Convicting the Innocent: Errors of Criminal Justice (1932)
by Edwin M. Borchard
Case #8

Benjamin Collins

MASSACHUSETTS

During July, August, and the early part of September, 1928, there were about forty successful and unsuccessful attempts at bag snatching from women in Somerville, near Boston, Massachusetts. The snatcher confined his efforts to no particular part of the city, requiring only that the scene be a poorly lighted thoroughfare or a side street. Such a reign of terror existed among the women of the city that the police put about fifty plainclothes men on the case.

The method of operation was practically the same in all instances. The snatcher usually chose Saturday night for his activities. He never molested men or boys and did not hesitate to use violence if resistance were made. Secreting himself behind a fence or hedge in a yard having easy access to the street, he remained hidden until his intended victim had passed. Then he crept after her and, at an opportune moment, snatched the bag. Immediately after obtaining it, he dashed back into the yard in which he had been concealed and through it into an alley or street a block away. Often, though not always, he discarded the bag, keeping only the contents.

The snatching was always done from behind, so that the victim did not get a clear view of the snatcher.

The descriptions of the snatcher, as given by the victims, were practically the same except for a few details. The man always wore a cap, looked about thirty years old, and usually appeared in working clothes. Some remarked upon his speed and agility in making his get-away as contrasted with his stocky build.

So when, on September 1, another bag was snatched from the hands of Miss Mildred King of West Somerville, and a man named Benjamin F. Collins – who in height and build and cap fitted the reputed description – was found on the street a few blocks away twenty minutes thereafter, it was believed that at last the elusive criminal had been caught.

Upon being questioned by the police, he stated that he worked as a dishwasher at the Woodbridge Hotel on College Avenue in West Somerville, and that, as it was a hot day, he had gone out on the street to a soda fountain to get a glass of ginger ale. He was searched, and only five or ten cents was found on him, though. Miss King's purse had contained $5.25 in money, and a $10 fountain pen. Collins' room was then searched, but none of the stolen purses could be found, nor any of the articles said to have been in them.

But as Collins happened to answer the general description of the thief, he was taken to the Somerville police station and held for identification by the victims. Several of them came, and identified Collins as the man who had taken their purses. Collins was presented to each woman separately, and each said that he was the man.

The police did not believe that they had the right man, as the circumstances of the case were in Collins' favor. None of the goods had been found in his possession. He was well liked and trusted where he worked, and had no criminal record, though not much was known about him, as he had recently come from Lowell and was a rather quiet and unobtrusive person. He gave his age as forty-five, and it was established that he was the sole support of his aged mother. Officer Augustin J. Fitzpatrick, who had charge of the investigation for the Somerville police, repeatedly told Assistant District Attorney Richard S. McCabe, who conducted the prosecution, that he did not think that Collins was the man they were hunting.

But as five of the victims had positively identified Collins as the culprit, he had to be brought to trial. Three indictments were returned against him by the Grand Jury on September 10, one charging larceny and two robbery. There were seven counts in the larceny indictment, in which he was accused of having grabbed the hand bags of seven women between the fifteenth of July and the first of September. The hand bags were valued at from $3.00 to $7.00 and contained various amounts of money, ranging from $1.75 to $27.00, and numerous trinkets, fountain pens, notebooks, and other articles. On the robbery indictments, he was charged with taking a $2.00 hand bag and $5.00 in money from one woman, and a $5.00 hand bag, $3.00 in money, and two sets of rosary beads worth $4.00 from another woman.

Collins was kept in the Somerville jail from the time he was arrested on September 1 until the time of his trial on October 23. He was unable to raise the required $10,000 bail. The delay in his trial was due to the fact that Collins' original attorney was taken sick and was sent to a tuberculosis sanatorium. He was then represented by Hon. Francis C. Zacharer of Lowell.

At the trial several of the witnesses did not appear against him, one because of old age, and another because of sickness. However, both of these had identified him at the police sta­tion. The identifying witnesses were Carrie M. Decker, Ce­celia Ketter, and Mildred King of West Somerville, and Marion P. Jackson and Catherine Davis of Medford. They all positively identified Collins again, Mrs. Decker being particularly positive, so much so that the others may have been influenced by her assurance.

Collins took the stand in his own defense and denied that he had taken their bags and reiterated what he had said when arrested, namely, that he was employed as a dishwasher at the Woodbridge Hotel and had left only for a few minutes to buy a glass of ginger ale. Margaret Gleason, who also worked at the hotel, corroborated the statement that he had been at work all morning, as did Florence A. Fitz, another hotel employee. Arthur F. Downs of Lowell appeared for him as a character witness. Officer Fitzpatrick also testified to Collins' original story when arrested and to the fact that none of the bags or their contents had been found on Collins or in his room.

The jury found him guilty on one robbery charge, not guilty on the other, and guilty on four counts of larceny; and on October 23 he was sentenced by the judge of the Superior Court for East Cambridge, Massachusetts, Hon. Patrick M. Keating, to two and a half to three and a half years on the robbery charges.

--------------------

On the Saturday following the sentence, October 27, another hand bag was grabbed from a woman in the same general neighborhood where the others had been taken. This time,
after a hot pursuit, the man was shot by the police while trying to escape. His name was George Hill. He had on him
some of the stolen articles.

Hill's room in Medford was searched, and many of the hand bags which had been taken, as well as many of the
trinkets, were recovered. For example, one bag had contained two books of stamps and a notebook with a loose five-cent stamp inside. These were found in Hill's room.

On the Monday following, October 29, these facts were brought to the attention of District Attorney Bushnell; and
the District Attorney and his assistant, Mr. McCabe, who had tried the case, went to the state prison and informed
Collins that a motion for a new trial was being drawn by his
attorney, and that the District Attorney would nol-pros the case.

On the thirtieth of October, Collins was brought into court, a motion for a new trial on the larceny charge was allowed, and then a nolle prosequi entered by the District Attorney. On the robbery charge on which he had been sentenced, a habeas corpus petition and a motion for a new trial were filed and allowed, and the District Attorney entered a nolle prosequi.

Later Hill was brought up for trial and pleaded guilty
to having taken the bags of the women who testified against Collins. He was sentenced to the state prison, where he died
of septic poisoning as a result of his wound.

After Collins' release, various news items appeared reporting the comments of the five women who had identified Collins. Three of them still maintained that Collins was the man who had stolen their bags; the other two thought they might be mistaken.

The police records of each of the men read as follows:

Collins
48 years
5 ft. 6 1/4 ins.
173 lbs.
light complexion
brown hair
blue eyes
prominent nose
Hill
30 years
5 ft. 6 1/2 ins.
176 lbs.
dark complexion
black hair
brown eyes
very prominent nose

Both men were further described as having worn dark clothes and gray cap. Collins walked in a shuffling manner, while Hill was very active, having a quick gait and athletic appearance. Collins was of the easy-going, indifferent type, while Hill was of arrogant, sarcastic disposition, and was considered one of the most despicable criminals known to the department. When he was told that an innocent man was in prison because of his activities, he still denied that he was responsible for the crimes, and only confessed when confronted by overwhelming evidence.

A bill was introduced in the Massachusetts Legislature to compensate Collins to the extent of $1,000 for the injury that had been done him, but the compensation was denied, one argument being that the state could not be required to bear expenses which ought properly to fall upon the counties.

--------------------

Again we have a case of sheer mistaken identification by the victims of a crime, as in the Beck, Greenwald, and Preston cases. The opportunity for observing Collins must have been of the most fleeting kind, yet the positiveness of witnesses is sometimes, as in this case, in inverse ratio to their opportunity for knowledge or to their reliability. In this case, contrary to the usual rule, it was the police who were skeptical, and yet, but for the reoccurrence of the same crime, manifestly by another offender, as in the cases of Andrews, Beck, and Greenwald, it is doubtful whether Collins would have been freed. It is unfortunate that the Legislature was unwilling to repair the damage done by the courts of the state.


BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. Records of the case in the Court House, East Cambridge, Mass.

2. A summary of the facts and the police record obtained through Sergeant Augustin Fitzpatrick.

3. Acknowledgments: Hon. Richard S. McCabe; Hon. J. D. McLaughlin.