931 Ypsilanti torch murders, will come into circuit court tomorrow morning in an attempt to win a new trial.
Now 37, Oliver is asking the new 'trial on grounds that he was the victim of so-called "quick justice” when he was convicted for his part in the brutal torch slaying of four Ypsilanti teen-agers.
In his petition, Oliver contends that fear of mob vengeance influenced his confessions at the time of his arrest.
One Of Three Arrested
Oliver and two other men—Fred Smith and David Blackstone— were arrested two days after what was labeled "the most brutal crime in Michigan history.”
All three men reportedly confessed their parts in robbing two young couples of $2, assaulting the two girls, then killing all four, soaking their car with gasoline, and burning the bodies.
They pleaded guilty to the quadruple murder and each was sentenced to four life terms—one for each killing—later in the day of their arrest.
Attorney Walter M. Nelson of Detroit, representing Oliver, contends that his client was beaten up by arresting officers and forced to confess a part in the crime.
Other Charges
He claims further that Oliver had no knowledge of what was going on during the court proceedings and that he was not properly represented by counsel.
The defense also contends that the late Judge George W. Sample was prejudiced in his handling of the case, characterizing the three men as "fiends in human form” during their arraignment.
Circuit Judge James R. Breakey, jr., will hear the motion for a new trial tomorrow morning. He has j signed a writ of habeas corpus which will allow Oliver to be present at the hearings and testify in his own behalf.
Prosecutor Douglas K. Reading, who will handle tomorrow’s hearings for the state, has asked the court to deny the retrial petition on grounds that Oliver was “fully advised of his rights . . . and expressly waived those rights.”